Chamber Clash
O'Donnell & Associates, LLC
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Good morning from Buffalo where we are watching an escalating dispute between Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Police Benevolent Association (PBA) after Hochul vetoed a bill ?lowering the retirement requirements for New York State Park Police, University Police, Environmental Conservation Officers, and Forest Rangers to 20 years of service rather than the current 25-year benchmark.
In her veto memo, Hochul cited fiscal considerations saying, "This bill has been vetoed four times over the past five years because this pension enhancement would impose substantial unbudgeted costs on the State. The State would be required to pay a past service cost of $66.7 million and the annual employer contribution would increase by $6 million. The bill is disapproved.” The PBA has contended that lowering the threshold will help these divisions of law enforcement with retention and recruitment, and will make them more competitive with the State’s other law enforcement agencies. PBA president Jim McCartney did not mince words in his criticism of Hochul, saying in a statement, “This is the most unconscionable behavior I have ever witnessed by government officials and a complete violation of public trust. Despite our best efforts to support the Governor’s public safety, environmental, and inclusion agenda, her true colors have finally shown through, and all New Yorkers can see her for the anti-police, anti-labor authoritarian that she is.” The PBA is also responsible for a string of upstate billboards that read, “Help Wanted...New Governor Needed.”?
The union claims Director of State Operations Kathryn Garcia threatened PBA President Jim McCartney less than a week after they went up.?"[Garcia] said, 'The billboards come down or we veto the bill,'" said PBA Executive Director and counsel Kurt Nolan, recounting the late Oct. 3 call.?
Hochul said she's not worried about the optics of vetoing the legislation. Her veto message was similar to the previous three, citing funding issues. "When people present to me the exact same language and the same bill year, after year, after year... they get vetoed year, after year, after year, so that's exactly what happened," the governor told reporters at an unrelated event in Buffalo.
Hochul acted on other pending legislation last week, as well, signing a handful of bills aimed at reducing gun violence and strengthening New York’s gun laws. Joined by former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, who was the victim of a politically motivated shooting in 2011 that left her with severe damage, Hochul signed a bill that requires firearms dealers to post warnings about the risk of suicide, death during domestic disputes, and unintentional death to children. Hochul also signed a measure to crack down on “pistol converters,” and a bill to modernize the process for filing extreme risk protection orders in domestic violence cases. In a statement , Hochul offered, “Gun violence is an epidemic that is tearing our country apart. Thoughts and prayers won't fix this, but taking strong action will. That’s why in New York, we're taking bold steps to protect the people of our State. I am proud to sign this bill package that will help enhance safety across New York.”?
A major change to New York’s elections was declared unconstitutional last week.?The law signed by Hochul last year that would have moved most local elections to even-numbered years in order to align the races with state and federal elections was struck down by state Supreme Court judge Gerard Neri. Sponsors of the bill argued that aligning with state and federal elections would increase voter turnout in local elections, but the plaintiffs, and subsequently Judge Neri, believe that the move would force local candidates to compete for attention and resources. In his ruling, Neri wrote, “Be it in the local paper, television, radio, online, or one’s mailbox, the competition for a voter’s attention is fierce. New York and the Plaintiff Counties are home to some of the most competitive House of Representative races, and with that competition comes massive spending on advertising. There is simply no way local races can compete and obtain media attention, paid or earned, in that maelstrom.”
The decision was also focused on the Home Rule provision of the New York State Constitution.?Setting aside any alleged political motivations for the law change, Neri noted that prior opinions from the state attorney general, decisions by the Court of Appeals (New York’s highest court) and the Bill of Rights for local governments enshrined in the State Constitution buttress that counties have authority to “adopt, amend, or repeal alternative forms of county government.” The judge’s 26-page ruling also noted that New York’s Municipal Home Rule Law provides counties the authority to adopt charters that “shall” make them responsible for the functions, powers, and duties of the county, “and the manner of election or appointment, terms of office, if any, and removal of such officers.”
Democrats will appeal the decision, with Senator James Skoufis, the bill’s sponsor saying, “It’s unsurprising the plaintiff’s hand-picked judge sided with the partisans who prefer fewer people voting in their elections. This case was always going to be appealed and I fully expect a more objective panel of judges to rule in favor of the law’s constitutionality.”?
The wave of resignations from indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration continues to grow amid multiple ongoing federal and state investigations. First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright resigned on Tuesday after the home she shares with her longtime partner, Schools Chancellor David Banks, was raided by federal investigators in September. The two have since married in a private wedding ceremony, leading many to speculate about the timing of the marriage and how it relates to the ongoing investigations. At a news conference, Adams said, “She's a great New Yorker, and I thank her and I wish her well in her future endeavors. One of the biggest endeavors she has is she's married now. So I say congratulations to you and, Sheena, job well done, you make us all proud.” Banks announced he will be resigning effective October 16th after originally saying he had planned to stay on through the end of the year. Maria Torres-Springer, the deputy mayor for housing, economic development, and workforce, will be elevated to take over Wright's position as first deputy mayor. New York City Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III, brother of Schools Chancellor David Banks, also announced his resignation last week. Banks III said his resignation is unrelated to any pending legal matter and that he was assured by federal investigators he is not the target of any investigation.?
Speaking of federally indicted New Yorkers, Donald Trump announced he is holding a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on October 27th. At a rally last week, Trump announced, “We just rented Madison Square Garden. We’re gonna make a play for New York. It hasn’t been done in a long time. It hasn’t been done in many decades. How could New York be run worse than it is, right?” Governor Kathy Hochul sardonically welcomed the former president to be in New York City eight days before Election Day as not the best use of the campaign’s time and resources.?
New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal was more blunt.?In a tweet that has brought some blowback, Hoylman-Sigal wrote: “Let’s be clear. Allowing Trump to hold an event at MSG is equivalent to the infamous Nazis rally at Madison Square Garden on February 20, 1939,” in reference to the disgraceful Nazi assembly held during the reign of German dictator Adolf Hitler.
For all of that, New York is not in play for the presidential race.?It is, however, very much in the mix for control of the House of Representatives. New York is home to some of the nation’s most competitive House races, and Republican gains in 2020 led to GOP control of the House.?
From now until Election Day, OD&A will highlight the high-stakes races in NY that could shift the balance of power in Congress. This week’s focus:
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Last week’s memo ?highlighted the impact that major storms have historically had on presidential campaigns and how it is affecting the 2024 race, and the arrival of Hurricane Milton in Florida last week has once again brought disaster response and recovery to the forefront of the presidential race. Though not as powerful as originally projected, the Category 3 hurricane and associated tornados devastated coastal communities in the Tampa Bay area and led to at least twenty-one fatalities. President Biden postponed his trip to Germany to oversee the federal response to Milton and assured Floridians that help was on the way saying, “We have made available an unprecedented number of assets to deal with this crisis. We're going to continue to do so until the job is done.”
Biden has also gone on the offensive against Trump, who has been parroting false claims that disaster relief funding has been diverted to undocumented migrants and that hurricane victims are only entitled to $750. At a news conference, Biden said, "Former President Trump has led the onslaught of lies. It's beyond ridiculous. It's got to stop.”?
Hurricane Milton has also reignited the debate in Congress over disaster relief after lawmakers elected not to include any supplemental funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the short-term continuing resolution that was passed last month. Biden has insisted that FEMA has the necessary resources to respond, but still called on Congress to return to Washington to address disaster aid saying, “I think the Congress should be coming back and moving on emergency needs immediately, and they’re gonna have to come back after the election as well.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson threw cold water on that idea, saying through a spokesperson, “To be clear: Congress will act again upon its return in November to address funding needs and ensure those impacted receive the necessary resources. In the meantime, the Administration needs to focus on getting the existing and sufficient disaster relief out to the millions of Americans in dire need and work to assess the extent and nature of the damage.” According to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, the agency has roughly $11 billion remaining in the Disaster Relief Fund which is enough to immediately respond to the most recent disasters, but as reimbursement requests start pouring in, and God forbid if there is another hurricane, that fund would quickly run dry. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fl.), who previously served as Florida’s Emergency Management Director, has introduced two bills to provide an additional $20 billion for FEMA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s disaster block grant program, and the Small Business Administration’s disaster loans program.
The breadth and diversity of Vice President Kamala Harris’s media strategy was on full display last week, covering both ends of the media spectrum and everything in between. Harris was interviewed on “Call Her Daddy,” a popular podcast among young women with over 5 million loyal listeners. The appearance was a major win for the Harris campaign who needs the show’s dominant demographic—women under the age of 45—to turnout in November to offset Trump’s lead among young men. The host, Alex Cooper, has traditionally stayed out of politics, reportedly ?turned down interview requests from the Biden White House earlier this year, but has since changed her tune saying, “I am not CNN. I am not Fox. I am a woman who is talking about her experiences on my podcast.”
Harris also sat for an interview with 60 minutes—a rite of passage for every presidential candidate since 1976. The more traditional political forum provided an opportunity for Harris to reach engaged swing voters who are looking for more substantive policy positions, especially older voters who have a high turnout rate. To cover her bases with male voters, Harris appeared on the Howard Stern Show, whose audience is nearly three quarters male, and the Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert where she drank a Miller Lite with the late night host. Her campaign has faced criticism from mainstream media for not sitting for more “traditional” interviews, but her team clearly sees more value in meeting voters where they are.
Deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty summarized the strategy in a post on X saying, “People have more content choices than ever. … If you consume political info, you want to consume political info. … Most of the remaining voters we need to talk to don’t. That [traditional] press don’t get this sorta ... speaks to the reason why this fact pattern exists!” With cable news viewership shrinking and podcast audiences growing—up 80% compared to this point last year according to Spotify—the trend of embracing nontraditional media streams is likely to continue long past the 2024 election.?
In the race to control the Senate, Republicans are feeling confident thanks to some lessons learned from 2020 where candidates popular with the MAGA base lost badly in the general election. This cycle, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has made a point of recruiting and publicly supporting more moderate candidates that will be competitive in November.
The strategy is paying off in West Virginia where popular Republican Governor Jim Justice is on track to win handily against his Democratic opponent after longtime Democratic Senator Joe Manchin decided to retire and in Montana where incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Tester has fallen behind in the polling against entrepreneur and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, a NRSC candidate. There are still some bright spots for Democrats: former TV news anchor and noted election-denier Kari Lake trails Democratic nominee Rep. Reuben Gallego in Arizona, Republican Senate candidate David McCormick is behind incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, and Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen consistently maintains her lead over Republican Sam Brown in Nevada. The NRSC concedes that it will be close either way, saying in a statement, “Most of our offensive Senate races are toss ups right now. Our goal this cycle was to recruit candidates who could win a primary and close the deal in November. We like the roster of candidates we’ve got on the field.”?
Finally, a long overdue tribute to President Ulysses S. Grant.
An amendment in the 2023 National Defense Authorization?Act awarded Grant the nation’s highest military honor for his tenacity in the fight to save the Union during the Civil War .
Now, more than a year later, the government has made it official .