Despite almost losing her job as governor Kath Hochul is in no rush to change the bail reforms enacted under her leadership.
Hochul, who scared Democrats so much that President Biden, former President Bill Clinton and others were dispatched to stump for her in the closing days of the campaign, almost lost to Republican challenger Lee Zeldin.
Hochul did beat Zeldin 53%-47% in a state where registered Democrats outnumber their GOP counterparts by more than 2-to-1.
After the election Hochul is vague on her plans for bail reform beyond saying she wanted New Yorkers to have “the sense of safety that they deserve.”
“I will take the time with my team, and people in [the Division of] Criminal Justice Services, my advisers and my legal team to come up with any way we think we can improve public safety,” she said.
So as she twiddles her thumbs, New Yorkers are feeling more urgency for a change.
Meanwhile fellow state Democrats are grousing about Hochul’s lack of leadership to carry the state.
“It was certainly a combination of [GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin] firing up Republicans and really encouraging people to come out and vote for him and also unfortunately a near absence of campaign efforts by the governor,” state Sen. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick told The Post Tuesday.
He lost his race by a 52% to 48% margin to Republican Bill Weber in a district that covers most of Rockland County north of New York City.
“Senator Elijah is right. The governor’s campaign did not help local Democrats, did not help him. There is truth to his gripes,” political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said.
The comments by Reichlin-Melnick, who was first elected in 2020, follow remarks by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney about the lack of gubernatorial coat tails in his losing race against Republican Michael Lawler, who was among four GOP challengers to flip seats across the Empire State.
“The governor is losing by double digits [in battleground House districts]. Our candidates have to outperform the governor by more than 10 points, often more than 15 points,” Maloney, who was in the leadership of the House, told MSNBC last week.