Astorino: Hochul 'perhaps worse than Cuomo'
Apr. 28—PLATTSBURGH — Former Westchester County executive Rob Astorino, who hopes to be on the Republican ticket for governor, took several shots at the Hochul administration and general direction of New York State during a stop in Plattsburgh last week.
"It is obvious the state is screwed up in so many ways," he told reporters from City Hall steps.
"Kathy Hochul is perhaps worse than Andrew Cuomo was."
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
In 2014, Astorino ran for governor against Cuomo and lost by 14 points, the closest any candidate came in the three times Cuomo ran and won.
He contended the corruption seen under Cuomo, who resigned in the wake of sexual harassment allegations last summer, has continued under Hochul, and pointed to the indictment of her lieutenant governor, Brian Benjamin, on bribery and fraud charges. Benjamin resigned earlier this month.
"That was her first major pick and everyone — it was an open secret — knew that Benjamin was being investigated by the feds or by the state and yet she picked him and now she's stuck with him."
He referenced legislation proposed that would allow Benjamin's name to be removed from the primary ballot, which typically necessitates that he move out of state or run for another office.
"She should have to run with Brian Benjamin and defend her choice of Brian Benjamin as her pick," Astorino said.
Astorino has picked Michael Grace, a former town supervisor from Westchester County, as the lieutenant governor for his ticket.
But he said he would be fine running alongside Alison Esposito — a veteran of the New York Police Department who has joined forces with Congressman Lee Zeldin, the GOP's gubernatorial designee — if he wins the primary and Grace does not end up running due to challenged petitions.
BILLS STADIUM DEAL
Astorino also criticized the Buffalo Bills stadium deal as "a complete loser for taxpayers."
Through the recently-passed state budget, the state will contribute $600 million toward the new $1.4 billion facility, while Erie County will chip in $250 million. Team owners Terry and Kim Pegula are billionaires.
"We all want the Bills to stay in New York, but the way she (Hochul) went about that is completely ... the antithesis of what a deal should be for taxpayers."
He also took issue with how Hochul's husband, William Hochul, is chief counsel for the company that oversees concessions for the Bills' stadium.
"If that's not corrupt, if that's not a conflict of interest, if that's not unethical, then I don't know what is," Astorino said.
COVID, CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Astorino said he does not trust Hochul's recent statement that she would not shut down the state again due to COVID, and decried the "self-made health care crisis" wrought by the health care worker vaccine mandate.
He also criticized the governor's minimal changes to the 2019 criminal justice reforms as part of the budget, and said it was a big mistake for the state to continuously close prisons. Several across the North Country have been shuttered in recent years.
Astorino posited the facilities should either be reopened or the properties sold and developed in some way.
Asked for his approach to the Adirondacks, Astorino said he wants to find a balance between preserving open space and having sensible environmental policies while allowing people to enjoy the land.
WHY PEOPLE LEAVE
Astorino said the state budget's growth from $178 billion to $220 billion in two years "is one of the main reasons why people are just moving out."
Westchester County never once raised taxes while he was executive, and held the budget at $1.8 billion from his first year to his last, he continued.
"We were fiscally prudent, we turned the county around financially and we've got to do that in the state because it does have consequences."
Astorino claimed Hochul and the Democrats "can do a lot more damage" before November, pointing to bills that would bring single-payer health care to the state, ban gas hookups and effectively ban single-family zoning.
'MARSHALL PLAN' DETAILS COMING
During a Plattsburgh stop in May 2021 when he first entered the race for governor, Astorino had said he planned to put out the "Marshall Plan for Upstate," with the idea the region can and should be an economic engine of its own.
Asked for details, he said the plan would be coming out, but that part had to do with tapping into unused energy sources like natural gas — fracking is currently banned in New York State — to enable manufacturing and jobs. Rules and regulations are another big topic.
"When businesses are harassed by their own state, and they are, or fees are so exorbitant that an entrepreneur can't start up a business and have a dream, they'll go somewhere else — and they are."
'FINISH WHAT WE STARTED'
Asked for his sell to Upstate New Yorkers, the Westchester County native pointed to how New York City residents consider Westchester part of Upstate and also noted how he won most Upstate counties in 2014.
Astorino said, throughout the campaign, he has run into voters who say they will vote for him again.
"We got really close to beating Cuomo in (20)14, much closer than people realize," he continued.
"This time we're going to finish what we started and we're going to make sure the state gets back on track and people actually stay in New York as opposed to, you know, the countdown of how many days before they move away."
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Twitter: @PPR_carachapman
