5 Ways Hochul Could Truly Change Albany

every incoming governor promises change... [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] What Gov. Kathy Hochul Could Really Do To Change Albany [By Gwynne Hogan]( [Gov. Kathy Hochul at her office in Albany] Gov. Hochul's Office Last week, in her first remarks to New Yorkers as governor, Kathy Hochul promised to rid Albany of sexual harassers, restore faith in government, and usher in a "new era of transparency." This wasn't exactly revolutionary — many incoming governors have promised to clean up the opaque morass of state government. Andrew Cuomo, for example, promised just that — and then he suddenly disbanded the anti-corruption task force he created once it started eyeing his allies a little too closely. We asked several good government advocates what they'll be looking for in Hochul's efforts over the next several months. Here's what they said. Go Beyond Recusal When Her Own Conflicts Of Interests Arise Right off the bat, Hochul will face several tests that have to do with her own potential conflicts of interest. Her husband, William Hochul, is the senior vice president and general counsel of Delaware North, an entertainment and gaming conglomerate that has many contracts before the state. Hochul has the opportunity to break from the past tradition of agreeing to offer major state subsidies to private companies behind closed doors, like Cuomo did for the ill-fated Amazon deal or the flopped Central New York Film Hub. Instead, she could turn the matter to the state legislature to have it go through the traditional state budgeting process. "Transparency is painful. It can slow things down. It can make deals harder to get to," said John Kaehny, the executive director of Reinvent Albany. "[But] we can’t have Amazon deals again and again and again, where billions of dollars are being discussed in secret." Hochul has also promised to put in place a recusal policy whenever her husband’s company is involved. Kaehny said that having an outside entity like the State Attorney General or the Comptroller’s office vet those policies would give the public more assurance the policy was legitimate. Make The State Budget Process More Public Thanks to [a 2004 court case]( New York's governor has unilateral authority in the state budgeting process, giving the legislature few tools other than a drastic veto to dissent if they disagree with any specific part of it. Cuomo often took advantage of this budgetary dominance, slipping in pet items at the last minute. "[He’d] essentially dare us to stop school funding and healthcare funding in order to potentially stop one item that we don’t agree with," said State Sen. Michael Gianaris. "It became an exercise in the abuse of his powers." If budget negotiations remained public for longer, Gianaris and others said, there’d be no opportunity to slip things in at the last minute. Appoint Competent Leaders And Don't Micro-Manage Them Cuomo’s heavy-handed management style often drove away even the most competent public servants. Case in point: Former New York City Transit President Andy Byford, who was beloved by the public and transit employees alike, and who oversaw big improvements in subway service, ultimately quit unceremoniously, later saying that Cuomo’s interference made his job "intolerable." Experts say that in addition to appointing competent agency heads, Hochul could issue executive orders to create more of a firewall between herself and those leaders to "politically insulate" them without changing the law or the state’s constitution. "You can create systems within the existing system that can work if the governor is willing to cede control over those entities," said Blair Horner, the executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group. Close The 'License To Harass' Loophole In a speech last Tuesday, Hochul mentioned requiring sexual harassment training be done in person, rather than virtually, as part of her plan to rid Albany of sexual harassers. Advocates fear that's not nearly enough. "It is so very easy for power abusers to dismiss things like training," said Erica Vladimir of the Sexual Harassment Working Group. Their top priority is to close what they call the "license to harass loophole," which essentially exempts the staff of elected and appointed state officials from the sexual harassment laws passed in 2019. A bill currently exists in the state legislature to do that. Unleash The COVID-19 Data Hochul took some steps towards greater transparency around the pandemic by simply [revising the state’s death tally]( to include presumed COVID-19 deaths, such as those that happened outside traditional health care settings. But there’s still a whole array of other data that good government groups requested back in June that have yet to be released. It’s the type of information that could inform school reopening policy, improve vaccination efforts, and give us a better understand the pandemic’s overall impact. "It’s about restoring faith in the Health Department," said Bill Hammond, the senior fellow for health policy at the Empire Center for Public Policy. "Some of it could happen overnight." --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- For Further Reading [Kathy Hochul stands with Brian Benjamin]( MEET THE NEW LT. GOVERNOR [State Sen. Brian Benjamin Named Kathy Hochul's Lt. Governor]( The Harlem lawmaker is expected to help Hochul make inroads in New York City as a governor and a 2022 gubernatorial candidate. [then-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul presiding over the State Senate]( ALBANY 101 [What Does The Lieutenant Governor Of New York Do?]( Alongside their mostly ceremonial duties, the lieutenant governor's main job is to be ready to immediately replace the governor — which, as we've seen, can happen. [a woman raking leaves outside a NYCHA building]( NEW GOVERNOR, NEW FOCUS [Hochul Wants To Help NYCHA. Can She Deliver?]( Taking ownership of the beleaguered agency hasn't been seen as politically savvy. Why is Hochul embracing the issue? [The exterior of City Hall]( FROM THE NEW YORK POST [Several Red City Council Seats Are Poised To Flip]( In parts of Queens and Staten Island, the GOP fears losing City Council seats if Republican voters, who are complacent about Eric Adams, don't feel compelled to vote. [Rep. Lee Zeldin greeting Donald Trump]( FROM POLITICO [With Cuomo Out, GOP Concerned About Its Gubernatorial Chances]( New York Republicans say their 2022 strategy will be to tie Kathy Hochul to Andrew Cuomo, even though she denies that she knew about his misconduct. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [Kathy Hochul's First Week]( NY1's Gloria Pazmino discusses Hochul's first immediate challenge as governor: preventing an eviction crisis. [LISTEN FOR FREE]( Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. [DONATE]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [WNYC]( [WQXR]( [NJPR]( [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 All rights reserved. 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