Gov. Hochul Losses Appear To Pile As NYS Budget Deal Gets Closer

After being elected in November, navigating her own Democratic party has not been easy for Governor Kathy Hochul. After suffering an embarrassing loss, when the Senate rejected Justice Hector LaSalle as New York's chief judge, the governor was forced to pivot to a more liberal Justice Rowan D. Wilson, for a quick win.

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The damage was done and the loss was noted. Now, according to reports, the three week late budget is only going to get done if more of the governor's initiatives are tossed.

According to Yancy Roy of newsday.com, the governor has been embroiled in a number of Democratic platform-issues, such as bail reform, affordable housing and eviction laws. Now, according to Roy, suburban Democrats are ready to knock out Governor Hochul's housing mandate that allows the state to override local zoning restrictions to build affordable housing. You can only imagine how this has gone over in some districts. The suburban lawmakers are in an uproar across party lines. Multiple sources told newsday.com that the final budget deal likely will contain no major housing initiatives.

Another semi-loss appears to be in the governor's attempt to buoy the perpetually troubled Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Governor Hochul proposed raising the “MTA mobility tax,” for the companies in the highest payroll bracket in the downstate region. According to newsday.com, the tax seems like it will only be applied to those qualifying businesses in New York City in the final budget proposal.

Governor Kathy Hochul will have to be more effective balancing initiatives within her own party. A chief judge nominee bounced, a budget that is three weeks late and now a trumpeted housing initiative put on the shelf, are all reminiscent of past New York State lawmaker dysfunction. However, how much of this can be laid on the governor and how much is just party politics in 2023? It is tough to know in these days of general government disarray. Either way, these are not good signs for New Yorkers. It just ends up costing all of us in the long run.