Kathy Hochul takes the oath of office as New York State’s first elected female Governor (January 1, 2023)

Kathy Hochul was inaugurated Sunday as New York State’s first elected female governor.

Hochul took office in August 2021 after then-Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior.

She was elected by voters in November, defeating Republican challenger Lee Zeldin.

Hochul said she’d get into policy more in her State of the State address this month, but cited housing affordability and energy affordability among other topics in her inaugural address, “And the gun violence epidemic, my gosh. The loss of lives goes on and on. The rise in hate crimes. What happened here? Especially antisemitism, Asian hate, anti LGBTQ hate and the systemic racism that still persists to this day. Those are the fights we are called to take on. We must.”

Hochul also mentioned the lingering effects of the pandemic as well as women’s rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Tom DiNapoli also took the oath of office on Sunday as New York’s second-longest serving Comptroller of more than 15 years. Letitia James was sworn in a second time as Attorney General and Antonio Delgado was sworn in as the state’s Lieutenant Governor, his first full term.

Lee Zeldin

Lee Zeldin is stepping back from running to chair the Republican National Committee.

Zeldin said in a statement that he is falling short of a needed majority to defeat current chair, Ronna McDaniel.

McDaniel has been serving as the RNC Chair since 2017.

Zeldin, who is a Long Island congressman and was the 2022 Republican nominee for New York governor, urged party officials to select a new leader after a disappointing midterm result for Republicans in Congress.

Zeldin lost the race for governor this year against incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul. But the race was the closest gubernatorial contest in decades in Democratic-heavy New York.

23rd Congressional District Representative Joe Sempolinski said he was disappointed that Zeldin withdrew from running for the seat, “I think the world of Mr. Zeldin. I think he would have been an excellent RNC chairman. Basically, we could have done better in the midterms. We could have done better in other elections that have occurred. And so, I think having somebody put their name forward, saying, ‘Hey, maybe we should go in a different direction. Maybe we should have a different choice. Maybe we should present options to the RNC committee members,’ would have been wonderful. I certainly think this is not the last we have heard from Lee Zeldin.”

Zeldin was held up as a model by some in the party as an example of how the GOP can compete in suburban areas of the country.

He was also credited with having unusually strong coattails that enabled down-ballot Republican victories in Congress.

Joe Sempolinski, Nick Langworthy

Congressman Joe Sempolinski said Nick Langworthy is a good fit for the new 23rd Congressional District.

Sempolinski said being a former Congressional District Director is the best preparation someone can have to becoming a member of Congress, “And one thing Mr. Langworthy and I have in common is he is a former Congressional District Director. He has worked in that capacity for previous members of Congress and I think that will put him into be doing a job that is focused on the people of the new 23rd district.”

Sempolinski, who is representing the current 23rd Congressional District, said he’s been in contact with two members-elect and the sitting member whose new districts overlap with the old 23rd district, “Nick (Langworthy) will be responsible for six of the counties that I currently represent. Claudia Tenney will be responsible for three of them and Marc Molinaro will be responsible for two. And these are all people I have a great relationship with. They’re all people I’ve know for years. They’re all people I have a good line of communication with and they’re all people we’ve been discussing constituent issues. We’ve been discussing transition issues.”

Sempolinski credited Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin‘s strong campaign as to why Republican Congressional candidates had success at the polls, leading to seven new representatives from the Republican party joining the four Republican incumbents who won re-election in New York State.

NY Governor Kathy Hochul celebrates being elected the state’s first woman governor

Democrat Kathy Hochul has been elected the first woman governor of New York State.

Hochul defeated Republican Lee Zeldin with 52% of the vote.

It was a sweep for the Democrats in statewide elections in New York.

Incumbent Democrat State Attorney General Letitia James has been declared the winner against Republican Michael Henry. Incumbent Democrat Comptroller Tom DiNapoli also won re-election over Republican Paul Rodriguez.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer was re-elected to a fifth term over Republican Joe Pinion.

In the race for the new 23rd Congressional District, Republican Nick Langworthy declared victory over Democrat Max Della Pia.

In State Legislative races, Republican State Senator George Borrello has defeated Democrat Dan Brown and Republican Assemblyman Andy Goodell won re-election against Democrat Sandra Lewis.

In the special election for Chautauqua County Legislative District 13, incumbent Republican John Penhollow won with 1,600 votes over Democrat Barbara Colt who received 600 votes.

For the special election in the City of Jamestown for the Ward 5 Council Seat, Republican incumbant Bill Reynolds received 751 votes over Democrat Doug Lawson‘s 486 votes.

For the five 8th Judicial State Supreme Court Justice seats open, Craig Hannah, Tracey Bannister, Kelly Vacco, Gerald Greenan III, and Joseph Lorigo were elected. Shannon Heneghan lost that race.

The State proposition to authorize New York State to borrow $4.2 billion for the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Clean Jobs Environmental Bond Act was approved by voters. The monies will go toward funding environmental protection, natural restoration, resilience, and clean energy projects.

Governor Kathy Hochul is attempting to secure a full four-year term on the Democratic and Working Families line against Republican and Conservative endorsed candidate Lee Zeldin. Zeldin currently is the 1st Congressional District Representative. Hochul took over as Governor following Andrew Cuomo‘s resignation in August 2021. For the Lieutenant Governor’s race, Antonio Delgado is running with Hochul and Alison Esposito is running with Zeldin

Voters from Chautauqua County across to Stueben County and now part of Erie County will vote on a new representative for the new 23rd Congressional District. Republican Nick Langworthy is facing Democrat Max Della Pia for that seat. The pre-2020 census district was formerly led by Tom Reed for the last 10 years and is currently represented by Joe Sempolinski.

Longtime incumbent and Democrat Chuck Schumer is running for re-election against Republican Joe Pinion and LaRouche party candidate Diane Sare.

Two other statewide offices on the ballot include incumbent State Attorney General Letitia James on the Democratic and Working Families line facing Michael Henry on the Republican and Conservative lines.

And incumbent State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on the Democratic and Working Families lines is facing Paul Rodriguez on the Republican and Conservative lines.

In State Legislative races, incumbent State Senator George Borrello is running on the Republican and Conservative lines for the 57th District against Dan Brown on the Democratic line. Incumbent Assemblyman Andy Goodell is also running on the Republican and Conservatives lines against Democrat Sandra Lewis.

In Chautauqua County races, the County Sheriff race is unopposed with incumbent Jim Quattrone running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

There are two special elections for the Chautauqua County Legislature.

In District 7, incumbent John Penhollow is running on the Republican and Conservative lines against Barbara Colt who is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. Penhollow was appointed to fill the seat after Mark Odell resigned in July 2021.

In District 10, Republican incumbent Jaime Gustafson is running unopposed. She was appointed to fill the seat after Ken Lawton resigned due to moving out of the district. District 10 represents the southwest side of Jamestown, the Village of Lakewood and part of the Town of Busti.

In the City of Jamestown, a special election for the Ward 5 City Council seat is being held between incumbant Bill Reynolds on the Republican and Conservative lines and Democrat Doug Lawson. The winner of that race will fill out the remainder of that seat’s term following Grant Olson declining to take the seat after the 2021 election.

There are five seats open for the 8th Judicial State Supreme Court Justices. Running on all four lines of Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Working Families is Craig Hannah. Kelly Vacco and Gerald Greenan III are running on the Democratic, Republican, and Conservatives lines. Shannon Heneghan is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. And Joseph Lorigo is running on the Republican and Conservatives lines.

There is one proposition located on the back of the ballot.

The Clean Water, Clean Air, and Clean Jobs Environmental Bond Act would, if approved, authorize New York State to borrow $4.2 billion to fund environmental protection, natural restoration, resilience, and clean energy projects.

The State Legislature has already approved the plan, which allows the state to sell the bonds immediately after approval. But in order to sell the bonds, the state has to get approval from voters.

Polls are open Tuesday from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. in Chautauqua County.

For all of WRFA’s Election coverage, visit https://www.wrfalp.com/election-2022/

For voting information, including sample ballots and voting locations, visit VoteChautauqua.com

We’ll have Election Night coverage starting at 8pm tonight on 107.9 WRFA-LP.

Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said Hochul and Zeldin are both holding their parties, as she leads among Democrats 81-12% and he leads among Republicans 84-12%. Independents narrowly tilt toward Zeldin, 44-42%. Greenburg said Hochul’s solid lead over Zeldin is a reflection of the Democrats’ large enrollment advantage in New York.

Greenburg said Hochul has a 46-41% favorability rating this month among likely voters, compared to 46-37% in June among registered voters.

Hochul has a 52% job approval rating, the first time Siena has asked Hochul’s ‘job approval,’ replacing the previous ‘job performance’ question. Zeldin now has a 31% favorability rating, with 41% either having no opinion or never heard of him, up from 21% in June.

Greenburg said, “Hochul continues to be more well known and liked than Zeldin, although she has not been able to raise her favorability rating over 46%. It has been between 42% and 46% every month since September, her second month as governor. Zeldin’s name recognition certainly got a boost from his primary victory and for now both being the focus of Republican energy and the target of Democrats.”

He added that, “Fourteen weeks is a long time in politics, and we know most voters don’t really begin to focus on elections till after Labor Day. Still, Hochul has an early – but certainly not insurmountable – lead.”

Gubernatorial primaries

Governor Kathy Hochul is trying to make history as the first female governor elected in the state with just 10 months in office under her belt. She is facing Representative Tom Suozzi and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

Hochul has positioned herself as the frontrunner in the three-way primary field, in part through a relentless campaign fundraising strategy that saw her amass more than $30 million — far outpacing any of her opponents.

The governor’s campaign has blanketed the state’s airwaves touting her record during her short time in office, which includes a gas-tax reduction through the end of the year and a series of gun-control and abortion-access measures she signed into law just this month.

But Hochul’s tenure has not been without controversy. She selected then-state Sen. Brian Benjamin, a Manhattan Democrat, to replace her as lieutenant governor despite questions over his past campaign-fundraising tactics. Within six months, Benjamin was arrested on federal bribery charges and resigned.

Hochul’s opponents have faulted her for spearheading a deal to build a new $1.4 billion football stadium for the Buffalo Bills, which came with $850 million in direct public subsidies. And they’ve latched on to her past positions on gun issues, which earned her an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association when she represented a conservative-leaning district in Congress a decade ago.

Hochul has said her views have changed on the issue of gun control, and she successfully led the effort to boost the minimum age for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21 in New York after an 18-year-old killed 10 people in a Buffalo supermarket last month.

Suozzi’s positions align with Hochul’s more often than not, so he is campaigning on his track record as a “proven executive,” having once served as a town mayor and county executive during his 30 years in politics. He has framed Hochul, who also held local office and, briefly, a seat in Congress, as unprepared or unwilling to take the necessary steps to improve the state in essential ways.

Williams, the No. 2 official in New York City, is the candidate favored by progressives, including the Working Families Party, the influential third party with a habit of backing insurgent, left-leaning candidates. This is his second race against Hochul; he came within seven percentage points of defeating her in the 2018 lieutenant governor primary.

He has criticized the governor for not doing more to focus on street-level crime in Harlem, the Bronx and other areas susceptible to gun violence.

All the public polling has shown Hochul with a comfortable lead over her two rivals, but the lieutenant governor’s race is much harder to gauge.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face the candidate that emerges from a contentious, four-way Republican primary Tuesday between Representative Lee Zeldin, former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, businessman Harry Wilson, and Andrew Giuliani, a former Trump administration aide who is son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Zeldin, of Long Island, has the backing of Republican Party leaders across the state, who voted earlier this year to make him their designated candidate — a distinction that gave him an automatic spot on the primary ballot without petitioning.

Giuliani is making his first run for elected office and has made his unabashed support of Donald Trump a central part of his campaign. During a debate earlier this month, Giuliani repeated the discredited, incorrect claim that Trump rightfully won the 2020 election, going as far as claiming a “crime” had been perpetrated on the American people.

But Trump has not formally endorsed any candidate in the Republican race. Along with Giuliani, Trump counts Astorino and Zeldin — both of whom have been staunch defenders of Trump on cable news programs — as allies.

New York has more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans, with independent voters also outpacing the GOP. The state hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office since George Pataki won his third term as governor in 2002.

It is a closed-primary state, meaning only enrolled members of a party can vote in their respective primary.

Governor Kathy Hochul delivers remarks at NYS Bipartisan Pro-Choice Legislative Caucus press event in Albany (May 3, 2022)

Governor Kathy Hochul is working to develop potential legislation and executive actions to strengthen New York’s abortion laws codified into state law and improve protections for out-of-staters and abortion providers.

The governor reiterated in the state Capitol on Tuesday she is “horrified” by the U.S. Supreme Court‘s leaked draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, as reported by Politico on Monday night, “And as a woman, this is personal. This is something that we have fought against for my entire life. In fact, this is a battle my mother’s generation, it’s a battle from my generation, my daughter’s generation, and it seems like even my three-day old grandchild Sophia’s generation will have to be fighting this same fight. Something that we had thought we had put to bed a long time ago.”

Hochul has repeatedly said the state will be a safe haven for any person seeking reproductive health care, including an abortion, as several states move to impose sweeping abortion bans if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer.

She said under her direction, the “Department of Health is working closely with experts and advocates to issue regulations to ensure that telemedicine abortion is available here, to offer clear guidance to providers, and provide information to patients about their right to abortion.”

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said she would not rule out a constitutional amendment.

State Senator Liz Krueger sponsored three pieces of legislation to protect abortion providers in New York and women seeking treatment from other states. She added that, “Everything has to be on the table.”

New York passed reproductive rights laws in 1970 — three years before Roe v. Wade — under a Republican majority in the Senate, and with 12 Republicans joining the Democratic majority to vote for the legislation at the time.

State Republican leaders have remained publicly silent about the leaked draft decision.

U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin, a Republican, is pro-life and supported a bill in Congress to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks and joined his Republican colleagues in 2020 in calling to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Hochul presided over the state Senate in 2019 to pass the Reproductive Health Act, which codified protections to legal abortion by any licensed health care practitioner in state law, and permits abortions after 24 weeks if the woman’s life or health is at risk or the fetus is not viable.

Hochul appeared on NBC’s TODAY show Thursday, where she said will run for a full term in 2022 when the seat will be on the ballot. She succeeds disgraced Governor Andrew Cuomo later this month.

The Democrat from Buffalo will be the first woman governor in New York history and the first from upstate New York since the early 1920s.

She will likely face a crowded Democratic primary for the seat and, if she wins, then would have to beat likely Republican nominee Lee Zeldin, a congressman from Long Island.
Hochul also said she expects New York will have a mask mandate in schools this fall amid a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said her first challenge is helping the state stave off the COVID surge. Hochul planned to meet with health officials yesterday and would look to schools for input on a mask mandate.

Cuomo had avoided implementing any broad masking policy, saying schools and local governments should follow federal guidance that recommends masks indoors in communities with high rates of spread.

Earlier this week, 48 of New York’s 62 counties were deemed by the Centers for Disease Control to have substantial or high rates of COVID spread that should require masks indoors for everyone, including those vaccinated.

Schools and the state Education Department have been clamoring for more guidance from the state.
Hochul stressed that while it’s too soon for her to impose a mask mandate, she said the state would likely end up with one to ensure students can go back to school safely in the fall.

The representatives asked that any eligible work paid for through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) be paid for by the federal government rather the New York taxpayers, as was done by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama after 9-11 and Superstorm Sandy.

“With New York State at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, it is imperative that New York receive all the federal resources available to save lives and protect public health and safety. The costs associated with responding to this public health crisis are astronomical,” the jointly signed letter stated. “New York State expects to request billions of additional funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the DRF in the coming months. If New York State must shoulder the cost of even 25 percent of this massive bill, it could deal a devastating blow to New York’s vibrant economy.”

The complete 28 member New York delegation that joined the letter were Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Representatives Lee Zeldin (NY-1), Pete King (NY-2), Thomas Suozzi (NY-3), Kathleen Rice (NY-4), Gregory Meeks (NY-5), Grace Meng (NY-6), Nydia Velazquez (NY-7), Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8), Yvette Clarke (NY-9), Jerry Nadler (NY-10), Max Rose (NY-11), Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Jose Serrano (NY-15), Eliot Engel (NY-16), Nita Lowey (NY-17), Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Antonio Delgado (NY-19), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), Tom Reed (NY-23), John Katko (NY-24), Joe Morelle (NY-25), and Brian Higgins (NY-26).

A copy of the letter sent to President Trump can be found below:

Dear President Trump: 

We write today to urge you to expeditiously grant New York a waiver that provides 100 percent federal funding for all FEMA emergency work in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Any eligible work paid for through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) should be paid for by the federal government, not New Yorkers.

On March 13, you issued an Emergency Declaration for New York, as well as for 55 other states, territories, and the District of Columbia. On March 17, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York requested a Major Disaster Declaration (MDD), the first in the country, to aid the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. On March 20, you granted the first-in-the-nation COVID-19 MDD for New York after a strong push from the New York Congressional Delegation. Both of these declarations allow New York State to receive reimbursement for eligible work from the DRF. On March 25, the Senate passed H.R.748, the CARES Act, which more than doubled the DRF by adding $45 billion. The March 20 MDD now grants New York State access to Public Assistance, Category B – Emergency Protective Measures and the Crisis Counselling program for individuals. While this is an incredibly important step in combating the COVID-19 outbreak, this assistance comes at a 75 percent federal and 25 percent state cost share.

As of April 13, the New York State Department of Health reported over 195,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York State, with over 104,000 in New York City alone. Tragically, our home state has already experienced at least 10,000 deaths from this outbreak and experts anticipate this number will continue to rise. 

With New York State at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, it is imperative that New York receive all the federal resources available to save lives and protect public health and safety. The costs associated with responding to this public health crisis are astronomical. New York State expects to request billions of additional funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the DRF in the coming months. If New York State must shoulder the cost of even 25 percent of this massive bill, it could deal a devastating blow to New York’s vibrant economy.

As New York continues to address the escalating outbreak of COVID-19, we urge you to expeditiously grant a waiver that adjusts the current DRF cost-share to provide 100 percent federal funding for New York State’s response to this outbreak. We thank you for your time and attention to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact our staff members with any questions.