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Even so, the protracted conflict leaves Ms. Hochul in a somewhat tenuous position with lawmakers, just a year after pledging to forge a new, more collaborative Albany.
Discussions over the budget were primarily waylaid by Ms. Hochul’s single-minded focus on bail, coming months after a bruising general election in which Republican candidates in New York blamed bail reform for the rise in pandemic-era crime. The strategy was a success; Democrats lost four House seats in New York, contributing to the party’s loss of power in the House.
Ms. Hochul herself eked out a victory over her Republican challenger, Lee Zeldin, by the narrowest margin New York had seen in three decades. For Ms. Hochul — who, throughout her career, has demonstrated a desire to seek consensus and adapt her political views to better reflect her constituents — winning some changes to the bail laws was critical to counter the perception that she was lax on crime.
While the response may have made political sense for Ms. Hochul, many lawmakers chafed at the request, coming so soon after they had been forced to defend the law during their own re-election campaigns.
“In effect, bail was a blockade: to the flow of information, to the flow of deal-making, to the flow of collaboration,” said Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who leads the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The conversations around bail prevented a lot of other good goals from advancing — namely her housing plan.”
When Ms. Hochul took office in 2021 after the resignation of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, many lawmakers looked forward to a less heavy-handed approach from the governor’s office. Still, Mr. Cuomo used his power with brute effectiveness, especially around budget time. When disputes arose from his own party, he was known to reach deals with Republican leaders to force Democratic lawmakers’ hands. He took pride in delivering budget agreements before or shortly after the April 1 deadline.
“In a sense, we got spoiled,” said Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, a Democrat representing the Bronx. “Say what you want about Andrew Cuomo, but he got the budget done on time.”
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