To our ears, the best thing about Gov. Hochul’s State of the State speech was right in the beginning of the hour-long address in the Assembly chamber yesterday.
In her thank yous to other leaders in the room, from the Legislature and Mayor Adams, she included “former Govs. David Paterson and George Pataki.”
We couldn’t think of two better people to be there and hopefully this governor can learn from their hard won victories for New Yorkers that gave all subsequent governors, including Hochul, the tools she needs to succeed. If only she will use them.
It was Pataki who went to war (well, actually went to court) with the Legislature and won a landmark 2004 ruling called Silver vs. Pataki, which established the governor’s preeminent power over lawmakers in regards to budgeting.
The loser in that case (and its companion, Pataki vs. Silver) was Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver, a criminal who ended up dying a convicted felon in federal prison, a deserved outcome for a very bad man.
Even after the Court of Appeals recognized that the state Constitution as designed by Henry Stimson (look him up and learn something about bipartisan leadership) gave the governor the upper hand on spending, Silver tried to amend the Constitution, but the people said no and rejected the changes.
Five years later, Paterson built on Pataki’s court victories with his own that once the April 1 fiscal year begins, if there is no enacted budget the Legislature must accept or reject the governor’s extender bills to keep the government functioning. They can say no, but then the state government closes down. Otherwise, they must agree without changes to whatever the governor puts on the table.
It should have been the end of late budgets forever, but Hochul didn’t have the guts to force her way last year as the budget ran a month late.
Using the powers given to her by Pataki and Paterson (and deployed well by Andrew Cuomo) Hochul should have been able to get her excellent housing plan adopted last year. Instead she got rolled, even after granting the Legislature a humongous, unjustified pay increase.
Hochul doesn’t want to be like Cuomo, who was resented and even hated by lawmakers; she wants to be liked. But this is not about making friends, but making laws and people have to be persuaded to act on behalf of the public and not just their own narrow interests. As she said yesterday: “We will pursue the common good with common sense by seeking common ground.”
Her housing initiative, now abandoned, fit all three of those criteria but it was still trashed by lawmakers.
She must hold her ground this year. She vetoed the Legislature’s bill to terribly weaken the campaign finance system they set up under Cuomo. They didn’t want to pass that a few years ago, but he pushed them, hard. Just like congestion pricing, which they absolutely didn’t want to adopt. But again, Cuomo forced them and we’re glad he did.
The governor has the upper hand on the budget and, should the April 1 deadline be missed, she has near total power. Ms. Hochul, learn from Pataki and Paterson (and even Cuomo) and fight and win on behalf of the public.
New York Daily News Editorial Board
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