Lawmakers hope Hochul restores public trust in state government

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Lawmakers have their eyes on Gov. Kathy Hochul, as they say urgent policy issues await her action. The 57th governor is entering the executive office with a number of statewide crises to face.

Governor Hochul has until the spring to try and prove herself to voters ahead of the democratic primary. She’s said she plans to run for a full four-year term next year.

Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh (R) wants to see this new administration restore trust in the state, and balance between the three branches. "I think that has been very negatively impacted by the former governor," Walsh told NEWS10, "and I think she needs to be doing that at the same time she’s trying to move different policy issues forward.”

Hochul said Tuesday she wants people to believe in their government again.

That’s something Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R) was glad to hear. He said he hopes now to see action from the new governor on getting federal dollars that were allocated to New York for rent relief into the hands of landlords and tenants who need them, before September 30th when the federal government can take the unused funds and redistribute them.

“Governor Hochul did mention that in her talk [Tuesday], that she’s putting together a task force to try to address that issue," Barclay said, "and hopefully they can come up with solutions to get this money out fast.”

While both Barclay and Walsh said they would rather the state provide COVID guidance to localities and let them make their own decisions about masks in schools, Governor Hochul has already hinted at a mandate. Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy (D) says she is alright with that.

“I do hope she moves on that. We can’t just put this in the hands of local school boards. There’s been way too much controversy and it’s not fair to those school boards," Fahy said.