Governor Kathy Hochul seems to be in full-on scramble mode as she looks ahead to her next election—over a year away, mind you. And let’s be honest, it’s not exactly inspiring confidence.
Take her latest move: she’s sending in another 250 National Guard members to patrol the subway, supposedly to keep things safe during the busy holiday shopping season. But here’s the thing: these guards can’t really do much—most of what they can do is check bags. So, if you’re hoping they’ll handle an unruly passenger on the platform, you might be out of luck.
But according to Hochul, the presence of the National Guard provides a “sense of security.” Well, merry Christmas, I guess!
Then there’s the congestion pricing plan. Initially, she promised $15 tolls, but now she’s crowing about saving us some cash by lowering it to $9. Sure, that sounds nice, but don’t forget: the tolls are still set to rise to $12 in 2028 and $15 in 2031. And with the magic of EZPass, toll hikes are practically invisible—so don’t be surprised when they sneak up on you.
Hochul’s “Inflation Reduction” refund checks are another odd move. She’s touting a $500 check, which sounds good until you realize it’s just a proposal for next year’s budget—and doesn’t even cover a third of the cost of those pesky tolls.
But what really hurts is that Hochul is already facing tough competition for 2026, from Democrats like Rep. Ritchie Torres and Republicans like Mike Lawler. Even her own lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, seems to be aiming for a bigger role. It’s like she’s losing control of her own team.
And let’s not forget her flip-flopping on school funding. Hochul had initially called for cutting funds to shrinking school districts—something a recent report called wasteful—but now she’s backing away from that, trying to please suburban voters and teacher unions. She’s even OK with continuing to send money to districts with fewer students, all to keep teachers and administrators employed.
The bottom line? Hochul’s got a lot of work ahead of her if she hopes to hold onto her position in the next election. Right now, it’s looking more like a matter of how much damage she’ll do in the meantime.
