Although Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office released a notice cheering over 200 proposals, her gubernatorial opponents instead pointed to what Hochul left out of her fifth State of the State address on Tuesday.

“I didn’t hear the governor talk about protecting our immigrant community and supporting New York for all,” Lt. Gov. and Democratic candidate Antonio Delgado said. “I didn’t hear a commitment to child care that is statewide.”

“She’s got an election coming up, and I think ultimately she will do what she needs to do to stay in office,” Democratic Brooklyn Assemblymember Emily Gallagher said.

What You Need To Know

  • Although Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office released a notice cheering over 200 proposals, her gubernatorial opponents instead pointed to what Hochul left out of her fifth State of the State address on Tuesday

  • Hochul’s Republican challenger, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, called the speech “basically a record of failure,” while her Lt. Gov. and primary challenger, Antonio Delgado, challenged her from the left

  • Officials in Hochul’s administration defended the governor

Hochul’s Republican challenger, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, called the speech “basically a record of failure.”

Hochul omitted whether she thinks Mayor Zohran Mamdani should be granted mayoral control over the city’s school system, which is typically a major tenant of any Big Apple mayor’s education platform. Mamdani opposed the policy, but now says he supports it.

“First, we’d have to see what form we are looking at, what changes have been made. The last two times mayoral control has come up, they added a whole bunch of new, what I would say, bureaucratic processes that have not been helpful,” Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said when asked if Mamdani should get the full four years of mayoral control or a clipped amount like de Blasio and Adams.

Some city lawmakers weighed in on the issue.

”I don’t know, we’ll have to negotiate,” Democratic Queens Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato said.

“This budget focuses on making 3-K universal, so we’re not fighting over vouchers, we’re not fighting over funding, we’re actually putting seats in districts where it matters the most and everywhere else,” Democratic Queens Assemblymember Nily Rozic said.

Although Hochul’s team is keen to report taxes are not on the table so far in the 2026 to 2027 financial plan.

“They’re not necessary,” Blake Washington, director of the NYS Division of the Budget, said of new taxes in this year’s budget.

Mamdani’s legislative allies and fellow Democratic Socialists disagree.

“I don’t think she has been a good ally in the state legislature, especially her continued capitulation to the rich over working-class New Yorkers,” Democratic Brooklyn Assemblymember Jabari Brisport said.

Brisport questioned future funding of the new “2-CARE” program for two years.

“Especially hearing her say she only wants to pay for the first two years of the initiative in New York City, that’s a major concern for me,” he said.

Others want more focus on the city’s current free childcare program for three-year-olds, highlighting parent frustration over existing issues like the limited number of open seats in high-demand neighborhoods.

“We know that families like mine are feeling the city because childcare is so expensive,” Rozic said.

The governor also failed to mention the state consistently missing greenhouse gas emission reduction goals that have been in state law since 2019.

One Hochul official defended the slow pace.

“We need to plan against a future of realism, and realism means that diverse energy sources are necessary to preserve those outcomes,” Doreen Harris, president and CEO of the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority, said.