Hochul seizes DNC spotlight

Aug 15, 2024

Governor Hochul chairs New York State Financial Control Board Annual Meeting.

Gov. Kathy Hochul penchant for attacking Republicans is a contrast to the politics of joy lifting the Democratic party’s spirits since Harris ascended to the top of the ticket. | Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

Gov. Kathy Hochul will speak Monday evening at the Democratic National Convention, she announced today, clinching a coveted, high-visibility opportunity to boost her party and her state.

She is set to take the stage on the same night as President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Democrats are hoping presidential nominee Kamala Harris can succeed in shattering the glass ceiling and defeating Donald Trump where Clinton did not.

“You made history two years ago with the first female ever elected in our state of New York, right?” Hochul had told a hyped-up crowd of her fellow Democrats at a rally Wednesday in Harlem. “You’re thinking, 'Wow, two years later, we can go even bigger and make history with the first female president of the United States.' That’s why we’re hungry.”

But the former surrogate for Biden brings more to the national spotlight than her experiences as a woman in politics and a relationship with Tim Walz that developed when both served in Congress.

Hochul has displayed an inclination for attacking Republicans.

She called the GOP “crass and cynical” earlier today — an apparent contrast to the politics of joy lifting her party’s spirits since Harris ascended to the top of the ticket.

Expect more of those kinds of digs Monday in Chicago.

“We had a solution handed to us on a silver platter — hard negotiations between a conservative senator and the people he represented and Democrats, pulling together a plan that would have given the president even more powers to control our borders,” Hochul said today at an unrelated Manhattan event of the failed bipartisan border deal. “And the Republicans stopped it only when Donald Trump said, ‘Don’t do that.’”

The governor, who underperformed against Republican challenger Lee Zeldin in 2022, has been a convenient foil for House GOP members in New York when it comes to bail reform, public safety and border security.

The Republicans with tough roads to reelection, especially, have made an effort to target the governor, whose favorability rating was a dismal 38 percent in June, according to a Siena College poll.

In a new ad, Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler claimed he brought together politicians from both sides to put a stop to congestion pricing, Playbook has reported. Hochul had faced backlash for pausing the plan, but spinned the move to be pro-worker.

Joining Lawler was Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro, who said the governor is “divorced from reality” on X today after she blamed Trump for stalling border progress in the House.

“There’s only one border security bill that passed, and it’s the one I voted for in May 2023. It’s been languishing in the Senate,” Molinaro posted, suggesting Hochul call Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to get it passed. “They can close the border today.”

By the way, Hochul is scheduled to answer questions Monday from the DNC at the CNN-POLITICO Grill in a conversation moderated by this New York Playbook co-author. — Emily Ngo, with Rich Mendez and Maya Kaufman

During unprecedented times, POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy. Live briefings, policy trackers, and and people intelligence secures your seat at the table. Learn more.

From the Capitol

1199 SEIU, the state's largest healthcare workers union, rallied at the state Capitol in Albany on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in support of more funding for the system.

1199SEIU will be one of the organizations that will spearhead a three-year health care worker training and career advancement initiative. | Provided by 1199 SEIU

HEALTH WORKFORCE BOOST: The Hochul administration has chosen the 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds, Iroquois Healthcare Association and Finger Lakes Performing Provider System to spearhead a three-year health care worker training and career advancement initiative powered by $646 million in state and federal funding under New York’s new Medicaid redesign project.

“We have lost many caregivers over the past few years leading to critical staffing shortages across the continuum of care,” 1199SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Milly Silva said in a statement. “1199SEIU appreciates Governor Hochul’s historic investment to rebuild this workforce by training New Yorkers for occupations experiencing shortages like nursing.”

The so-called Workforce Investment Organizations — which Hochul unveiled Thursday at the union’s midtown Manhattan headquarters — will use the funding for recruitment, academic support, tuition and program fees, textbook and supply costs, enrollment assistance and other initiatives to grow New York’s health care workforce by thousands.

Under the terms and conditions of the state’s Medicaid redesign project, which was approved by the federal government in January, participants of the Career Pathways Training program must commit to three years of service with health care organizations that serve at least 30 percent Medicaid enrollees or uninsured New Yorkers. — Maya Kaufman

CAMPUS CONCERNS: Hochul wants college and university presidents in New York to give her administration the details of how they plan to keep their campuses safe and free of discrimination as students return for the fall semester.

Hochul this morning said she has been working with State Operations Director Kathryn Garcia to prepare for the return to campus — and the potential reactivation of pro-Palestinian demonstrations that engulfed schools this past spring.

“We want to know your safety plans,” Hochul told reporters during an unrelated event in Manhattan. “What are you doing to get ready to protect your students on campus, because every student has a right to walk and go to class freely and not be harassed.”

Hochul’s comments come a day after Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned. She is the third Ivy League president to step down in the wake of the protests over the Israel-Hamas war, which fueled religious discrimination concerns.

“It’s a private institution, they choose their own leadership,” Hochul said of Shafik’s resignation.

The governor was not concerned with the potential of protests disrupting the week’s events.

“Protests are part of the experience,” she said. “This is an opportunity for people to exercise their freedom of speech.”

Discord over the Israel-Hamas war on the Democrats’ left flank could present a political problem for Vice President Kamala Harris as she tries to maintain momentum since becoming the party’s presumptive nominee.

She selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate, passing over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — a move that Republicans and some Democrats claimed was a sign of growing antisemitism within the Democratic Party.

But Hochul today insisted Democrats would be able to remain unified over the next three months as the party also seeks to gain control of the closely divided House — with a half-dozen seats in New York considered to be in play.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll march to that election united and also work hard to pick up congressional seats in a place like New York,” Hochul said. — Nick Reisman

IN OTHER NEWS

GRADING THE BUDGET: A state fiscal oversight body signed off today on the city’s recently passed budget — but not without some warnings.

The $112.4 billion spending plan was ratified in late June. However, multiple fiscal watchdogs noted at the annual meeting of the Financial Control Board that the budget was balanced using at least two old tricks: Deliberately lowballing estimates for huge expenditures like NYPD overtime and counting on surplus cash from the prior year to cover around $1 billion worth of costs. (In other words, projected expenses technically exceed revenue.)

Because financial forecasts show the potential for a slowing economy, several observers of the city’s budgeting process urged Mayor Eric Adams to be more upfront about the actual costs facing the city.

Doing so could provide multiple material benefits, according to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who testified at the hearing.

“Transparency on these issues goes beyond providing adequate funding in the budget, although that is a prudent and necessary fiscal decision,” he said. “But the city must also explain to the public the sources and reasons for what is driving spending trends and refine policies to provide services at a more cost effective rate.” — Joe Anuta

— SNUFFED OUT: A judge found flaws in New York City’s cannabis enforcement efforts at a convenience store in Queens — and it could have broader implications for the crack down. (The New York Times)

— NUKE SHIFT: The Hochul administration is weighing whether to add nuclear power to the state’s energy sources. (LoHud)

— Nearly 3,200 people in New York have died of opioid-related deaths in the last year. (Spectrum News)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? Read it here.

Follow us on Twitter