Gov. Kathy Hochul joined NY1 Monday night for an exclusive one-on-one interview with political anchor Errol Louis on "Inside City Hall."
The governor talked about her priorities in the state budget, which is poised to be approved by lawmakers this week. She also addressed the controversy surrounding a former aide who resigned abruptly this past weekend.
What You Need To Know
- During an interview Monday evening, Gov. Kathy Hochul says she did not get what she wanted on housing in the state budget, but will keep fighting
- Hochul also discussed her reasons for parting ways with consultant Adam Sullivan, who was the subject of a scathing profile in the New York Times
- Hochul also defended her Albany staff who some have criticized for failing to work adequately with the legislature to accomplish the governor's goals
Although the state budget has yet to be fully voted on by both houses, Hochul highlighted key areas where she was able to get what she wanted, including changes to the bail reform law.
But a big pillar of her agenda was a plan to build affordable housing. And that fell out of the budget completely when she and legislative leaders could not agree on her proposal to allow the state to override local zoning.
Hochul says she is putting the onus back on suburban lawmakers to come up with a plan if they don’t like hers.
"What is your plan? Because I am not done. I am coming back to say if you can do this on your own, let's see the results," Hochul said. "And some communities, 80% of communities, had to build 80 units or less. That is one apartment building."
Hochul also faced questions about her controversial political consultant Adam Sullivan, who resigned Sunday.
According to the New York Times, Sullivan was calling the shots for Hochul's team from his home in Colorado.
He was accused of belittling young female staffers during the campaign last year.
"First of all, he lived in Colorado after he lived in Washington, but he also spent the entire campaign living in New York City, so he wasn't running anything from afar," Hochul said. "Of course we spoke. I was very disappointed about what I read in that article in the New York Times. And we spoke, and we agreed to part ways. And that is exactly what the status is right now.”
Hochul says it was more about the reports of misconduct that led to Sullivan's dismissal, and not necessarily about his decisions during the campaign, which included focusing advertisements on abortion and not crime, which wound up being a critical issue in the race.
"We've run some successful races," Hochul said. "I won a primary in New York City by 40 points less than a year ago. I mean, that's not a small thing."
Hochul has also faced criticism of her Albany team, after her pick for chief judge, Hector LaSalle, became the first nominee to be rejected by the state Senate.
"I have a brilliant staff," Hochul said. "But we also build alliances with members of the legislature. And I would say, you and I spoke about this the last time I was here, after the situation with the chief judge, and you questioned whether or not we could work together to put together a budget, and I said we would. We did."
Despite what some see as setbacks in the budget, Hochul is confident the state can still do something about housing.
Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the majority leader of the New York state Senate, told reporters that they will likely address housing next year, not later this month.