Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. Governor Hople, thank you
Speaker 1: very much for being here, Thanks for having me so
Speaker 1: a lot to talk about. Let me start first though,
Speaker 1: with what's in the news. A torrent of headlines about
Speaker 1: President Biden's viability as a candidate. The Washington Post reporting
Speaker 1: this morning that President Obama has expressed concerned about the
Speaker 1: viability of his campaign. I think if you was such
Speaker 1: a stalwarts supporter of President Biden, you came out and
Speaker 1: said that, reiterated that after the debate performance. Has anything
Speaker 1: changed in these recent days as you've seen kind of
Speaker 1: the political train shift a bit.
Speaker 2: What I said when I met the president literally the
Speaker 2: day after his debate, he was here in New York City,
Speaker 2: had a rally, a lot of energy, and then a
Speaker 2: few days later all the governors gathered in Washington to
Speaker 2: meet the President of the White House and ask him
Speaker 2: some tough questions about that performance and where he goes
Speaker 2: from there. When he said he is in it to
Speaker 2: win it, he is going the distance. He is a
Speaker 2: duly nominated candidate for president from the Democratic Party.
Speaker 3: Once he said he's in, my.
Speaker 2: View is he's going to be in He's staying as
Speaker 2: long as he's staying in this race, I am with him.
Speaker 2: He has delivered for New York in extraordinary ways that
Speaker 2: I look forward to talking about even more. And I
Speaker 2: believe in his vision for our country. So I am
Speaker 2: with him as long as he wants to do this,
Speaker 2: and he's been an extraordinary president.
Speaker 1: So much of the reporting has centered on conversations that
Speaker 1: leaders in Congress have reportedly had with President Biden, where
Speaker 1: fortunate two of them are are New Yorkers Leader Schumer
Speaker 1: and ha Kim Jefferies, the Minority leader. That has have
Speaker 1: you talked to them about this? Have you registered your
Speaker 1: feelings to them in conversations.
Speaker 3: We have conversations all the time.
Speaker 2: But when people say they're having private conversations, whether it's
Speaker 2: with me or the president, then private means something you
Speaker 2: don't devolves the contents. I won't be talking about my conversations,
Speaker 2: but they know as the leader of the state of
Speaker 2: New York, I have many priorities, but one on the
Speaker 2: political side is wearing my hat as the head of
Speaker 2: the Democratic Party to make sure that they passed to
Speaker 2: King Jeffreys. Becoming the Speaker of the House of Representatives
Speaker 2: goes right through New York State battleground areas like Long Island,
Speaker 2: where I just was this week, up to the Hudson
Speaker 2: Valley and over to Syracuse. So I have dedicated an
Speaker 2: enormous amount.
Speaker 3: Of my energy.
Speaker 2: I'm making sure that we take back the House. Because
Speaker 2: I'm a former member of Congress, I serve in the minority,
Speaker 2: and the representatives we have now who are in the
Speaker 2: majority are not giving New Yorkers what they need, and
Speaker 2: we need to change that dynamic.
Speaker 1: So much of the concern that I hear from analysts
Speaker 1: but politicians as well is what this means for candidates
Speaker 1: down ballots. So let me have you talk a bit
Speaker 1: more about that. Are you hearing any word any concern
Speaker 1: from local political offices, from candidates about how this uncertainty,
Speaker 1: this vacuum that has opened up since that debate, is
Speaker 1: affecting the viability of candidates running for Congress, running for
Speaker 1: other offices.
Speaker 2: I'll say this, having been elected in the most Republican
Speaker 2: district in the entire state of New York, I know
Speaker 2: that every has unique characteristics, The issues are different. You
Speaker 2: cannot take a broad brush and say whatever happens at
Speaker 2: the top of the ticket will filter down individuals a
Speaker 2: lot of it's personality driven, a lot of its accomplishment driven.
Speaker 2: So I think that you cannot possibly do that, but
Speaker 2: I think that we high turnout in our state.
Speaker 3: I really do.
Speaker 2: I believe that this is going to create some energy
Speaker 2: and excitement and the people who've been loyal to the
Speaker 2: president from the beginning and districts where they carry by
Speaker 2: twenty percent on Long Island will still be there for
Speaker 2: Joe Biden and our congressional candidates as well. So everybody's
Speaker 2: talking about everything, but when we're not talking about enough
Speaker 2: is Donald Trump as a threat to this country. I
Speaker 2: want to shift the conversation from Democrats who are doing
Speaker 2: what they're doing. And Democrats have always been a unwheelthy bunch.
Speaker 2: We used to talk about this when I worked during
Speaker 2: the Ronald Reagan Tip o'nill era as a congressional staffer
Speaker 2: for Santa moyehand. Democrats are always a little more rough
Speaker 2: and tumble with our own, but we do line up
Speaker 2: and get behind our candidates, and that's what I'm expecting
Speaker 2: to see behind Joe Biden.
Speaker 1: As the governor. You have to plan for both outcomes,
Speaker 1: either buying re election victory or Donald Trumpert in the election.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you about that latter scenario if passed
Speaker 1: his prologue. There were difficulties that the state had when
Speaker 1: it came to funding, when it came to policies. What
Speaker 1: worries you the most about the prospects of that happening
Speaker 1: and how do you think through those eventualities.
Speaker 2: No, we're always prepared, but infrastructure is critically important. You
Speaker 2: can proclaim that you're the infrastructure president not do anything
Speaker 2: other than issue a press release, or you can actually
Speaker 2: be the infrastructure president, which is why New York City
Speaker 2: benefits from Gateway Tunnel, for example, the largest public project
Speaker 2: done by the federal government in its history, and also
Speaker 2: private investment upstate New York. Donald Trump did not deliver
Speaker 2: Micron to the State of New York. It was the
Speaker 2: climate that Joe Biden created in saying we need incentives
Speaker 2: to draw the semiconduct industry back from South Asia plant
Speaker 2: it right here in the United States, and I as governor,
Speaker 2: was able to deliver it for the State of New
Speaker 2: York with our own incentive. So that kind of partnership
Speaker 2: the relationship has. That's the largest private sector investment in
Speaker 2: American history, the largest federal government investment in American history
Speaker 2: going on simultaneously here in the state of New York.
Speaker 2: So I'm going to continue marching with Joe Biden if
Speaker 2: it is not him. Those are areas where I'm concerned,
Speaker 2: the investments in our economy, the job creation initiatives, the
Speaker 2: workforce development, but also the major infrastructure which creates tens
Speaker 2: of thousands of good paying jobs in our state.
Speaker 1: You bring up infrastructure, let me use that to segue
Speaker 1: to the latest polling. Note your approval rating is low
Speaker 1: thirty eight percent, the lowest it's been. But there is
Speaker 1: a bright light I think you would say in that
Speaker 1: polling when it comes to the decision that you made
Speaker 1: at the eleventh hour to put a hold on congestion
Speaker 1: pricing in New York. Forty five percent of voters in
Speaker 1: New York agree with that decision. A pause is inherently temporary.
Speaker 1: What is it going to take, What will make you
Speaker 1: lift that pause?
Speaker 2: Potentially, the pause is in place because the world has
Speaker 2: radically changed since congestion pricing was first initiated in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 2: Inflation is a factor that's affecting New York families.
Speaker 3: When you live in the city suburbs.
Speaker 2: Whatever we have to not be toned deaf to New
Speaker 2: Yorkers are saying fifteen dollars to come into the city
Speaker 2: right now when I'm a teacher, I'm a firefighter, thirty
Speaker 2: eight hundred dollars more year to work in Manhattan. It's
Speaker 2: a great place to work, But that's an extra penalty
Speaker 2: of being a New York City worker.
Speaker 1: If it were lower, would that be more appealing.
Speaker 3: To There's other ways to deal with this.
Speaker 2: I will continue supporting the infrastructure projects that were contemplated
Speaker 2: to be funded by congestion pricing, and those who say
Speaker 2: I will not will soon see I know what I'm
Speaker 2: talking about. We'll be talking about this more throughout the
Speaker 2: rest of this year. Nothing can really happen until the
Speaker 2: legislature's back, but that doesn't mean that we won't have
Speaker 2: a path forward that addresses congestion, that addresses funding for
Speaker 2: MTA projects and looks at the structure of congestion pricing.
Speaker 2: And there are other models in London, they started, for example,
Speaker 2: at five pounds, not fifteen.
Speaker 3: It takes time, so I just can't do that.
Speaker 2: The hard working New Yorkers they want relief, They want
Speaker 2: someone who actually listens to them, and that's exactly what
Speaker 2: I did.
Speaker 1: Do you regret how this happened? I've talked to a
Speaker 1: lot of people who say, you didn't telegraph this. This
Speaker 1: wasn't even something that a lot of people thought could
Speaker 1: be on the table, that you could put this pause
Speaker 1: in place at a very late hour, when everyone going
Speaker 1: back to twenty nineteen thought it was going to happen.
Speaker 1: Do you regret the way that it came out, in
Speaker 1: the surprise that it had.
Speaker 2: When I reflect back, I would simply say this. There
Speaker 2: has been a strong reaction by those who have the microphone,
Speaker 2: the individuals in certain media for example, and voices that
Speaker 2: are very strong here from the legislature in the city.
Speaker 3: But what we're not hearing.
Speaker 2: What I hear that others are not listening to are
Speaker 2: the healthcare workers who are so grateful, the hotel workers
Speaker 2: who gave me a standing ovation because they don't now
Speaker 2: have to pay almost four thousand dollars more year. The
Speaker 2: police officers fire for there are countless. The pizza delivery guy,
Speaker 2: the owner of Patsy's Pizza, gave me a hug and
Speaker 2: said thank you. Because everything would get pushed down to
Speaker 2: the sumer and prices would have gone up.
Speaker 3: So I will say this, if there was a.
Speaker 2: Way to mobilize those voices and give the other perspective
Speaker 2: and have media talk about those who simply say, we
Speaker 2: finally have a governor who pays attention, even at my
Speaker 2: own political cost. Yes, it was hard to do, but
Speaker 2: I also said I do not want to wake up
Speaker 2: the day after and wish I had done something to
Speaker 2: relieve New Yorker's pain. And that is real. So that
Speaker 2: is the only issue I would say. We could have
Speaker 2: had more of the support that I know is there.
Speaker 2: We had nine lawsuits opposing this, so at any point
Speaker 2: any of them could have been successful, and that would
Speaker 2: have been the death knell of congestion pricing. Right there,
Speaker 2: I put in a pause. I did not kill it.
Speaker 2: I put in a pause to consider the path forward.
Speaker 1: At this time, there was some speculation that you did
Speaker 1: this because there was concern about the down ballot races
Speaker 1: we were talking about before, that you were receiving some
Speaker 1: pushback or some encouragement not to do this. Any truth
Speaker 1: to that.
Speaker 2: People can always speculate about my motivation, but they ought
Speaker 2: to know I come from a blue collar community.
Speaker 3: I know what It's like, when you're worried about it, you're.
Speaker 2: Going to be able to send your kids to college
Speaker 2: and pick up the groceries and pay your medical bills.
Speaker 3: That's real for a lot of New Yorkers.
Speaker 2: And whether they're from Staten Allen or coming in from
Speaker 2: NASA or coming in from the Bronx.
Speaker 3: It's real.
Speaker 2: So we will continue focusing on the objectives that are
Speaker 2: behind congestion pricing, and they.
Speaker 3: Are meritorious and I support.
Speaker 2: Them, but let's just give New Yorkers a break.
Speaker 1: My last question is going back to the political terrain
Speaker 1: here in this state. I've been watching their publican national convention,
Speaker 1: congress Woman Stephonic made the assertion that New York could
Speaker 1: go red. She's seeing the terrain change dramatically in New
Speaker 1: York State. Is that something with which you agree? And
Speaker 1: I wonder if looking back on the race that you
Speaker 1: ran in twenty twenty two, you're not up for re
Speaker 1: election this year, as you look ahead to twenty twenty
Speaker 1: four twenty twenty six, are the lessons to be learned
Speaker 1: from the race that you ran, which I think was
Speaker 1: a lot closer than there I say you might have expected,
Speaker 1: and a lot of people.
Speaker 2: Expected, and look at the unique circumstances of that race.
Speaker 2: I became governor and had to run instantaneously, like a
Speaker 2: year later. I was already up on the ballot, so
Speaker 2: people did not have a chance to get to know me,
Speaker 2: and there were strong campaign forces that tried to paint
Speaker 2: me with all the crimes that were happening in the
Speaker 2: state of New York. And the ads were so absurd
Speaker 2: that they actually showed crimes that had been committed a
Speaker 2: decade earlier in California in ads saying Kathy Hocheles keeping
Speaker 2: you unsafe for Kathy Hockels supports criminal It was crazy
Speaker 2: how successfully the Republicans weaponized that issue against someone who's
Speaker 2: married to a federal prosecutor. My son's a federal prosecutor,
Speaker 2: and I've always stood strongly with funding and supporting our
Speaker 2: police and my record shows that. So that's the only
Speaker 2: takeaway from that that was unique circumstance. They were able
Speaker 2: to paint me a certain way because New Yorkers didn't
Speaker 2: know me yet, and now they are able.
Speaker 3: To see what I've accomplished.
Speaker 2: So we will not be going read as much as
Speaker 2: everybody and at that convention would love to see it,
Speaker 2: it's not happening.
Speaker 3: Governor. Great to see you.
Speaker 1: Thank you very much.
Speaker 3: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Governor Cathy Hopel, the fifty seventh governor of that stayed
Speaker 1: in New York