About this transcript: This is a full AI-generated transcript of New York Governor Debate — Coverage & Analysis from Spectrum News, published October 14, 2026. The transcript contains 16,942 words with timestamps and was generated using Whisper AI.
"Good evening. Welcome to the first and only debate in the race for governor of New York. I'm Errol Lewis, political anchor at New York One, coming to you live from our studios here in Manhattan. And I'm Spectrum News political anchor Susan Arbetter. Tonight's broadcast can be seen on all of our..."
[0:00] Good evening. Welcome to the first and only debate in the race for governor of New York.
[0:06] I'm Errol Lewis, political anchor at New York One, coming to you live from our studios here in Manhattan.
[0:11] And I'm Spectrum News political anchor Susan Arbetter.
[0:14] Tonight's broadcast can be seen on all of our stations across New York,
[0:18] and we are also streaming live on the Spectrum News app and on our YouTube channel.
[0:23] Election day is three weeks from tonight, and early voting kicks off on Saturday, October 24th.
[0:30] New Yorkers will be casting their ballots in key congressional, legislative, and statewide races,
[0:35] including the one that we're focused on tonight, governor of New York.
[0:38] So tonight's debate is hosted under the auspices of New York State's Public Campaign Finance Board.
[0:44] It's also being broadcast in Spanish by our colleagues at Spectrum Noticias.
[0:49] Over the course of the next hour, you'll hear from both candidates.
[0:53] Kathy Hochul is the incumbent, a Democrat who has held the job since 2021.
[0:58] Her Republican challenger is Bruce Blakeman, who has served as Nassau County Executive since 2022.
[1:05] The rules you see on your screen have been agreed to by both candidates.
[1:09] They will each have 60 seconds for an opening statement.
[1:12] Answers to our questions will generally be limited to 60 seconds,
[1:16] with 30 seconds to answer rebuttals or follow-ups at our discretion.
[1:20] And there will be both a cross-examination round where the candidates get to ask one question to their opponent,
[1:27] and a lightning round where their answers should be yes or no or very short.
[1:31] We begin now with one-minute opening statements.
[1:34] The order was determined by a random drawing earlier today on live television.
[1:39] We'll start with you, Mr. Blakeman. Good evening.
[1:40] Good evening, Governor, and thank you to everybody out there that's watching this debate.
[1:46] It gives me an opportunity to speak directly to you and your families about issues that are important here in New York State,
[1:53] that affect you each and every day.
[1:55] As I travel across the state, and it's a beautiful state, everywhere I go, people are telling me how they're struggling,
[2:04] struggling to pay their bills, and they're worried about safety in their communities.
[2:08] Under Governor Hochul, we are the highest taxed state in America.
[2:13] Our utility bills are 70% higher than the national average,
[2:17] and because of policies like cashless bail, people feel unsafe in their own communities.
[2:23] As governor, I will cut taxes, I will cut your utility bills in half,
[2:28] and I will create safer communities just like I did in my own county in Nassau County.
[2:34] And let me say this. Kathy Hochul has spent $8 billion of your money on illegal migrants for free food,
[2:43] free housing, free transportation, and a free cell phone.
[2:46] That's your money that she spent on people who aren't New Yorkers.
[2:50] I believe she's got her priorities upside down.
[2:53] So I'm going to ask you to vote for change.
[2:57] What have you got to lose?
[2:59] And vote for a better New York.
[3:01] And vote for Blakeman for governor. Thank you.
[3:04] Next is Ms. Hochul. Good evening.
[3:05] Well, thank you for hosting us this evening, and county executive, good to see you this evening.
[3:10] My parents started married life in a trailer park near the Bethlehem Steel Plant.
[3:15] I used to work long hours after school every day to raise money for college at a pizzeria.
[3:21] You know, I never forgot where I came from and the struggles.
[3:24] And that's why, as governor, I have been laser-focused on affordability and your family's safety.
[3:30] And that's why we've delivered the largest middle-class rate cut in 70 years.
[3:37] That's why we've delivered over $10 billion in energy rebates and inflation rebates and rebates to help people pay their bills.
[3:46] But also this.
[3:47] New York State now has the lowest crime rates it's had in modern history.
[3:53] Now, we're not done yet.
[3:55] And you're going to hear a lot of, well, a lot of different opinions here this evening.
[4:02] And I want you to judge it this way.
[4:05] My opponent has said this.
[4:07] He says that he's going to bring Trump-style leadership to Albany.
[4:13] He says he's going to cut Medicaid in half.
[4:16] You heard him say that.
[4:18] And he's going to let ice run rampant in our streets.
[4:21] So this is your choice, New Yorkers.
[4:24] I'm not letting this happen.
[4:26] Working together with you, we will not.
[4:27] Because your family is my fight.
[4:32] Okay, thank you, candidates.
[4:33] We're going to begin tonight by discussing an incident that is reigniting a national debate.
[4:38] An ICE agent last Thursday shot a Dominican immigrant in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Marble Hill while his five-year-old son was in the backseat of the car.
[4:46] This took place on a busy street at a time many New Yorkers were making their way home from work or school.
[4:52] The federal government says the man drove towards agents before they shot him.
[4:56] I'm going to start with you, Mr. Blakeman.
[4:57] And multiple reports suggest that ICE has cut its training time, lowered its hiring standards,
[5:03] and deployed masked agents in cities whose leaders don't want them there.
[5:07] In this case, with long guns in a crowded urban environment.
[5:11] And I guess the question is, are you comfortable with that?
[5:14] Kathy Hochul appealed to ICE to let this criminal out.
[5:19] The question that New Yorkers have to ask is, what was this guy doing in New York in the first place?
[5:25] It's because Kathy Hochul has made us a sanctuary state.
[5:29] Think about it.
[5:30] This guy came into the country illegally.
[5:33] He's been convicted of a crime.
[5:36] He's got pending charges for dealing drugs, poison to our children, and he's a gangbanger.
[5:44] This is who Kathy Hochul is defending.
[5:49] I have a cooperative agreement with ICE until Kathy Hochul said we could no longer cooperate with ICE.
[5:55] We got over 2,000 illegal migrants out of my county with criminal records ranging from rape, attempted murder, robbery, burglary, drug dealing, carjacking, gang activity.
[6:08] And that's because we cooperated with ICE.
[6:10] And we didn't raid one school, one hospital, one daycare center, or one church.
[6:15] If you cooperate with federal law enforcement, it makes for a safer community.
[6:20] That's what I did.
[6:21] Kathy Hochul has taken that ability away from us.
[6:24] That's why things like this happen.
[6:26] I had a question for you, Ms. Hochul, but I wanted to give you a chance to respond.
[6:29] No, thank you.
[6:29] I think in his non-answer, he refused to condemn what ICE did.
[6:34] So he basically says in the state of New York, he'd be fine if ICE agents shoot into cars, shoot guns into vehicles,
[6:44] not knowing who's inside, and could have killed a 5-year-old child.
[6:48] If that doesn't shock the conscience of everybody, and it should shock his conscience as well,
[6:54] that he says that's okay, that's how ICE is supposed to do it, I'll tell you what.
[6:58] I oversee over 500 policing agencies in the state of New York, over half a million arrests every year.
[7:03] That's not how you conduct yourself.
[7:05] ICE is out of control.
[7:07] It's out of control.
[7:07] Kathy, it never would have happened but for your sanctuary policy.
[7:12] You have invited criminals to come into our state and prey on our communities.
[7:18] And now you won't let local law enforcement cooperate with ICE in an orderly way like we did in my county.
[7:25] We didn't have any incidents in my county because we were allowed to cooperate with local law enforcement.
[7:30] But you took that tool away.
[7:32] The reason why that happened is because of you, Kathy Hochul, and your immigration policies
[7:37] where you actually invite people into our state, give them free everything,
[7:44] and you don't care whether they're criminals or not.
[7:46] That's a bad policy.
[7:48] I have a right to answer this one because this is so absurd.
[7:52] I have said from the president on down, I said New York is not a sanctuary for criminals.
[7:57] Not a sanctuary for criminals, full stop.
[7:59] But to say nothing happened in Nassau County, tell that to the man who on camera
[8:04] had his head rammed into a brick wall by ICE agents and was knocked unconscious.
[8:10] Say that to the family of the man who died in your custody when he was in one of the Nassau County's jail.
[8:16] And nothing bad happens, we'll tell that to 11-year-old Norman who sobbed in my arms
[8:22] when local police, Nassau police, took his father when he was just going to a Home Depot for God's sakes.
[8:28] And his father was sitting for months and months in a detention center.
[8:32] But Kathy, how about...
[8:33] Norman was devastated.
[8:34] How about the two 30-year-old women who were murdered by an illegal migrant in my county?
[8:41] What do you say to their families?
[8:43] What do you say to all those people who have had their children hooked on drugs by illegal migrants
[8:48] bringing fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin into our communities?
[8:54] We have an epidemic of crime from these illegal migrants.
[8:57] 16,000 detainers are out there for people who committed 52,000 crimes in our state.
[9:03] And you won't let local law enforcement cooperate with ICE to pick them up and get out of this state.
[9:10] This never would have happened, Kathy, if it wasn't for your policies.
[9:13] You know, his idea of law enforcement, because I have worked hard to drive down crime.
[9:18] I spent $4 billion of money to support our men and women in blue.
[9:22] They know I have their backs.
[9:23] And I want to make sure that they're keeping our communities safe,
[9:26] not being deputized as ICE agents, which is what he did.
[9:29] And maybe that's why.
[9:31] Maybe that's why Nassau County had a 10-year high in violent crimes under your watch.
[9:37] Maybe because they're too distracted trying to be ICE agents.
[9:40] Well, I've talked to members of their police department.
[9:42] They just want to do their jobs.
[9:44] And when I changed the law, I got them back to local policing so they can stop crimes and they can respond to emergencies.
[9:50] Kathy, maybe you haven't heard.
[9:51] U.S. News & World Report says I have the safest county in America.
[9:55] So I back law enforcement and I back the laws of both our federal government and our state government.
[10:01] And I give our law enforcement professionals the tools they need to keep us safe.
[10:06] But you say you spent $4 billion on law enforcement.
[10:10] Well, you spent $8 billion on illegal migrants and gave them more benefits than New Yorkers get.
[10:16] How does that make any sense?
[10:17] I can't believe you just took credit for what the Democratic predecessor in your county did.
[10:22] Oh, she was the county executive in 2024?
[10:25] It was under Laura Curran that the crime started going down.
[10:31] They called Nassau County...
[10:32] Wasn't that during COVID?
[10:33] They called Nassau one of the safest places in America before you became con executive.
[10:39] Ms. Hochul, let me...
[10:40] You take credit for the sun rising in the morning and setting at night.
[10:42] We're going to move on.
[10:43] But before we do, I wanted to ask you this, Ms. Hochul.
[10:46] Does New York's sanctuary policy amount to a cancellation at times of valid deportation orders,
[10:52] provided an immigrant lays low and doesn't commit a violent crime?
[10:55] And are you comfortable with that reality?
[10:57] Even New York City has 170 crimes, serious crimes, where they will work with ICE agents to remove people.
[11:05] That is a fact.
[11:06] All across the state of New York, we always work with law enforcement to remove people who are committing crimes.
[11:11] And the other thing is, when people commit a crime, I want them to go through our court system.
[11:16] I want victims to have their day in court.
[11:19] Then we kick them out of the country at the end of their prison term.
[11:22] That's how it's always operated, always worked successfully,
[11:26] until you have rogue agents roaming the streets and county executives like him supporting them.
[11:32] Okay. Thank you, candidates.
[11:33] Thank you.
[11:34] We're going to move on now to voters' pocketbooks.
[11:37] And we're going to start with Kathy Hochul.
[11:40] Ms. Hochul, New Yorkers pay among the highest energy costs in the nation,
[11:45] with experts saying that older plants are being shut down at a faster pace than the state can build new generation.
[11:52] And you've acknowledged that problem by sending out energy rebate checks to many New Yorkers.
[11:57] But the demand for energy continues, and those prices continue to soar.
[12:03] Will these checks be going out annually?
[12:05] And beyond that, what are you doing in the short term to lower utility costs?
[12:10] You know, Susan, great question.
[12:11] I understand the pain that so many people are going through.
[12:14] Energy prices are high all over America.
[12:16] And the issue is, as you put out so perfectly, is that we don't have enough supply to meet the demand.
[12:21] So I have an all-the-above approach.
[12:23] And I did do energy rebates just as a short-term solution.
[12:27] But I'm trying to build more.
[12:28] But you know what the real problem is?
[12:30] I've got Donald Trump standing in the way of my energy projects,
[12:34] literally shut down a project, kicking 1,300 people off their jobs
[12:38] that would have powered half a million homes in Brooklyn.
[12:41] I also want to do part of my all-the-above.
[12:43] I'm trying to do nuclear.
[12:45] But the White House, playing politics, won't sign off on it.
[12:48] So we're doing the best we can.
[12:49] But don't overlook the fact that it is the war with Iran that is driving up gasoline costs
[12:55] and energy costs almost double of what they were in the past.
[12:58] Geet Diesel is now double what it was.
[13:01] That is a real cost of energy that people are dealing with.
[13:04] And it was so unnecessary.
[13:06] And my opponent supports exactly what Donald Trump did with that war.
[13:09] Will you raise income taxes?
[13:11] Many of your progressive allies are saying...
[13:13] Can I respond to that first?
[13:14] Sure.
[13:15] I'd like to respond to the utility bill issue
[13:17] because that's probably one of the most prevalent issues
[13:20] that we have here in New York.
[13:22] Kathy, Donald Trump didn't raise utility rates 48 times.
[13:27] You did.
[13:28] Donald Trump didn't increase our utility bills by 50% since you've become governor.
[13:35] You gave $150 back to people in a rebate in an election year,
[13:40] right before the election, when you've raised the average bill $4,000 a year
[13:46] and your own energy research department says your policies will raise it another $4,000
[13:52] in the next five years.
[13:54] Time.
[13:55] It's out of control and it's because of you, Kathy.
[13:57] You know what drives up energy prices in addition to Donald Trump's war that you support?
[14:02] His vision for energy across the state of New York.
[14:07] Now get this.
[14:08] He supports the hyperscale data centers that consume enormous amounts of energy.
[14:12] His picture, what he wants to see upstate.
[14:15] He wants oil and gas rigs everywhere.
[14:17] He wants fossil fuel generating factories spewing smoke everywhere.
[14:21] And he wants data centers using our private, our rare farmland.
[14:26] That's his vision for how to create more energy.
[14:28] New Yorkers ought to hear that and run for the hills.
[14:30] Kathy, you know that's a fiction.
[14:32] That's not my policies.
[14:33] But we are sitting on one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world
[14:37] and you won't let us extract that natural gas.
[14:40] In Pennsylvania, a Democrat governor, Josh Shapiro, allows it.
[14:45] And that's why their energy costs are more than half of what ours are.
[14:49] They have prosperity.
[14:50] On the Pennsylvania side of the border, people are driving around in brand new Cadillac Escalades.
[14:54] And on the New York side of the border, they're driving around in 25-year-old rusted-out pickup trucks
[14:59] because of your policies.
[15:00] And I'll talk about data centers later if you'd like.
[15:02] No, let's talk about it now because you called my moratorium crazy.
[15:07] Donald Trump says it's only for dumb, poor people would support that.
[15:13] You support what Donald Trump said there as well?
[15:15] Dumb, poor people don't want to have it.
[15:15] Well, you said that upstaters weren't sophisticated enough to make important decisions.
[15:19] They are, but they need to have some force to negotiate.
[15:22] We are going to be getting to data centers.
[15:24] Let's do that one.
[15:24] I need to ask you, Mr. Blakeman, you've attacked the governor over energy policy,
[15:29] but you haven't provided any details of how you intend to cut utility bills in half.
[15:34] How can that be achieved without hurting reliability or blowing a hole in local government budgets
[15:40] that tax utility investments?
[15:43] I've said it many times, so I'll repeat it.
[15:46] When you look at your energy bill, get your energy bill out tonight.
[15:50] Only about 30% of your payment actually goes for energy.
[15:55] The rest goes for taxes.
[15:57] Yes, Kathy Hochul taxes your energy bill as well.
[15:59] and excessive delivery costs that are merely trying to masquerade rate hikes
[16:07] and her slush fund, where she collects money every month from you,
[16:13] billions of dollars, and invests in science projects like wind turbines in the middle of the ocean
[16:19] or solar farms in upstate New York that are taking away our rich farmland,
[16:23] which, by the way, are covered under snow three months out of the year.
[16:28] It's very expensive.
[16:29] She's paying billions of dollars to foreign corporations for these.
[16:33] And guess what?
[16:34] That's why we're in an energy crisis.
[16:37] I would extract the natural gas from the Marcella shale.
[16:39] We'll get rid of that green energy scam of Kathy Hochul,
[16:43] and I will cut your utility bills in half just like they did in Pennsylvania.
[16:46] No, actually, just like Donald Trump said he would do on day one.
[16:49] So...
[16:50] Donald Trump?
[16:51] ...promises.
[16:51] He promised to cut energy costs.
[16:53] He promised to cut down grocery costs.
[16:56] And you know what?
[16:56] Everything has happened under your friend Donald Trump,
[16:59] who you are the president of the fan club for Donald Trump.
[17:03] It's absurd how adoring you are of him.
[17:05] My gosh.
[17:06] Well, what he has done is raise gasoline prices and energy prices,
[17:10] and the costs of tariffs have driven up everything in the state.
[17:14] Have you bought groceries lately?
[17:16] My God, the people are suffering.
[17:17] And that didn't have to be the case.
[17:19] Why are we at war with the rest of the world?
[17:21] So you like to talk about Donald Trump all the time
[17:25] because you don't want to talk about your record.
[17:27] I'm talking about my record right now.
[17:29] Because it's a record of misery and failure.
[17:31] Candidates, let's...
[17:32] The highest taxes, utility rates,
[17:34] they're 70% higher than the national average.
[17:36] But let me say something about Donald Trump.
[17:38] Donald Trump's my friend.
[17:40] He's endorsed me.
[17:40] But so has Bonnie Lautenberg,
[17:43] a liberal Democrat whose husband Frank served in the United States Senate
[17:46] and was a pillar of the Democratic Party.
[17:49] Actor Deborah Messing, who's a liberal Democrat,
[17:52] who supports me because she trusts me to make safer communities
[17:55] and improve the quality of life here in New York.
[17:57] All right, so you've got two votes. Good for you.
[17:59] Okay, let's move on, candidates.
[18:00] I want to talk about another kind of tax, which is tariffs.
[18:03] And I'll start with you, Mr. Blakeman.
[18:05] The latest round of tariffs on Canada have increased costs
[18:08] for fertilizer, steel, and lumber.
[18:10] The Trump administration points to a trade imbalance with Canada,
[18:13] but what would you say, if elected, to upstate farmers
[18:16] who are having a tough time making ends meet
[18:18] and to upstate tourist attractions
[18:20] that have seen a 21% drop in tourism from Canada?
[18:23] So what I would say to upstate farmers is the following.
[18:28] Every time I go upstate and talk to farmers,
[18:31] all they complain about is Kathy Hochul's over-regulation,
[18:36] her rules, her silly rules that she has
[18:39] and her rules that she doesn't apply to agriculture,
[18:42] to one of the biggest businesses that we have in New York State.
[18:45] The fact of the matter is,
[18:46] the reason why we're failing in New York State
[18:48] is not because of Donald Trump and his tariffs.
[18:51] It's because of Governor Hochul.
[18:53] Think about it.
[18:54] We're number 50 out of 50 states in economic outlook.
[18:58] It doesn't get worse than that.
[18:59] There's only 50 states in the country.
[19:01] Donald Trump wasn't responsible for that.
[19:03] If that were the case, every state would be number 50.
[19:06] But we're dead last because people aren't investing in New York
[19:10] because they don't have confidence in the policies of Kathy Hochul.
[19:14] We're overtaxed.
[19:15] Our utility bills are too high.
[19:17] We're overregulated.
[19:18] And she puts priorities on illegal migrants
[19:20] over the families here of New York State.
[19:23] We have the fastest-growing economy
[19:27] in the United States of America here in New York.
[19:30] Fastest-growing economy.
[19:31] We are exploding.
[19:32] But you know one area that is being hurt so hard?
[19:35] They're hard-working farmers.
[19:37] They get up every single day
[19:38] providing food security for all of us.
[19:42] And you know what they're dealing with?
[19:43] I've done a lot of roundtables.
[19:44] They cannot believe that their president,
[19:46] maybe they supported him that one time and no longer,
[19:49] because the costs of tariffs have made life so impossible
[19:52] that they're ready to close shop.
[19:54] Five generations have survived.
[19:57] And under Donald Trump, with the tariffs,
[19:59] the costs of everything from fertilizers to,
[20:01] as you mentioned, aluminum,
[20:03] the wood shavings that go in the stalls for the animals.
[20:05] Governor, before the...
[20:06] It's like...
[20:07] It didn't have to happen.
[20:08] Before President Trump...
[20:09] Before President Trump even put the tariffs in place,
[20:14] farmers have been complaining about your policies
[20:17] that make it harder for agriculture in our state.
[20:21] No, they're actually doing very well.
[20:22] That they're overregulated.
[20:24] And let me ask you a question then.
[20:26] How come they're complaining?
[20:27] Why is it that every place I go in upstate New York,
[20:31] you're telling me that it's harder and harder to do business?
[20:35] Why are they putting solar farms on their precious agricultural property,
[20:40] rich farmland, because they can't afford to do business in New York?
[20:44] They started doing that before President Trump became president.
[20:49] It's because of your policies that are ruining agriculture.
[20:52] And I brought the largest dairy processing facility in North America.
[20:56] The dairy farmers are thrilled.
[20:58] Talk to a dairy farmer.
[20:59] They were struggling so hard, and I brought that.
[21:01] We've helped Chobani expand.
[21:03] We are using so much of our...
[21:05] One of our greatest commodities, milk.
[21:08] And I've made life easier for them
[21:09] because they now have an outlet for their products.
[21:12] But what has made life so hard
[21:14] is the fact that the raids on the farms
[21:17] taking away their workers...
[21:18] In fact, talk to Mr. Old MacDonald's Farm,
[21:21] a big Republican in the North country,
[21:23] who called me looking for help
[21:25] when ICE raided the farm at 6 a.m. on a Saturday
[21:28] and took a third grader and her mother and her son.
[21:33] Took them away.
[21:34] Threw them in detention.
[21:35] A third grader.
[21:37] You know where the father was?
[21:38] He was out milking cows because that's what you do on a farm.
[21:40] People are struggling from the tariffs, the immigration policies.
[21:43] If you're doing so well for the dairy farms,
[21:46] how come it's a dollar more for a gallon of milk in New York State?
[21:50] Candidates, let me just ask one brief question for you, Ms. Hochul,
[21:54] and then we're going to move on.
[21:56] Canadian provinces have been aggressively limiting U.S. dairy imports,
[22:00] including dairy from New York farmers.
[22:02] If tariffs aren't the answer, what would be?
[22:07] They're at war with us right now.
[22:09] They cannot believe that their best friend,
[22:11] they cannot believe the best friend they've ever had,
[22:13] the United States of America that always had their back,
[22:15] has now said they want to make them the 51st state.
[22:19] The Canadians are so insulted that they're not buying our products.
[22:22] They won't buy anything.
[22:23] They're not buying the wine from our wineries.
[22:25] Been up to an upstate winery lately.
[22:27] Talk to a farmer there.
[22:28] Talk to a grower.
[22:30] They've lost their marketplace.
[22:32] And it's all because of Donald Trump declaring war
[22:35] on one of our most loyal allies.
[22:37] Who does that?
[22:39] And we're all suffering because of that.
[22:40] So that's exactly what's going on.
[22:42] The tariffs, if he would only end these tariffs tomorrow,
[22:45] we could start seeing grocery prices start going,
[22:47] end the war with Iran, gas prices start coming down.
[22:50] None of this has to be the way,
[22:52] and you support every single thing that Donald Trump does.
[22:54] People should know that when they're going to vote on November 3rd.
[22:57] Okay, we're going to move on.
[22:58] I have very significant policy differences with President Trump.
[23:04] He's pro-life, I'm pro-choice.
[23:06] We have to move on.
[23:07] I believe in a guest worker program for immigrants.
[23:10] We have so many questions.
[23:12] Donald Trump killed the bill that would have provided that.
[23:14] I want to go to a story that's been getting national news,
[23:18] and we're going to start with Ms. Hochul,
[23:20] the alleged gang rape of a student at Cornell University.
[23:23] State Attorney General Letitia James is being criticized
[23:26] for having made statements that suggest she's already prejudged the case.
[23:30] You have also made statements that sound like you have prejudged the case,
[23:34] including saying, quote,
[23:36] this woman, this young woman,
[23:38] had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable.
[23:41] What do you say to legal experts who say James' statements
[23:45] could jeopardize the investigation as appearing impartial?
[23:49] Is that for me?
[23:50] Yes.
[23:52] Listen, I'm a mom.
[23:53] I've dropped a daughter off at a college campus.
[23:56] There should not be a culture that allows
[23:59] for a young woman to be so brutally attacked on a fraternity
[24:03] and then literally have the courage to go ask for help from law enforcement.
[24:07] You know how difficult it is for a victim
[24:09] to have to tell her story to strangers?
[24:12] But she did it, and also the evidence seemed very clear,
[24:15] and I'm not prosecuting this case.
[24:17] It seemed very clear that the boys in the fraternity
[24:19] were trying to cover up what they had done.
[24:21] There were a lot of acknowledgments,
[24:22] a lot of texts that were coming up.
[24:23] So I said this, I want there to be an independent investigation.
[24:28] That's underway.
[24:29] But also when it became clear to me
[24:30] that the district attorney had already denied the opportunity
[24:34] to interview this young woman,
[24:36] I come from a family of prosecutors.
[24:38] You should know enough to interview a victim of a crime
[24:40] and not just dismiss it.
[24:42] That's why the law says the governor may, shall appoint,
[24:45] the governor shall appoint the attorney general
[24:48] in cases of special prosecutions.
[24:51] The attorney general can speak for herself on her tweet.
[24:53] Time.
[24:54] Thank you.
[24:54] Well, first of all, first of all...
[24:55] So, Mr. Blakeman, I want to just follow...
[24:56] Can I just respond to that for a moment?
[24:58] My question is basically letting you follow up,
[25:01] and that is there is a push to expand
[25:03] the voluntary intoxication standard in the law.
[25:06] Do you support closing that law,
[25:09] and how would you have approached this case if you were governor?
[25:12] So, first of all, I absolutely do support that.
[25:16] As a father, as a grandfather,
[25:19] first of all, if someone is intoxicated,
[25:24] maybe they're not unconscious,
[25:26] but if they're slurring their words and they're stumbling,
[25:29] you shouldn't engage in relations
[25:31] because I'm not sure that person has the capacity to consent.
[25:37] So I am for closing that loophole.
[25:39] I want to make it harder and more stringent,
[25:43] our laws about guys who would date rape women
[25:46] by giving them roofies in bars.
[25:49] I think we need to strengthen those laws.
[25:51] Kathy Hochul has already prejudged this case,
[25:54] but what I have to say to you, Kathy, is as follows.
[25:56] Where were you?
[25:57] What did you do?
[25:59] You were the trustee of Cornell University.
[26:01] You were the governor of the state.
[26:04] You fund Cornell University
[26:05] to the tune of $150 million a year.
[26:08] They're a partner of the state of New York,
[26:11] and as a trustee and as governor,
[26:13] you didn't call for an independent investigation
[26:15] when you found out that the district attorney
[26:17] was dropping the case.
[26:18] Thank you.
[26:19] Shame on you.
[26:20] I did.
[26:21] You know, that's pretty pathetic to blame me
[26:23] for what happened in a fraternity.
[26:25] My gosh.
[26:26] No, I'm blaming you for the investigation afterwards.
[26:28] You deny that?
[26:29] You were a trustee there.
[26:30] The university failed that young woman.
[26:35] Are you a member of the board?
[26:36] We're going to move on to our cross-examination
[26:39] and then lightning round.
[26:40] We have so many issues.
[26:41] It is time for the cross-examination.
[26:43] That's when each of you gets to ask your adversary
[26:45] one question and then listen to the answer.
[26:48] We'll let you go first, Mr. Blakeman.
[26:51] So, Governor Hochul, under your sanctuary policies,
[26:58] a 14-year-old girl was raped recently here in New York State
[27:02] by an illegal migrant.
[27:04] Four Arundaquat residents were killed recently
[27:08] by an illegal migrant.
[27:10] Two of those victims were children under the age of five.
[27:15] Two Nassau County women in their 30s
[27:18] were killed by an illegal migrant
[27:20] because of your sanctuary policies.
[27:23] Will you apologize
[27:25] to that 14-year-old girl
[27:27] whose life is forever changed
[27:29] and her family
[27:30] and the families of those who were killed,
[27:34] the ones that will never get
[27:35] to sit at another Thanksgiving dinner,
[27:37] never be able to open their presents
[27:39] on their Christmas tree?
[27:41] Will you apologize to them
[27:42] and will you please return
[27:44] Sheridan Gorman's parents' calls
[27:47] to talk to you about your sanctuary policy?
[27:52] You know, any crime is heartbreaking.
[27:56] There's a family left
[27:57] with a huge hole in their heart.
[28:01] And I abhor all crimes,
[28:04] regardless of the perpetrator.
[28:06] Victims deserve our sympathy.
[28:07] They deserve our compassion.
[28:09] And that's why I've laser-focused
[28:11] on making New York so much more safer
[28:13] than it had been before.
[28:15] I have spent $4 billion
[28:16] to help law enforcement do their jobs.
[28:19] We have driven down crime
[28:21] to historic lows,
[28:22] especially violent crimes
[28:24] like shootings and murders.
[28:26] And that didn't come easy.
[28:28] That took a lot of work.
[28:29] I've had to change laws.
[28:30] I've had to allocate more money.
[28:32] But when you're talking about ICE,
[28:34] what I find so shocking
[28:36] is that when an American mother
[28:39] was murdered by ICE agents,
[28:43] you said that her killing was justified,
[28:47] the killing of Renee Goode was justified.
[28:50] And when asked about Alex Peretti,
[28:52] another American citizen killed by ICE,
[28:55] whether that was justified,
[28:56] you couldn't even answer the question.
[28:59] So I find those answers
[29:01] just reprehensible.
[29:04] So you won't apologize?
[29:06] I apologize for any pain
[29:08] that has happened to anyone.
[29:09] You won't apologize?
[29:09] You won't call Sheridan Gorman's parents?
[29:13] That's the question,
[29:14] and that's the answer.
[29:15] And now, Ms. Hochul,
[29:17] you have a question for Bruce Blakeman.
[29:19] Yes, I do.
[29:22] Just four days ago,
[29:23] you stood on a stage
[29:24] screaming at the top of your lungs,
[29:26] we love Donald Trump.
[29:29] You've also said
[29:30] he's the greatest president
[29:31] of your lifetime.
[29:33] Now, which is it
[29:33] that makes him so great?
[29:35] Is it the high utility costs,
[29:37] the high grocery costs,
[29:38] the high gas costs?
[29:40] Is it his unfettered use of ICE
[29:42] terrorizing our neighborhoods?
[29:44] Is it his throwing millions
[29:46] of New Yorkers off of health care?
[29:48] Which is it that makes him
[29:49] the greatest president,
[29:50] in your opinion,
[29:51] which you have said so many times?
[29:53] Yeah, well, at a rally,
[29:55] as you know,
[29:56] it's a cheering section,
[29:57] and you say things
[29:59] to get the crowd worked up.
[30:01] And I think Donald Trump
[30:02] deserves accolades
[30:05] for many of the things
[30:06] that he's done.
[30:06] Obviously, there are
[30:08] some disagreements
[30:09] in New York State
[30:10] with some of his policies,
[30:11] but I've differed
[30:13] with Donald Trump
[30:14] on various policies.
[30:16] As I said,
[30:17] he's pro-life.
[30:18] I'm pro-choice.
[30:19] That's a big difference
[30:20] in the Republican Party.
[30:21] I stood up
[30:22] for what I believed in.
[30:24] Immigration policy.
[30:25] I believe that
[30:26] if you are an immigrant
[30:26] and you've been in this state
[30:28] seven, eight, nine, ten years,
[30:30] you haven't gotten in trouble,
[30:32] you're gainfully employed,
[30:34] we should have
[30:35] a guest worker permit for you.
[30:37] I believe in a guest
[30:38] worker permit program.
[30:40] But, you know,
[30:42] there's two years left
[30:43] in Donald Trump's tenure
[30:47] in office,
[30:47] and I hope to see
[30:50] great things
[30:50] like stopping Iran
[30:51] from getting a nuclear weapon
[30:53] that threatens New York
[30:54] and all New Yorkers.
[30:56] And I also look forward
[30:57] to the fact that,
[30:59] hopefully,
[31:00] we will get gas prices down,
[31:02] but you created
[31:03] the economic issues
[31:05] that have made us last
[31:06] in economic outlook,
[31:08] Kathy Hochul,
[31:08] not Donald Trump.
[31:09] Okay, Kennedy.
[31:10] I agree that Donald Trump
[31:11] is the greatest president's
[31:12] lifetime.
[31:12] I didn't hear anything
[31:13] disputing that.
[31:14] Well, you know what?
[31:14] Let me say this.
[31:16] In retrospect,
[31:17] I would say that
[31:18] Dwight D. Eisenhower
[31:19] was the greatest president,
[31:20] but Donald Trump
[31:21] has two more years,
[31:22] so let's see where it goes.
[31:23] Term's not over.
[31:24] Well, heaven help us.
[31:25] We're going to go
[31:26] to a lightning round now.
[31:27] Yeah.
[31:28] Okay.
[31:29] Will you reopen
[31:30] Indian Point
[31:31] nuclear power plant,
[31:32] Kathy Hochul?
[31:32] I'm bringing nuclear
[31:33] to New York State
[31:34] at a scale
[31:35] that this country
[31:35] has not seen
[31:36] in 30 years.
[31:37] Bruce Playsman.
[31:38] And I'm just waiting
[31:38] for approval,
[31:39] and I can do it.
[31:40] I have eight communities
[31:40] that want it.
[31:41] I have eight communities
[31:42] that want to host it.
[31:43] I'm ready to go.
[31:44] I'm just waiting
[31:44] for Washington
[31:45] to greenlight it.
[31:46] Yes or no
[31:46] or short answer.
[31:47] Bruce Playsman,
[31:48] will you reopen
[31:49] Indian Point?
[31:50] I believe we should
[31:51] open Indian Point.
[31:53] I believe we should
[31:53] open up the other
[31:54] power plants
[31:55] that Kathy Hochul
[31:56] has closed.
[31:57] I believe we should
[31:58] extract natural gas
[31:59] from the Marcellus
[32:00] Shale.
[32:00] More energy
[32:01] increases the supply
[32:02] and lowers your costs.
[32:04] Mr. Blakeman,
[32:04] have you ever used
[32:05] a mail-in ballot?
[32:07] Not to my knowledge.
[32:10] Ms. Hochul?
[32:10] I don't remember.
[32:15] Absentee when I was
[32:16] out of the area,
[32:16] but I don't think
[32:17] it was mail-in.
[32:17] I like to go in person.
[32:19] I really like to exercise
[32:20] my right to vote in person.
[32:21] Ms. Hochul,
[32:22] should the state label
[32:23] at least one bathroom
[32:25] in the Capitol complex
[32:26] as gender neutral?
[32:29] Yes.
[32:30] Bruce Blakeman?
[32:32] Well, first of all,
[32:33] I don't believe
[32:34] that biological males
[32:35] should use women's bathrooms
[32:37] and locker rooms.
[32:38] So that's enough.
[32:39] And I believe
[32:40] that biological males
[32:41] should not be competing
[32:42] in women's sports.
[32:43] We have to protect
[32:44] the integrity of women's sports
[32:45] and the safety
[32:46] of women's sports.
[32:47] Mr. Blakeman,
[32:48] if you could reverse
[32:49] one action that you've taken
[32:50] as an elected official,
[32:51] what would it be?
[32:54] One action that I've taken?
[32:58] You know,
[32:58] it's hard to say right now,
[33:00] but, you know,
[33:01] nobody's perfect.
[33:02] And hindsight's always 20-20.
[33:04] I'm sure I've made a mistake
[33:05] here and there
[33:06] throughout the years.
[33:08] I rely on good people
[33:09] for advice.
[33:10] And when it's time
[33:12] to make a decision,
[33:13] I make the decision.
[33:14] Hopefully it's right.
[33:15] I do it in the best interest
[33:16] of the people of my county.
[33:18] Let me help you.
[33:18] Raising taxes,
[33:20] not once but twice
[33:21] in your county,
[33:21] of the highest taxes.
[33:23] Oh, my God.
[33:23] We're going to talk
[33:24] about 1998, Kathy?
[33:25] Let's talk about history, Kathy.
[33:27] You were pro-NRA.
[33:29] Now you're against guns.
[33:30] You wanted to give
[33:31] illegal migrants.
[33:32] You didn't want to give
[33:33] illegal migrants
[33:34] driver's licenses
[33:35] when you're the county clerk.
[33:37] Now you're giving it to them?
[33:38] Come on, Kathy.
[33:39] Highest property taxes
[33:39] in New York.
[33:40] You're going to talk about something
[33:40] I did 28 years ago?
[33:41] Highest property taxes in New York.
[33:42] I will admit I made a mistake.
[33:44] Kathy Hochul won't,
[33:45] but I'll admit I made a mistake.
[33:46] Highest taxes in New York.
[33:47] Almost the highest
[33:48] in the country, for God's sake.
[33:48] As mayor, as county clerk,
[33:50] as member of Congress,
[33:52] as lieutenant governor,
[33:52] if you could reverse one action
[33:53] you've taken as an elected official,
[33:55] as governor,
[33:55] what would it be?
[33:56] I would say this.
[33:58] I wish I had not,
[33:59] I wish I had fought harder
[34:01] to get more housing built
[34:02] in my first year.
[34:04] I had to come back the next year.
[34:05] It was difficult.
[34:06] I overcame a lot of opposition.
[34:07] But when you find out
[34:08] that Bruce Blakeman's county,
[34:11] Nassau County,
[34:12] is listed as the lowest number
[34:14] of housing units
[34:15] almost in America being built,
[34:17] no wonder he brags about the fact
[34:18] that the average housing price
[34:20] or the median housing price
[34:21] is $900,000.
[34:23] Talk about lack of affordability.
[34:25] So, again...
[34:25] Wait, wait, can I respond to that?
[34:27] I reject, I wish I had been able
[34:29] to fight harder.
[34:30] I would love to respond to that.
[34:32] Go for it.
[34:32] So you're faulting me.
[34:34] If you bought a house four years ago
[34:36] in Nassau County
[34:37] for $600,000,
[34:39] it's now worth $850,000
[34:41] because of my policies.
[34:43] I have created a quarter
[34:44] of a million dollars in wealth
[34:46] for you and your families.
[34:48] Kathy Hochul wants to take
[34:49] that away with taxes.
[34:50] I'm proud of the fact
[34:51] that I created that wealth
[34:52] for your family.
[34:52] What about the young family
[34:54] trying to get a home
[34:55] in Nassau County?
[34:56] I guess if you don't have $900,000,
[34:58] you're out of luck.
[34:58] Candidates, we're going to move on.
[34:59] The rise of artificial intelligence
[35:01] is transforming the global economy.
[35:03] It has galvanized
[35:04] an international debate
[35:05] over how to use the technology,
[35:07] who will benefit,
[35:08] and who will pay the cost.
[35:10] I'll start with you, Ms. Hochul.
[35:11] You were the first to issue
[35:13] a moratorium on data center facilities
[35:14] with other governors
[35:15] from both parties following suit.
[35:18] Lawmakers are now urging you
[35:19] to take it a step further
[35:20] and sign a moratorium bill
[35:21] that would impact existing data centers.
[35:24] The question is,
[35:25] will you sign that legislation?
[35:26] Why or why not?
[35:27] You know my policy.
[35:28] I know you try.
[35:29] Nice try.
[35:30] I don't say what I'm going to do
[35:31] before I have a chance
[35:32] to evaluate the bills.
[35:33] I get over 800 bills on my desk.
[35:35] But I am proud
[35:36] that we are first in the nation
[35:37] with the moratorium
[35:38] for one year on data centers.
[35:40] I am going to make sure
[35:41] that if they come here
[35:43] and the host community wants them,
[35:45] that, number one,
[35:46] that community gets substantial benefits,
[35:49] millions of dollars
[35:51] that they should get
[35:52] for every megawatt of power used.
[35:53] And they have to bring their own power.
[35:56] They also have to find ways
[35:57] to reduce the noise
[35:58] and manage the water situation.
[36:01] So if they do come,
[36:02] and it's up to the localities,
[36:03] I wanted them to have
[36:04] a community framework.
[36:05] But we didn't have enough power.
[36:07] We have 30 applications
[36:09] in front of us right now.
[36:10] If we approved all of them,
[36:12] we wouldn't be able
[36:12] to turn on the lights in New York.
[36:14] And so I'm trying
[36:15] to have a smart policy.
[36:16] We are pro-technology, pro-innovation.
[36:19] That's why more tech companies
[36:20] have come to New York State
[36:22] in recent history
[36:24] than they ever have.
[36:25] We actually surpassed
[36:27] Silicon Valley in San Francisco
[36:28] for the most number of tech jobs.
[36:30] So we know how to embrace technology,
[36:32] take a strong look
[36:34] at the impact of those
[36:35] who are going to be displaced
[36:36] by technology.
[36:37] I have a commission
[36:37] studying how we can help people
[36:39] with my free community college
[36:41] be able to have new jobs,
[36:42] but also saying data centers know.
[36:44] And also Brookhaven,
[36:47] Tana Brookhaven and Islip,
[36:49] they have moratoriums.
[36:50] Can I respond?
[36:52] You can respond.
[36:52] First of all,
[36:53] when you say you don't say
[36:54] what you're going to do
[36:55] before you do it,
[36:57] you say what you're going to do
[36:58] and then you don't do it.
[37:00] You said we weren't going
[37:01] to have congestion pricing,
[37:02] then we had congestion pricing.
[37:04] So you did a complete U-turn there.
[37:06] That's just a tax
[37:07] on the middle class.
[37:08] But let me talk
[37:08] about data centers.
[37:09] You put a ban in
[37:10] because you said
[37:11] that you needed time
[37:12] to figure it out.
[37:13] What have you been doing
[37:14] for the last four years?
[37:15] This is the fastest growing
[37:16] industry in the world.
[37:18] Water supply is an issue.
[37:19] Energy is an issue.
[37:20] Tax stabilization is an issue.
[37:23] Why didn't you get
[37:23] all the stakeholders
[37:25] in the same room
[37:26] and figure it out
[37:27] instead of saying no
[37:29] to the fastest growing
[37:30] industry in the world?
[37:31] That's why we're
[37:31] number 50
[37:32] in economic outlook.
[37:33] That's why thousands
[37:34] of people are leaving
[37:35] our state.
[37:36] That's why thousands
[37:36] of jobs are leaving
[37:37] our state each
[37:38] and every day.
[37:39] I want all of you
[37:40] out there to hear this.
[37:42] He said
[37:43] that my one-year pause,
[37:46] my moratorium on data centers
[37:48] was crazy.
[37:49] He supports Donald Trump
[37:51] who said
[37:51] only poor, dumb people
[37:55] support opposing this.
[37:57] I want to say
[37:58] I've traveled
[37:58] all of New York State.
[37:59] There's a high level
[38:00] of anxiety
[38:00] about what these
[38:01] hyperscale, massive data centers
[38:03] will do.
[38:04] And I know it fits
[38:04] into your vision
[38:05] for upstate New York
[38:06] because you also want
[38:08] oil rigs
[38:08] and gas rigs
[38:10] all over New York
[38:11] to drill your oil
[38:12] and drill your gas.
[38:14] You want to see
[38:14] data centers.
[38:15] You want smoke
[38:16] smokestacks everywhere.
[38:19] I've seen that world.
[38:20] We don't want to go back.
[38:21] With respect
[38:21] to upstate people,
[38:25] you took their right
[38:26] away to make decisions
[38:27] about data centers.
[38:29] You took that right away
[38:30] with the ban.
[38:31] And then you said
[38:32] that upstaters
[38:33] weren't sophisticated enough
[38:35] to make important choices
[38:36] let me tell you
[38:38] something about upstaters
[38:39] because I've been traveling
[38:40] all around upstate
[38:41] and you forgot
[38:42] where you came from.
[38:43] They have something
[38:44] you don't have.
[38:45] Common sense
[38:46] and good judgment.
[38:46] Mr. Blakeman,
[38:47] let me ask,
[38:48] not all counties
[38:50] are as large
[38:51] or as well-funded
[38:51] as Nassau.
[38:52] What about
[38:53] some of the smaller counties
[38:54] that need to negotiate
[38:56] with some of these
[38:57] multi-billion dollar
[38:58] tech giants?
[39:00] Well, I'll tell you,
[39:01] I've spoken to a lot
[39:02] of upstate local officials
[39:04] and I can tell you
[39:05] and I can assure you
[39:06] that they are pretty sharp.
[39:09] Look, don't minimize
[39:10] what New Yorkers
[39:12] are capable of doing
[39:14] just because they come
[39:15] from a small town.
[39:16] I think that's a bias.
[39:17] Just like Kathy Hochul said
[39:18] that black kids
[39:19] in the Bronx
[39:20] don't know
[39:21] what a computer is.
[39:22] Do you even know
[39:23] that in your schools,
[39:24] Kathy Hochul,
[39:25] that you fund
[39:26] that in sixth grade
[39:28] they get computers
[39:29] in the classroom?
[39:30] They know more
[39:30] about computers
[39:31] than you'll ever know.
[39:32] I've got another
[39:34] AI-related question
[39:36] for both of you.
[39:37] Artificial intelligence
[39:38] is being used
[39:39] in this campaign,
[39:40] especially by you,
[39:41] Mr. Blakeman,
[39:41] in political ads.
[39:43] Should there be
[39:43] stricter regulation
[39:44] of how AI is used
[39:46] in ads
[39:47] in order to ensure
[39:48] that they're not misleading?
[39:50] I'll start with you,
[39:51] Mr. Blakeman.
[39:51] Well, we do have
[39:52] a disclaimer
[39:53] on our ads
[39:54] that said we use AI.
[39:56] And look,
[39:57] AI is just another tool.
[39:59] I mean,
[39:59] I guess, you know,
[40:00] we can go back
[40:01] to using a buggy whip
[40:03] and drive it around
[40:04] in, you know,
[40:04] horse-drawn buggies
[40:05] and get rid of cars,
[40:06] although Kathy Hochul
[40:07] wants to get rid
[40:08] of gas cars
[40:09] and make everybody
[40:10] drive electric cars.
[40:11] But the fact of the matter
[40:12] is that,
[40:13] as far as I'm concerned,
[40:15] I believe
[40:15] in the ingenuity
[40:16] of New Yorkers.
[40:18] My trust is in New Yorkers
[40:20] to make those
[40:20] important decisions.
[40:23] Ms. Hochul,
[40:24] do we need
[40:26] additional regulation
[40:27] on how AI is used
[40:28] in ads?
[40:30] Yes.
[40:30] Just look at
[40:32] what he did
[40:33] this summer.
[40:34] He has so little
[40:35] to say about me
[40:36] on my record
[40:37] that he literally
[40:38] has to go
[40:38] to an AI-generated ad
[40:40] to say something
[40:41] bad about me.
[40:42] And he's trying
[40:42] to mislead the voters.
[40:44] And I think
[40:45] this is so pathetic.
[40:46] It is so Trumpian,
[40:47] in fact.
[40:49] Let's...
[40:49] Trump, Trump, Trump.
[40:50] Well, you're the one
[40:51] who says he's
[40:52] the greatest president
[40:52] and you love him.
[40:53] So those are your own words.
[40:54] And you blame him
[40:54] for everything
[40:55] that you've done
[40:56] in the state
[40:56] to make us number 15
[40:58] in economic outlook.
[40:58] And back to the question...
[41:00] I'm sorry to interrupt.
[41:00] Go ahead.
[41:01] Back to the question
[41:02] that we were asked.
[41:04] My apologies.
[41:04] No, we should not
[41:05] have AI-generated
[41:06] as I had a bill
[41:08] in the legislature
[41:09] that said
[41:10] within 90 days
[41:11] of an election
[41:12] that you should not
[41:13] even just have
[41:14] your tiny little
[41:14] disclaimer
[41:15] that nobody sees.
[41:16] You should just
[41:17] not use it.
[41:17] I'm going to revisit
[41:18] that because
[41:19] I believe
[41:20] in election integrity.
[41:21] I don't believe
[41:22] we should be
[41:22] having stolen elections
[41:24] or palling around
[41:25] with QAnon
[41:26] conspiracy theorists
[41:28] or election deniers
[41:30] and white supremacists
[41:31] like my opponent does.
[41:32] He pails around
[41:33] with all these people.
[41:34] That's why he has
[41:34] no trouble lying in ads
[41:36] using AI.
[41:36] Shame on you
[41:37] calling me
[41:37] palling around
[41:38] with white supremacists.
[41:39] I never went around
[41:41] with white supremacists.
[41:42] Okay?
[41:44] I'm offended by that.
[41:45] Okay.
[41:45] But let's talk
[41:46] about your record.
[41:47] I'll give you their names.
[41:48] You said about
[41:48] black kids in the Bronx.
[41:50] You know what,
[41:50] Candidate?
[41:51] That was reprehensible.
[41:52] Wait.
[41:52] We're going to move
[41:53] on to something
[41:54] we definitely need
[41:55] to talk about
[41:55] which is public safety.
[41:56] By multiple measures,
[41:57] crime in our state
[41:58] has fallen to the lowest
[41:59] level in decades.
[42:00] New York City
[42:01] recently experienced
[42:02] its safest summer
[42:03] on record
[42:03] for shooting incidents,
[42:05] shooting victims,
[42:05] and murders.
[42:06] Of course,
[42:07] other forms of crime
[42:08] and disorder
[42:08] including auto theft,
[42:10] assaults,
[42:10] and hate crimes
[42:11] have remained
[42:12] stubbornly high.
[42:13] What's the solution?
[42:14] What do you think
[42:15] is working
[42:16] and what isn't working?
[42:17] And let's start
[42:18] with you, Mr. Blakeman.
[42:19] Well, first of all,
[42:20] she'll never give
[42:21] Donald Trump
[42:22] any, any accolades
[42:24] for sealing our borders.
[42:26] Maybe that's why
[42:27] the shootings are down.
[42:29] Maybe that's why
[42:30] all the fentanyl deaths
[42:31] are down.
[42:32] Not by anything
[42:32] that you did.
[42:33] But let me say this
[42:34] about crime.
[42:37] If you walk
[42:37] into any CVS
[42:39] or Walgreens
[42:40] and you want to buy
[42:41] a bottle of shampoo,
[42:42] in Kathy Hochul's world,
[42:44] you got to ring a buzzer,
[42:46] a store clerk
[42:46] has to come out,
[42:48] unlock a glass door
[42:49] for you to buy
[42:50] a bottle of shampoo
[42:52] in New York State.
[42:53] It's because
[42:54] we have a revolving door
[42:55] of criminality,
[42:56] cashless bail,
[42:57] raise the age,
[42:58] the HALT Act.
[42:59] And you talk
[42:59] about militias,
[43:01] you're the only one
[43:02] on this stage
[43:03] that has a militia.
[43:03] You have two,
[43:04] the National Guard
[43:05] and the State Guard.
[43:06] And you have
[43:06] the National Guard
[43:07] at the cost
[43:08] of a billion dollars
[43:09] a year
[43:09] to the taxpayers
[43:10] because you fired
[43:12] corrections officers
[43:13] who said
[43:14] these prisons
[43:15] are not only safe
[43:16] for corrections officers,
[43:17] they're not safe
[43:18] for the prisoners.
[43:19] And you fired them
[43:20] and put the National Guard
[43:21] in there.
[43:22] You're the one
[43:22] that used the militia,
[43:23] not me.
[43:25] Do people know
[43:26] that his crime-fighting
[43:27] strategy for Nassau County
[43:28] is his own personal
[43:31] mega-militia
[43:32] which has family members,
[43:35] his Republican donors,
[43:37] and some people
[43:38] who are crazy enough
[43:39] that they literally
[43:39] bring a loaded gun
[43:40] to JFK Airport.
[43:42] And he also
[43:43] doesn't fight for himself.
[43:44] He doesn't stand
[43:45] up to Donald Trump ever.
[43:46] You'll never see that
[43:47] because Donald Trump
[43:48] took away
[43:49] a million dollars
[43:50] in public safety money
[43:51] intended to go
[43:52] for police and fire.
[43:54] And you didn't say
[43:55] a word about it.
[43:55] You didn't criticize
[43:56] Donald Trump.
[43:57] I stood up.
[43:58] I was able to fight
[43:59] with Donald Trump
[44:00] as I had many times.
[44:02] A lot of wins.
[44:03] I had to get
[44:03] a hundred million dollars
[44:04] back to help fund
[44:05] our police and our fire.
[44:07] You don't even have
[44:07] the spine to stand
[44:08] up to Donald Trump.
[44:09] So they're taking money
[44:10] from your own county.
[44:12] I do not have a militia.
[44:13] Only you have a militia.
[44:15] And by the way,
[44:16] they're good people.
[44:17] They don't want
[44:18] to be in the jails.
[44:19] They don't want
[44:19] to be in the prisons.
[44:20] They're not trained
[44:20] to do that.
[44:21] But when you talk
[44:22] about Donald Trump,
[44:23] Donald Trump,
[44:24] Donald Trump,
[44:25] that's all you can talk
[44:26] about because you have
[44:27] a record of failure
[44:28] and misery for the people
[44:30] who live in this state.
[44:31] I did not wrap myself
[44:33] in the shroud
[44:33] of Donald Trump
[44:34] the way you did.
[44:35] No, you wrap it
[44:36] in Zoran Rondami.
[44:37] Hold on, hold on.
[44:37] Who Donald Trump
[44:38] actually thinks
[44:39] is a great mayor.
[44:40] Let's get Ms. Hochul
[44:41] on the question
[44:42] on the table,
[44:42] which is we have some
[44:44] drives that are going down,
[44:45] some that are not.
[44:46] What do you think
[44:47] is working?
[44:47] What's not working?
[44:48] What can people expect
[44:49] if you are elected?
[44:51] You know,
[44:51] we have gotten
[44:51] 26,000 guns off the streets.
[44:53] When I became governor,
[44:54] it was gun crime
[44:55] that was skyrocketing,
[44:56] so we tackled that.
[44:58] Retail theft.
[44:59] I gave millions of dollars
[45:01] to our district attorneys
[45:02] to change the laws
[45:04] and give them
[45:04] what they need
[45:05] to be able to reduce those crimes.
[45:06] Those crimes are going down.
[45:08] Auto theft was going up
[45:09] as well as the stage car crashes.
[45:12] I literally just changed the laws,
[45:13] taking on some really
[45:14] difficult interests in Albany.
[45:16] And I came out on top
[45:18] because I said,
[45:18] there's no reason
[45:19] why New Yorkers
[45:20] should pay the highest
[45:21] auto insurance premiums
[45:22] in the nation.
[45:23] Our drivers aren't any worse.
[45:25] So what I did was I stood up,
[45:27] I changed the law,
[45:28] and you'll start to see
[45:29] a large number of cases
[45:30] being brought by prosecutors
[45:32] that we're funding,
[45:33] stopping those stage car crashes
[45:35] that are driving up costs.
[45:36] Well, whatever the issue is,
[45:37] when it pops up,
[45:38] we go at it.
[45:39] I'm not done with solving crime.
[45:41] It's never going to be solved.
[45:42] I've made a huge difference, though,
[45:44] going from a time
[45:46] when we had the highest crime rates,
[45:47] the escalation was off the charts
[45:50] to some of the lowest crime rates
[45:51] we've had in modern history.
[45:53] And I'm proud of that.
[45:54] We're going to move on to prison safety.
[45:55] I think that's a fantasy.
[45:56] I'm sorry, Mr. Blakeman.
[45:57] We're going to move on to prison safety.
[45:59] Let me just respond.
[46:00] Can I just respond for one minute?
[46:04] We don't have time.
[46:05] She said a lot of things there.
[46:07] It's been 19 months
[46:08] since thousands of correction officers
[46:10] returned to work
[46:11] after a three-week illegal strike.
[46:13] Despite an ongoing recruitment campaign,
[46:15] there are fewer corrections officers
[46:17] than at this time one year ago.
[46:19] That's a 56% vacancy rate
[46:22] among prison workers.
[46:23] Meanwhile, there are National Guard troops
[46:25] working in our prisons,
[46:26] costing taxpayers a billion dollars
[46:29] since the strike.
[46:29] What do you say
[46:31] to explain this failure
[46:32] to attract workers?
[46:33] And was it a mistake
[46:35] to fire the striking workers?
[46:38] When someone who's charged
[46:40] and took an oath of office
[46:41] to protect people
[46:42] inside a facility
[46:44] engages in a wildcat illegal strike
[46:48] and walks off the job
[46:50] leaving other guards,
[46:54] other healthcare workers
[46:55] and people in the kitchen
[46:56] and the incarcerated population,
[47:00] leaving them alone,
[47:00] literally jeopardizing the safety
[47:02] of an entire community,
[47:03] they walked out the door and shut it.
[47:06] What do you want me to do?
[47:07] I sure as hell will fire them.
[47:09] I would say, you violated the law.
[47:11] Shame on you.
[47:12] And we can resolve all the problems that you have.
[47:14] But I think a lot of it had to do with the fact
[47:16] that there had been a lot of public outcry
[47:18] and attention to the fact that that very week,
[47:21] that very day that they walked out,
[47:23] there were supposed to be indictments
[47:25] on a number of them
[47:26] for the murder of an incarcerated individual.
[47:28] They were trying to deflect.
[47:30] And yes, there are challenges.
[47:31] And we're trying hard to recruit more people.
[47:34] I've changed the age.
[47:35] I've launched an aggressive program
[47:37] to make it easier to take the test,
[47:40] to go into our communities,
[47:41] go into churches.
[47:42] Time.
[47:42] And all over the state
[47:43] trying to get more people to do it.
[47:44] But in the meantime,
[47:46] I will not leave our populations unprotected
[47:48] the way he would do it.
[47:49] I have the same question.
[47:51] You took an oath as well.
[47:52] You took an oath as well
[47:53] to support the Constitution of the United States.
[47:57] And you violated federal laws on and on again.
[48:00] You are paying illegal migrants
[48:02] with our taxpayer money,
[48:04] $8 billion for free food,
[48:07] free housing, free transportation,
[48:08] a free cell phone.
[48:09] They get more than we do.
[48:11] And think about this.
[48:12] If you get out of work,
[48:14] if you're laid off,
[48:15] if you're fired,
[48:16] and you want to get unemployment,
[48:17] you get less benefits as a New Yorker
[48:20] than the $81,000 of your taxpayer money
[48:24] that Kathy Hochul spends each year
[48:27] on illegal migrants in our state.
[48:29] So, Bruce Blakeman...
[48:29] I will end our sanctuary state status
[48:32] on day one as governor.
[48:33] The topic on the table is prisons.
[48:35] And how would you handle
[48:36] an illegal strike on your watch?
[48:38] And how would you bolster recruitment?
[48:40] Well, first of all,
[48:41] there never would have been a strike
[48:43] had I been governor.
[48:45] Everybody strikes under Kathy Hochul.
[48:47] The nurses strike,
[48:48] the railroad workers strike,
[48:49] because she won't sit at the table
[48:52] and talk about issues
[48:53] that are important to the workers
[48:55] here in New York state.
[48:56] She is the most anti-union governor
[48:59] in the history of the state of New York.
[49:01] She brought in nurses from out of state.
[49:05] Our nurses, our New York nurses,
[49:06] were saying that there wasn't enough coverage
[49:09] to take care of the patients,
[49:10] so they went on strike.
[49:12] You brought in out-of-state workers
[49:14] to break that strike line.
[49:17] The Long Island Railroad,
[49:18] they went on strike.
[49:20] Time and time again,
[49:23] you have failed to engage
[49:26] the people that work for you.
[49:28] This corrections officer strike
[49:30] never should have happened.
[49:32] You should have listened to them.
[49:34] And by the way,
[49:35] it's not just the corrections officers.
[49:37] The prisoners are complaining now
[49:38] that it's unsafe under your policies
[49:41] of having violent criminals
[49:42] engaged with people
[49:44] in the general population.
[49:45] 30 seconds for Hochul,
[49:47] and then we're moving on.
[49:48] I have the most pro-labor record
[49:50] of any governor in decades,
[49:53] and they know that.
[49:54] That's why I have the endorsements
[49:55] of all the major unions.
[49:57] They know I stand up
[49:58] and fight like hell for them
[49:59] to make sure they have
[50:00] the conditions they deserve
[50:02] and the benefits they deserve.
[50:04] And they know I have their back
[50:05] as someone who's worked
[50:06] with union workers my entire life.
[50:08] But when you bring up
[50:09] something like the nurses,
[50:10] I stand with the nurses.
[50:11] I know how hard they work.
[50:13] But you would say that's better
[50:14] when nurses are striking out front
[50:16] as they're allowed legally to do,
[50:18] that I shouldn't make sure
[50:20] that there's someone standing
[50:21] at the bed of someone
[50:22] who's sick and dying,
[50:23] that I should just leave them alone.
[50:25] I had no choice.
[50:26] I'll always stand up with New Yorkers.
[50:28] If I had to bring someone
[50:29] from somewhere else,
[50:30] I'm sorry, I did not want to do that.
[50:32] But I said, I cannot jeopardize
[50:34] the safety and the health of our residents.
[50:36] As governor, I would have gotten
[50:38] actively engaged in the negotiations
[50:41] to make sure there was no strike.
[50:44] That's what leaders do.
[50:45] And you threatened to fire 10,000 people
[50:47] on Christmas Eve in your county.
[50:49] You have great relations with your county.
[50:51] I never made such a threat.
[50:52] Mr. Blakeman, audio obtained
[50:54] by the New York Times...
[50:54] Check my social media,
[50:55] my Instagram page.
[50:57] We will document that that never happened.
[50:59] Audio obtained by the New York Times
[51:01] shows you, Mr. Blakeman,
[51:02] told attendees at a Hasidic event
[51:04] that, quote, if there is rioting here,
[51:07] if they're burning down yeshivas
[51:09] in your shuls
[51:10] and burning down your house
[51:11] and raping your women,
[51:13] you think Zoran Mamdani
[51:14] is going to stop them?
[51:16] First of all,
[51:17] who exactly were you referring to,
[51:19] the they?
[51:20] And do you stand by those remarks?
[51:22] So first of all,
[51:23] the they are the professional protesters
[51:26] that took over Columbia University,
[51:28] that blocked our bridges
[51:29] and our roadways
[51:30] with the lawlessness that took place,
[51:32] while Kathy Hochul
[51:34] wouldn't protect Jewish students
[51:36] at Columbia University,
[51:38] Jews who are being attacked
[51:39] all around our state.
[51:41] Zoran Mamdani is an anti-Semite.
[51:43] The first thing he did as mayor,
[51:45] with all the issues
[51:46] that faced New York City,
[51:48] the first thing he did
[51:49] was sign an executive order
[51:51] to water down the definition
[51:53] of anti-Semitism.
[51:55] Shame on you, mayor.
[51:57] You are campaigning around the state
[51:59] with a guy who doesn't believe
[52:01] in American values.
[52:03] He talks about collectivism.
[52:04] That means you take personal
[52:06] property rights away.
[52:07] You take other people's property rights.
[52:10] This is a guy that's anti-Christian.
[52:12] Couldn't find an hour out of his day
[52:14] to attend the installation
[52:15] of a new archbishop
[52:17] here in New York City,
[52:18] the biggest religion
[52:19] in the city of New York.
[52:21] Look, if you want to campaign with him,
[52:23] that's fine.
[52:24] But I will tell you right now,
[52:25] I think Zoran Mamdani
[52:27] is an anti-Semite.
[52:28] I believe he's anti-Christian.
[52:29] And I don't think he has American values.
[52:31] 30 seconds to Governor Hoek.
[52:31] I'm actually going to answer your question
[52:33] since you asked about the conversation
[52:36] he had at a secret meeting
[52:37] where he basically said
[52:39] that NYPD, under the leadership
[52:42] of Jessica Tish,
[52:44] would not respond to this neighborhood
[52:46] if there were women being raped
[52:48] and people being murdered
[52:49] and riots in the streets.
[52:51] He didn't say he would not trust them
[52:53] to show up.
[52:54] I stand with the men and women in blue
[52:55] every day of the week.
[52:56] I know how hard they work.
[52:58] They put their lives on the line.
[52:59] And I support the leadership
[53:01] of Jessica Tish.
[53:02] But for you to say
[53:02] that they would stand down
[53:04] is just insulting
[53:05] to all those men and women.
[53:06] Well, first of all,
[53:07] let's put it,
[53:08] let's call it the way it is.
[53:10] I'm talking about political leaders
[53:12] getting involved in law enforcement
[53:14] when they shouldn't be,
[53:15] like what happened under David Dinkins
[53:18] when he waited three days
[53:19] before he stopped the rioting
[53:21] in Crown Heights.
[53:22] I have a lot of confidence
[53:24] in Jessica Tish.
[53:25] As a matter of fact,
[53:26] if there's a compliment
[53:27] I could give to Zoran Mandami,
[53:29] it's in keeping her
[53:30] as the police commissioner.
[53:32] But let's be clear.
[53:33] Let's move on.
[53:34] Anti-Semitism is on the rise
[53:36] and it's occurred under your watch
[53:38] and Zoran Mandami is fueling it.
[53:41] Okay, candidates,
[53:42] we're coming down the homestretch.
[53:43] Just a few minutes left.
[53:44] I wanted to ask this to both of you.
[53:45] Medicaid makes up
[53:47] about a third of the state budget.
[53:49] Under the five budgets enacted
[53:50] since you became governor, Ms. Hochul,
[53:53] the state's share of Medicaid
[53:54] has grown by about $21 billion,
[53:56] which is four times
[53:57] the rate of inflation
[53:58] with no major expansion of benefits.
[54:01] It seems unsustainable,
[54:03] but the question is,
[54:05] if we're going to continue down this road,
[54:08] what will you cut?
[54:10] How will we make that budget work?
[54:12] No, I've already had to look at this
[54:13] and much of it is set by formula.
[54:16] We find out at the beginning of the year
[54:17] what we're required to do.
[54:19] With that being said,
[54:20] I went after and found a program
[54:22] where I cut out the first year
[54:24] $1 billion worth of abuse
[54:26] that was being ignored
[54:30] for many people before my time,
[54:32] and we fought back,
[54:33] and now those savings
[54:34] are up to $2 billion.
[54:35] But I'll tell you what I would not do.
[54:37] I'll continue focusing on this,
[54:39] but my opponent said
[54:40] he'll cut Medicaid in half.
[54:42] Now, to do that,
[54:44] I want to know
[54:44] which hospitals you're shutting down,
[54:46] which nursing homes
[54:47] you're going to shut down,
[54:49] and where grandma's going to go
[54:50] when she has nowhere to stay,
[54:51] and you're going to throw more people
[54:53] off of health insurance.
[54:55] That's your vision for New York.
[54:57] It is certainly not mine.
[54:58] We'll manage our costs.
[54:59] We've been able to do this
[55:00] without having to raise
[55:01] any income taxes.
[55:03] That's called good fiscal stewardship.
[55:05] The fact that I can do all this,
[55:07] find out some fraud and waste,
[55:09] we've eliminated it,
[55:10] we have more to go,
[55:11] but also by not raising taxes
[55:13] is something that we're going
[55:14] to continue doing.
[55:15] Let me be clear.
[55:17] I never said
[55:18] that I would cut Medicaid in half.
[55:21] What I did say
[55:22] is that the Medicaid costs
[55:24] to the taxpayers of New York State
[55:26] are more than Texas
[55:28] and Florida combined.
[55:31] There are 5 million people
[55:33] who are eligible for Medicaid
[55:36] and deserve it
[55:37] and deserve better services
[55:38] and more quality services,
[55:40] but 8 million people,
[55:42] 3 million more,
[55:43] are getting benefits.
[55:44] How do you explain the fact
[55:46] that 5 million people are eligible
[55:48] and 8 million people
[55:49] are getting benefits?
[55:50] That's why our costs
[55:52] are out of control.
[55:54] Okay, candidates.
[55:55] We have time for a short
[55:56] lightning round
[55:57] before we conclude,
[55:58] and I'll start with you,
[56:00] Mr. Blakeman.
[56:01] Should the dangers
[56:02] of artificial intelligence
[56:03] be treated like any other form
[56:05] of product liability?
[56:08] Well, I think yes.
[56:09] I think basically
[56:10] if any kind of injury
[56:12] to the public occurs
[56:13] and it's because of
[56:15] the negligence
[56:16] or the hazards
[56:18] of a business doing business
[56:20] that people have a right
[56:21] to be compensated for that
[56:23] as it is with any other industry.
[56:25] Okay.
[56:26] Ms. Hochul.
[56:27] We have passed
[56:28] one of the strongest laws
[56:29] in the nation
[56:29] called the Rays Act
[56:30] to deal with critical incidences
[56:33] that could occur
[56:34] because of AI going unfettered
[56:36] or out of control.
[56:37] So we are nation-leading
[56:39] once again.
[56:39] I'm proud of that,
[56:40] but this technology
[56:42] is evolving so quickly
[56:43] that we have to be laser-focused,
[56:45] which is why I set up
[56:46] an entire office
[56:47] and hired the best in the nation
[56:48] to staff this
[56:49] to make sure
[56:50] that we manage this
[56:51] the best way we can.
[56:53] But there have to be consequences.
[56:55] That's why those companies
[56:56] are on notice.
[56:57] You operate in New York State.
[56:59] We have laws
[56:59] to protect our children
[57:00] and our residents.
[57:02] So would you...
[57:03] Are you going to raise income taxes,
[57:05] Governor Hochul?
[57:05] No.
[57:07] I'm going to cut income taxes.
[57:09] Our state budget
[57:10] is twice the size
[57:12] of the state of Florida,
[57:13] and there's 4 million more people
[57:15] in Florida.
[57:15] Yes or no, or a short question.
[57:16] That's because of the fraud,
[57:18] waste, and abuse
[57:19] under the Hochul administration.
[57:20] Thank you.
[57:21] I will cut your taxes.
[57:22] I've cut middle-class tax rates
[57:24] at the lowest it's been in 70 years.
[57:25] You're going up $8 billion.
[57:27] I've cut the middle-class tax rates
[57:29] at the lowest it's been in 70 years.
[57:31] Mr. Blakeman...
[57:32] You're going up $8 billion
[57:32] since you've been governor.
[57:35] Mr. Blakeman, New York One
[57:36] has confirmed...
[57:36] Go to my social media.
[57:37] I have the facts
[57:38] and the documents
[57:39] to back that up.
[57:40] Mayor Mumdani
[57:40] and the city council,
[57:41] Mr. Blakeman,
[57:42] have reached a deal
[57:43] to ban New York City's
[57:44] horse carriage industry
[57:45] after a series of safety incidents.
[57:47] Is that the right move?
[57:49] Well, you know,
[57:50] I'm nostalgic
[57:51] for the horse-drawn carriages
[57:53] in New York,
[57:54] but I understand the issues,
[57:57] and we have to protect
[57:58] animal rights here in our state,
[58:00] and I'm a big supporter of that.
[58:01] I've enacted laws
[58:02] for animal rights.
[58:03] But at the same time,
[58:04] we also have to think
[58:04] of the consequences
[58:05] of the people
[58:06] who may lose their jobs.
[58:07] Yes or no?
[58:08] Did you...
[58:08] I will look into it.
[58:10] It just happened today,
[58:11] but I'll look into it.
[58:12] But I think we have
[58:13] to have a balanced approach to it.
[58:14] Ms. Ockel.
[58:15] You better let
[58:15] John Samuelson
[58:16] know your position.
[58:17] Ms. Ockel.
[58:18] And I support what they did.
[58:19] Okay.
[58:20] All right, candidates.
[58:21] Thanks very much.
[58:21] That's going to do it
[58:22] for tonight's debate.
[58:23] I'd like to thank
[58:24] both candidates
[58:25] for joining us tonight
[58:26] and to all of you
[58:26] at home for watching.
[58:28] We'd also like to thank
[58:28] the New York State
[58:29] Public Campaign Finance Board
[58:31] for helping ensure
[58:32] that this debate happened.
[58:33] If you missed
[58:34] any part of tonight's broadcast
[58:35] or any of our previous debates
[58:37] for state attorney general
[58:38] or state controller,
[58:39] you can see them
[58:40] in their entirety
[58:40] on our website
[58:41] and on our YouTube channel.
[58:43] And remember,
[58:43] Election Day
[58:44] is three weeks from today
[58:46] for the results that night.
[58:47] We're going to bring you
[58:48] statewide coverage
[58:49] all night long
[58:50] and early voting
[58:51] is set to begin
[58:52] across New York
[58:52] on Saturday, October 24th.
[58:55] On behalf of Spectrum News,
[58:56] thank you so much
[58:57] for watching
[58:57] and have a good night.
[58:58] Evening.
[59:35] And welcome to Spectrum News
[59:36] special statewide
[59:37] post-debate coverage.
[59:39] I'm your host,
[59:39] Bobby Cusa.
[59:40] We just watched
[59:41] Governor Kathy Hochul
[59:42] and her Republican challenger,
[59:44] Nassau County Executive
[59:45] Bruce Blakeman,
[59:46] face off in their
[59:47] only televised debate
[59:49] in this race.
[59:50] And over the next half hour,
[59:51] we will bring you
[59:52] some expert analysis
[59:54] and reaction.
[59:55] And in just a few minutes,
[59:57] we will hear directly
[59:57] from our debate moderators,
[59:59] Errol Lewis and Susan Arbetter,
[1:00:01] from inside the studio
[1:00:03] where things just wrapped up.
[1:00:06] But first,
[1:00:06] we are going to check in
[1:00:08] with a couple
[1:00:08] of our in-house
[1:00:10] experts.
[1:00:10] Statehouse reporter
[1:00:11] Bernadette Hogan is with me,
[1:00:13] as is upstate political reporter
[1:00:16] Jack Arpey,
[1:00:17] joining me from Albany.
[1:00:19] And let's start with Bernadette.
[1:00:21] Bernadette,
[1:00:21] what stood out to you
[1:00:23] most from tonight's debate?
[1:00:26] Well, first of all, Bobby,
[1:00:27] Governor Kathy Hochul
[1:00:29] brought up pretty much
[1:00:30] at every opportunity
[1:00:31] President Donald Trump,
[1:00:32] continuing to tie Bruce Blakeman,
[1:00:34] the Republican candidate,
[1:00:35] to President Trump.
[1:00:36] and frankly,
[1:00:38] everything that she sees
[1:00:39] is a big issue
[1:00:40] in the United States
[1:00:41] and specifically for New Yorkers,
[1:00:43] from energy pricing
[1:00:44] to ice-involved,
[1:00:47] the ice-involved shooting
[1:00:48] in Marble Hill
[1:00:49] just last week.
[1:00:50] And she said
[1:00:51] that one of the reasons
[1:00:52] is because of
[1:00:53] Bruce Blakeman's alliance
[1:00:54] and Blakeman,
[1:00:56] she criticized for refusing
[1:00:58] to also criticize the president.
[1:01:00] But also surprisingly,
[1:01:02] it took almost 45 minutes
[1:01:03] for New York City mayors
[1:01:05] or on Momdani's name
[1:01:06] to come up.
[1:01:07] Of course,
[1:01:07] that has been
[1:01:08] the continued criticism
[1:01:09] from Blakeman
[1:01:10] and other Republicans
[1:01:10] of Governor Hochul
[1:01:12] that she has allied herself
[1:01:13] with the policies
[1:01:15] of the Democratic Socialist
[1:01:17] wing of the Democratic Party.
[1:01:19] But Blakeman really
[1:01:20] didn't lay into her
[1:01:21] at all about that association
[1:01:22] up until the very end
[1:01:24] as Hochul continued
[1:01:25] to bring up
[1:01:26] the Blakeman-Trump Association.
[1:01:28] Finally, Blakeman said,
[1:01:29] well, listen,
[1:01:29] you are allied with Momdani
[1:01:31] and you're trying
[1:01:31] to follow in his footsteps.
[1:01:33] So, Bernadette,
[1:01:35] let me ask you more
[1:01:36] about the Trump question
[1:01:38] because, you know,
[1:01:40] Kathy Hochul really
[1:01:41] continually,
[1:01:43] really hammered home
[1:01:44] that point
[1:01:45] talking about
[1:01:46] the close relationship
[1:01:47] between Bruce Blakeman
[1:01:48] and Donald Trump.
[1:01:49] And then his response
[1:01:51] to that is,
[1:01:52] well, you keep talking
[1:01:52] about Donald Trump
[1:01:53] because of the Trump
[1:01:55] because of your failing record.
[1:01:57] But in some ways,
[1:01:58] he also tried to create
[1:02:00] a little bit of distance
[1:02:01] with Trump.
[1:02:02] He said that they have
[1:02:03] some very clear policy differences,
[1:02:05] including the fact
[1:02:06] that he, Bruce Blakeman,
[1:02:08] is pro-choice
[1:02:09] while Trump is pro-life.
[1:02:11] And he brought up
[1:02:11] a couple of other examples.
[1:02:13] So there was some real
[1:02:14] push and pull
[1:02:15] when it came to Donald Trump,
[1:02:17] which Kathy Hochul obviously
[1:02:18] wants to make
[1:02:19] a centerpiece of this race.
[1:02:22] Sure, not just the governor,
[1:02:23] but also Democrats
[1:02:25] throughout the state
[1:02:25] and nationally.
[1:02:27] The president did appear
[1:02:28] on stage
[1:02:29] with Blakeman in Syracuse
[1:02:30] just last week.
[1:02:31] And the president said,
[1:02:32] listen, I want all my supporters
[1:02:34] to think that I'm on the ballot
[1:02:35] so they come out for Republicans.
[1:02:37] So there's a tact here as well
[1:02:38] with not just midterm turnout
[1:02:40] but this gubernatorial debate.
[1:02:42] Blakeman tried to create difference.
[1:02:44] He mentioned that he is pro-life.
[1:02:47] Excuse me, he is pro-choice.
[1:02:49] The president is pro-life.
[1:02:50] And he also said that there's still
[1:02:52] two years left in the president's term
[1:02:55] and he's waiting to give the president
[1:02:57] a final grade.
[1:02:59] Now, of course, the governor
[1:03:00] in one of the lightning round questions
[1:03:02] or the Q&A portion
[1:03:03] asked Bruce Blakeman
[1:03:05] whether or not he thinks
[1:03:07] certain policies by the president
[1:03:09] are favorable.
[1:03:10] And she, of course, couched it
[1:03:11] in a way where she says,
[1:03:13] listen, energy prices are up,
[1:03:14] gas prices are up,
[1:03:16] ISIS intervention,
[1:03:17] not just in New York state
[1:03:18] but all across the nation.
[1:03:19] Do you agree with those?
[1:03:21] And Blakeman, of course,
[1:03:22] ended up turning it out
[1:03:23] and said to her,
[1:03:25] listen, you don't want to talk
[1:03:25] about your record.
[1:03:26] That's why you continue
[1:03:27] to bring up President Trump.
[1:03:29] However, Bobby, as you pointed out,
[1:03:31] you know, there is definitely
[1:03:33] an association between Trump
[1:03:35] and Blakeman in New Yorker's mind
[1:03:36] but perhaps Blakeman is trying
[1:03:38] to appeal to some independents
[1:03:41] who are not yet sold
[1:03:42] on the governor and her record
[1:03:44] and trying to pick them off.
[1:03:45] But again, there's an overwhelming
[1:03:47] Democratic enrollment advantage
[1:03:50] that that party sees
[1:03:51] compared to Republicans
[1:03:52] and the president's figures
[1:03:55] in other polls before this debate
[1:03:58] show him underwater in New York.
[1:04:00] All right.
[1:04:02] We're going to check in
[1:04:02] with our upstate political reporter,
[1:04:04] Jack Arpey.
[1:04:05] Jack, they covered a lot of ground today.
[1:04:07] I mean, everything from ice
[1:04:09] to energy prices, agriculture, upstate.
[1:04:12] They talked about the alleged gang rape
[1:04:15] at Cornell University.
[1:04:16] They talked about AI and crime.
[1:04:19] A lot to talk about,
[1:04:21] but what were your big takeaways
[1:04:22] from the debate?
[1:04:24] Well, I think it's hard
[1:04:25] for anybody's takeaway
[1:04:26] not to be, as Bernadette mentioned,
[1:04:28] the continuous mention
[1:04:30] of President Donald Trump.
[1:04:31] Midway through the debate,
[1:04:32] it got to the point
[1:04:33] where if you're keeping count
[1:04:34] for any reason,
[1:04:35] it became very conspicuous
[1:04:36] that the governor
[1:04:36] kept going back to that.
[1:04:38] And to your point
[1:04:38] about all of the issues
[1:04:39] that were on the table,
[1:04:40] one thing that's very interesting
[1:04:41] about watching this governor
[1:04:43] is that she does have
[1:04:44] an interesting way
[1:04:45] of going about things.
[1:04:46] She picks interesting fights.
[1:04:48] And she does get things done.
[1:04:49] You have to wonder
[1:04:50] if there were certain things
[1:04:52] that she could have spent
[1:04:53] some of that time talking about
[1:04:54] to maybe sway people
[1:04:56] by going into some of
[1:04:57] the unusual fights
[1:04:59] that she may have picked
[1:04:59] with the Democratic legislature
[1:05:01] when it comes to crime
[1:05:02] or things like that.
[1:05:03] So much time ended up
[1:05:05] being spent talking
[1:05:06] about President Trump
[1:05:08] and not some of those other things.
[1:05:09] Obviously, a debate
[1:05:11] is meant to be big picture.
[1:05:13] It's meant to be punchy.
[1:05:14] And so maybe people
[1:05:15] don't want to talk
[1:05:16] about the things
[1:05:16] that are going on right here
[1:05:18] in the Capitol halls
[1:05:19] that we see that might
[1:05:20] be a little bit boring
[1:05:22] compared to some of
[1:05:23] the other things
[1:05:24] that could be talked about.
[1:05:26] But I do think
[1:05:26] that so much
[1:05:27] of the governor's energy
[1:05:28] went into that
[1:05:29] Trump conversation
[1:05:30] and not necessarily
[1:05:32] talking about
[1:05:33] some of the things
[1:05:33] specifically that she's done.
[1:05:35] Of course,
[1:05:35] she got into
[1:05:36] some of her accomplishments,
[1:05:38] especially when it comes
[1:05:38] to crime towards the end.
[1:05:40] But, you know,
[1:05:41] I was expecting to hear
[1:05:42] a few more specifics
[1:05:43] from the governor.
[1:05:45] I know you've done
[1:05:45] a lot of reporting
[1:05:46] on prisons upstate.
[1:05:49] There was obviously
[1:05:49] that strike
[1:05:50] by corrections officers
[1:05:52] and that came up tonight.
[1:05:53] It seemed like
[1:05:54] Kathy Hochul
[1:05:55] really doubled down
[1:05:56] on the decision
[1:05:56] to fire some of those workers.
[1:05:59] And then you heard
[1:06:00] Bruce Blakeman say
[1:06:01] that strike never
[1:06:01] would have happened
[1:06:02] if he was on the job,
[1:06:04] which kind of struck me
[1:06:06] as similar
[1:06:07] to some of the arguments
[1:06:07] that you heard
[1:06:08] from Donald Trump
[1:06:08] when he was running
[1:06:09] for president
[1:06:09] saying, you know,
[1:06:10] some of these
[1:06:11] overseas conflicts
[1:06:12] wouldn't have happened
[1:06:13] if he was in office.
[1:06:14] What about that,
[1:06:16] the debate over prisons?
[1:06:19] What was your take on that?
[1:06:21] Well, one thing
[1:06:22] that's important to note
[1:06:22] is the governor
[1:06:23] did ultimately end up
[1:06:24] hiring back
[1:06:25] some of those correction officers
[1:06:26] through a grievance process.
[1:06:27] Again, probably not something
[1:06:28] that would necessarily
[1:06:30] come up on the debate stage.
[1:06:31] But aside from that,
[1:06:32] aside from those reports
[1:06:33] around the machinations
[1:06:35] of actually going
[1:06:36] through that process,
[1:06:37] the governor has
[1:06:37] stood very firm
[1:06:39] that that was
[1:06:39] the correct direction
[1:06:40] to take this in,
[1:06:42] to bring in the National Guard,
[1:06:43] to not bring back
[1:06:43] those striking officers.
[1:06:45] Her point being
[1:06:45] that they put public safety
[1:06:47] at risk,
[1:06:47] obviously Blakeman's point being,
[1:06:49] and many other people,
[1:06:50] that these National Guard troops
[1:06:51] are not trained
[1:06:52] correction officers.
[1:06:53] This is not an appropriate
[1:06:54] role for them
[1:06:55] to be holding.
[1:06:56] So certainly,
[1:06:58] the governor has stood
[1:06:59] by that pretty much
[1:07:00] the entire time.
[1:07:00] But when it comes
[1:07:01] to Blakeman's point,
[1:07:02] that's obviously easy to say
[1:07:03] when you're in a debate
[1:07:04] running for governor
[1:07:05] and not actually running
[1:07:07] the state's Department
[1:07:08] of Corrections.
[1:07:09] But it is true
[1:07:10] that New York State's prisons
[1:07:11] have been in crisis
[1:07:12] for a very long time.
[1:07:13] And the few months
[1:07:14] leading up to that strike
[1:07:15] and even Governor
[1:07:16] Kathy Hochul's tenure
[1:07:18] is not when that decline started.
[1:07:20] And so it is very conceivable
[1:07:22] that a Republican governor
[1:07:23] could have faced
[1:07:24] a similar situation.
[1:07:26] He was actually asked
[1:07:27] a few weeks ago
[1:07:28] here in Albany
[1:07:28] if he would support
[1:07:29] changing the Taylor Law,
[1:07:31] which was, you know,
[1:07:33] what made that strike illegal.
[1:07:35] And he said
[1:07:35] that is something
[1:07:36] that he would consider.
[1:07:37] But nevertheless,
[1:07:38] it's hard when you look
[1:07:39] at New York's prison system,
[1:07:40] the broad degree
[1:07:41] of challenges
[1:07:42] that are being faced here
[1:07:44] that, you know,
[1:07:45] you can just say
[1:07:46] that it wouldn't happen
[1:07:47] on his watch.
[1:07:48] All right, Jack,
[1:07:49] stand by.
[1:07:49] We are going to check in
[1:07:50] with you again
[1:07:51] later on in the show.
[1:07:52] But right now,
[1:07:53] I want to go to
[1:07:53] our Spectrum News
[1:07:55] political director,
[1:07:56] Bob Hart,
[1:07:57] who joins me now.
[1:07:58] Bob, you have been
[1:07:59] through a lot of these debates,
[1:08:01] been involved with directly
[1:08:03] and watched a lot
[1:08:03] of these debates
[1:08:04] over the years.
[1:08:05] What stood out to you
[1:08:07] from this one here tonight?
[1:08:08] Well, one of the things
[1:08:09] that jumped out at me
[1:08:10] was that I thought,
[1:08:11] like we heard about
[1:08:12] Donald Trump
[1:08:13] so early on
[1:08:14] in the debate
[1:08:14] from Kathy Hochul,
[1:08:16] that we were going to hear
[1:08:16] about Zoran Mamdani
[1:08:18] from Bruce Blakeman.
[1:08:19] And that took about
[1:08:20] 40 or so minutes
[1:08:21] into the debate
[1:08:22] before he was,
[1:08:23] he's sort of the boogeyman
[1:08:24] in some Republican circles.
[1:08:26] But it wasn't,
[1:08:27] it wasn't with the same force
[1:08:28] that we heard Kathy Hochul
[1:08:29] talking about Trump.
[1:08:31] So much so that at one point
[1:08:32] Bruce Blakeman said,
[1:08:32] Trump, Trump, Trump,
[1:08:33] like almost like
[1:08:34] out of a sitcom.
[1:08:35] So that was,
[1:08:36] in terms of like
[1:08:37] political strategy,
[1:08:38] the one thing
[1:08:38] that I was surprised about.
[1:08:39] And then Hochul really
[1:08:40] didn't speak
[1:08:41] in defense of the mayor.
[1:08:43] She spoke out
[1:08:43] in defense of
[1:08:44] the mayor's police commissioner,
[1:08:45] Jessica Tisch.
[1:08:46] So those are the
[1:08:47] two little things
[1:08:48] that jumped out
[1:08:49] in terms of political attacks
[1:08:50] and counterattacks to me.
[1:08:52] I mean,
[1:08:52] they were just
[1:08:52] on the polar opposite ends
[1:08:55] of so many issues.
[1:08:56] I mean,
[1:08:56] anybody tuning in
[1:08:58] to the governor's race
[1:08:59] for the first time tonight,
[1:09:00] I think really got a sense
[1:09:01] for the divergent views
[1:09:03] of these two candidates.
[1:09:06] I mean,
[1:09:06] even right off the top,
[1:09:07] when the moderators
[1:09:09] asked about ICE
[1:09:10] and that incident,
[1:09:11] of course,
[1:09:12] last week,
[1:09:12] that shooting here
[1:09:13] in New York City
[1:09:14] where a Dominican immigrant
[1:09:16] was shot
[1:09:16] while his five-year-old
[1:09:17] sat in the backseat
[1:09:19] of the car,
[1:09:20] you know,
[1:09:20] Bruce Blakeman,
[1:09:21] he didn't condemn
[1:09:23] the shooting,
[1:09:24] but he tried
[1:09:25] to turn it around
[1:09:26] on Kathy Hochul
[1:09:27] and said,
[1:09:28] it's sanctuary
[1:09:29] state policies
[1:09:31] that sort of got us
[1:09:33] into this type
[1:09:34] of situation
[1:09:35] in the first place.
[1:09:36] And he defended
[1:09:36] the fact that
[1:09:37] in Nassau County,
[1:09:38] they have actually
[1:09:39] cooperated with ICE.
[1:09:41] So right from the top,
[1:09:42] you saw the differences
[1:09:43] between these two candidates.
[1:09:45] Yeah,
[1:09:45] Blakeman didn't really
[1:09:46] address the nuts and bolts
[1:09:48] of that case
[1:09:49] last week at all
[1:09:49] and wanted to make
[1:09:50] the topic broader
[1:09:52] and talk about
[1:09:52] the whole issue
[1:09:53] like you pointed out,
[1:09:55] whereas the governor
[1:09:55] did want to talk
[1:09:56] about the issue
[1:09:57] and pointed out,
[1:09:59] hey, there was
[1:09:59] a five-year-old kid
[1:10:00] in the car
[1:10:00] and this isn't
[1:10:02] the way policing
[1:10:02] should be done.
[1:10:03] So they were talking
[1:10:05] past each other
[1:10:05] on this issue
[1:10:06] and to your earlier point,
[1:10:07] I agree with you
[1:10:08] that when you hear
[1:10:09] people say,
[1:10:10] oh, politicians
[1:10:11] are the same,
[1:10:11] I'd say,
[1:10:11] watch this debate, right?
[1:10:13] There were two
[1:10:13] very different visions
[1:10:14] of New York State
[1:10:15] that you heard
[1:10:16] from the two candidates
[1:10:17] and at times
[1:10:18] I almost felt
[1:10:19] like they were
[1:10:20] two trains running
[1:10:20] on two different tracks.
[1:10:21] Once in a while
[1:10:22] they'd be interacting
[1:10:23] but it was almost
[1:10:24] like two monologues
[1:10:25] and that's because
[1:10:26] when you're preparing
[1:10:26] for a debate
[1:10:27] you have your stock lines
[1:10:28] and your stock responses
[1:10:29] but there was
[1:10:30] great interaction
[1:10:31] with them
[1:10:31] and at times
[1:10:32] it was very fiery
[1:10:33] so much so that
[1:10:34] Susan and Errol
[1:10:35] had to cut them off
[1:10:36] repeatedly.
[1:10:37] Yeah.
[1:10:37] All right.
[1:10:38] We are going to have
[1:10:39] to take a quick break.
[1:10:40] We will have a lot
[1:10:40] more analysis
[1:10:41] on the debate
[1:10:42] and we will check in
[1:10:43] with the debate moderators,
[1:10:44] Errol Lewis
[1:10:45] and Susan Arbetter
[1:10:46] in just two minutes.
[1:10:48] Stay with us.
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[1:13:26] Welcome back.
[1:13:27] You just heard
[1:13:28] some exchange
[1:13:30] from tonight's debate
[1:13:30] between Kathy Hochul
[1:13:31] and Bruce Blakeman
[1:13:32] that took place
[1:13:33] right here at New York 1 Studios
[1:13:35] in New York City.
[1:13:35] And joining me now
[1:13:36] to tell us
[1:13:37] how things felt
[1:13:38] from inside the studio
[1:13:39] are our debate moderators.
[1:13:41] Errol Lewis
[1:13:41] and Susan Arbetter.
[1:13:44] And Errol,
[1:13:44] I'll start with you.
[1:13:45] How did things feel
[1:13:47] having a front row seat?
[1:13:48] It seemed like
[1:13:49] it was contentious
[1:13:51] but not necessarily
[1:13:53] too personal
[1:13:54] or nasty.
[1:13:55] That's right.
[1:13:56] It was contentious,
[1:13:57] but these are both
[1:13:58] professional politicians.
[1:14:01] Both of them have served
[1:14:02] in a number
[1:14:02] of different positions.
[1:14:04] Before he became
[1:14:06] Nassau County Executive,
[1:14:07] Bruce Blakeman
[1:14:07] was a member of the board
[1:14:09] of the Port Authority
[1:14:10] but he had been
[1:14:10] a county legislator
[1:14:11] for a long, long time
[1:14:12] out in Nassau County.
[1:14:14] And of course,
[1:14:15] Governor Hochul
[1:14:16] had been lieutenant governor
[1:14:17] and had been a member
[1:14:18] of Congress
[1:14:18] and had been the Erie County clerk
[1:14:20] and had been a mayor
[1:14:21] of a town called Hamburg.
[1:14:22] This is her, I think,
[1:14:23] 16th election.
[1:14:24] So they debated
[1:14:27] the way we often like
[1:14:28] to see candidates debate
[1:14:29] which is we give them
[1:14:30] the rules
[1:14:31] and the rules
[1:14:32] are sort of a framework
[1:14:33] but if they really
[1:14:34] want to go at it,
[1:14:35] you know, we'll let them
[1:14:37] as long as they do it
[1:14:37] in a way that
[1:14:38] everyone can be heard.
[1:14:40] Sometimes they did
[1:14:41] talk over each other
[1:14:42] a little bit
[1:14:42] and that's usually
[1:14:43] where we would try
[1:14:45] and step in
[1:14:45] or if the issue
[1:14:46] had basically
[1:14:47] exhausted itself.
[1:14:49] And Susan,
[1:14:50] it certainly seemed
[1:14:50] like Bruce Blakeman
[1:14:51] came prepared
[1:14:52] with all of his
[1:14:54] attack lines.
[1:14:54] I mean, almost on
[1:14:55] every topic
[1:14:56] that you guys raised,
[1:14:58] he managed to try
[1:14:59] to turn it around
[1:15:00] and attack Kathy Hochul.
[1:15:02] Was that your
[1:15:03] impression as well?
[1:15:04] Yeah, I think both of them
[1:15:05] came very, very prepared.
[1:15:07] In fact, you know,
[1:15:08] you asked Errol,
[1:15:09] you basically observed
[1:15:12] that they were having
[1:15:13] a good time
[1:15:14] and they really were.
[1:15:15] I think they both
[1:15:16] relished this debate.
[1:15:18] It wasn't personal.
[1:15:19] It was something
[1:15:20] that they both,
[1:15:21] they shook their hands
[1:15:22] right after
[1:15:23] the debate was over
[1:15:24] and it was,
[1:15:26] I think,
[1:15:26] a really good debate
[1:15:28] in terms of
[1:15:29] both of them
[1:15:30] knowing the issues
[1:15:31] and getting their
[1:15:32] zingers out
[1:15:34] when they needed to.
[1:15:35] So yeah,
[1:15:35] I think that
[1:15:36] Bruce Blakeman
[1:15:37] definitely got
[1:15:38] some uppercuts in there,
[1:15:39] but so did Hochul.
[1:15:41] They were pretty
[1:15:42] equally matched,
[1:15:43] I think.
[1:15:44] And Errol,
[1:15:45] one issue
[1:15:46] we haven't really
[1:15:46] talked about so far
[1:15:47] in this post-debate program
[1:15:50] is the Cornell University case
[1:15:52] and that was something
[1:15:54] you guys brought up.
[1:15:55] Obviously,
[1:15:55] Kathy Hochul
[1:15:56] just appointed
[1:15:58] a special prosecutor,
[1:15:59] the state attorney general,
[1:16:00] Letitia James,
[1:16:01] and even on that,
[1:16:04] Bruce Blakeman
[1:16:04] attacked her.
[1:16:05] I mean,
[1:16:06] he made it sound
[1:16:06] as though she
[1:16:07] had some culpability
[1:16:09] because of the fact
[1:16:10] that she's actually
[1:16:11] a board member
[1:16:12] of Cornell University.
[1:16:13] Yeah,
[1:16:13] I mean,
[1:16:14] I,
[1:16:15] you know,
[1:16:15] we often forget,
[1:16:16] but Cornell
[1:16:17] has kind of
[1:16:18] a dual nature to it,
[1:16:20] meaning there's
[1:16:21] the private Ivy League
[1:16:22] university
[1:16:23] that people know about,
[1:16:24] but there's also
[1:16:24] a unit of SUNY
[1:16:26] mostly dealing
[1:16:27] with agricultural
[1:16:27] and a couple
[1:16:28] of other schools
[1:16:29] that are up there.
[1:16:30] So to that extent,
[1:16:32] yes,
[1:16:32] the governor
[1:16:33] is an ex-officio
[1:16:34] member of the board
[1:16:35] of Cornell,
[1:16:35] obviously not involved
[1:16:37] enough that she
[1:16:38] would be dealing
[1:16:38] with things like
[1:16:39] sexual harassment policy
[1:16:40] or how to punish
[1:16:41] people who misbehave
[1:16:42] at fraternities.
[1:16:43] On the other hand,
[1:16:44] it's a valid point
[1:16:46] to bring up
[1:16:47] and that's partly
[1:16:48] why Bruce Blakeman
[1:16:50] brought it up.
[1:16:50] They had a very contentious,
[1:16:51] I think we have
[1:16:52] a clip of it,
[1:16:52] the exchange between them
[1:16:54] over a lot of that issue.
[1:16:57] And as a trustee
[1:16:58] and as governor,
[1:16:59] you didn't call
[1:17:00] for an independent
[1:17:00] investigation
[1:17:01] when you found out
[1:17:02] that the district attorney
[1:17:03] was dropping the case.
[1:17:04] Thank you.
[1:17:05] Shame on you.
[1:17:06] I did.
[1:17:06] You know,
[1:17:07] that's pretty pathetic
[1:17:08] to blame me
[1:17:09] for what happened
[1:17:10] in a fraternity.
[1:17:11] My gosh.
[1:17:12] No,
[1:17:12] I'm blaming you
[1:17:12] for the investigation
[1:17:13] afterwards.
[1:17:14] You deny that?
[1:17:15] You were a trustee there.
[1:17:18] The university failed
[1:17:20] that young woman.
[1:17:23] You know,
[1:17:24] again,
[1:17:24] a valid point,
[1:17:25] but, you know,
[1:17:26] Bruce Blakeman himself
[1:17:28] is, you know,
[1:17:29] I mean,
[1:17:29] he's probably
[1:17:31] an ex-officio member
[1:17:32] of Nassau County
[1:17:33] Medical Center
[1:17:33] and other institutions
[1:17:34] that have had
[1:17:35] their own sets
[1:17:36] of problems.
[1:17:37] But this is,
[1:17:39] like I said,
[1:17:40] this is a political
[1:17:41] experience showing itself
[1:17:43] that his team
[1:17:45] gave him a file
[1:17:46] and said,
[1:17:46] you know what?
[1:17:47] She has a vulnerability
[1:17:49] here,
[1:17:50] and so that's what you do
[1:17:51] in a limited,
[1:17:52] televised debate.
[1:17:53] You exploit that
[1:17:54] vulnerability.
[1:17:55] Let me play
[1:17:56] another soundbite
[1:17:58] for you guys.
[1:17:59] This was from
[1:17:59] a little bit deeper
[1:18:00] into the debate
[1:18:01] when they were asked
[1:18:03] about the correction
[1:18:04] officers' strike
[1:18:05] upstate,
[1:18:07] and here again,
[1:18:08] Blakeman sought
[1:18:09] to turn this
[1:18:10] on Kathy Hillclaw
[1:18:10] and again saying
[1:18:11] that this is something
[1:18:12] that never would have
[1:18:13] taken place
[1:18:13] if he'd been on the job.
[1:18:16] And you have
[1:18:16] the National Guard
[1:18:17] at the cost
[1:18:18] of a billion dollars
[1:18:19] a year to the taxpayers
[1:18:20] because you fired
[1:18:22] corrections officers
[1:18:23] who said
[1:18:24] these prisons
[1:18:25] are not only safe
[1:18:26] for corrections officers,
[1:18:27] they're not safe
[1:18:28] for the prisoners.
[1:18:29] And you fired them
[1:18:30] and put the National Guard
[1:18:31] in there.
[1:18:32] You're the one
[1:18:32] that used the militia,
[1:18:33] not me.
[1:18:34] When someone
[1:18:35] who's charged
[1:18:37] and took an oath
[1:18:38] of office
[1:18:38] to protect people
[1:18:39] inside a facility
[1:18:41] engages in a wildcat
[1:18:43] illegal strike
[1:18:44] and walks off the job
[1:18:47] leaving other guards,
[1:18:51] other health care workers
[1:18:52] and people in the kitchen
[1:18:53] and the incarcerated population
[1:18:56] leaving them alone,
[1:18:57] literally jeopardizing
[1:18:58] the safety
[1:18:59] of an entire community.
[1:19:00] They walked out the door
[1:19:01] and shut it.
[1:19:03] What do you want me to do?
[1:19:04] I sure as hell
[1:19:05] will fire them.
[1:19:06] I would say
[1:19:06] you violated the law.
[1:19:07] Shame on you.
[1:19:09] Susan, I know you guys
[1:19:10] have spent a lot of time
[1:19:11] upstate reporting
[1:19:13] on that strike.
[1:19:14] It seems like Kathy Hochul
[1:19:15] really forcefully
[1:19:16] defended her actions there.
[1:19:18] Yeah, and I think
[1:19:19] that we should just back up
[1:19:20] and remember
[1:19:20] that there was a reason
[1:19:21] for the strike
[1:19:22] and that reason was
[1:19:23] that there aren't
[1:19:25] enough prison guards.
[1:19:26] There weren't,
[1:19:27] before the strike,
[1:19:28] there weren't enough
[1:19:28] prison guards
[1:19:29] and that was one
[1:19:29] of the reasons
[1:19:30] for the strike.
[1:19:31] Also, another issue
[1:19:32] is the HALT Act,
[1:19:34] which is a law
[1:19:37] that the legislature
[1:19:38] put into place
[1:19:39] that limits
[1:19:41] solitary confinement
[1:19:42] and creates some programs
[1:19:44] for incarcerated individuals.
[1:19:46] But that didn't come up.
[1:19:48] But the fact that it's such,
[1:19:51] you know what,
[1:19:51] being a corrections officer
[1:19:52] is probably one
[1:19:53] of the toughest jobs
[1:19:54] out there.
[1:19:55] And it's very difficult
[1:19:57] to find people
[1:19:58] to do this job.
[1:19:59] And if it was easy
[1:20:01] to hire enough people,
[1:20:03] we wouldn't have had
[1:20:04] the strike to begin with.
[1:20:06] And on the issue
[1:20:07] of public safety generally,
[1:20:09] you know,
[1:20:10] in many respects,
[1:20:11] crime is on the decline
[1:20:13] here in New York City
[1:20:14] and across New York State.
[1:20:15] So, you know,
[1:20:16] in that sense,
[1:20:17] Kathy Hochul seemed
[1:20:18] to be coming from
[1:20:19] a place of strength.
[1:20:20] But again,
[1:20:20] Blakeman still tried
[1:20:22] to go after her,
[1:20:24] talking about crimes
[1:20:25] that had been committed
[1:20:26] by migrants.
[1:20:27] And he also talked
[1:20:28] about things like
[1:20:29] the revolving door
[1:20:31] in the justice system.
[1:20:32] So there again,
[1:20:34] he found ways
[1:20:35] to try to go on the attack.
[1:20:38] Well, yes.
[1:20:38] If you don't have statistics
[1:20:40] on your side
[1:20:41] and crime really
[1:20:42] is at all-time lows
[1:20:43] in many of the most
[1:20:45] prominent categories,
[1:20:47] well, you can always
[1:20:48] bring up the exception
[1:20:49] to the rule.
[1:20:50] You can bring up
[1:20:50] the terrible anecdote
[1:20:52] about a person
[1:20:54] or a family.
[1:20:55] And both candidates
[1:20:57] did that,
[1:20:58] bringing up the names
[1:20:59] of people
[1:20:59] who have been abused
[1:21:01] either by ICE
[1:21:02] or by local police
[1:21:04] or by some tragedy
[1:21:06] that involved
[1:21:07] either a migrant
[1:21:07] or some other
[1:21:08] kind of criminal.
[1:21:09] And so, yeah,
[1:21:11] it's up to us
[1:21:13] to try and help
[1:21:13] sort of straighten out
[1:21:14] the conversation
[1:21:15] by framing it
[1:21:16] in terms of,
[1:21:17] okay, this is the big picture.
[1:21:18] What would you do?
[1:21:20] How do you see this?
[1:21:21] How would you move forward
[1:21:22] if you get elected?
[1:21:24] All right.
[1:21:24] We're going to pause
[1:21:25] right there.
[1:21:25] Errol and Susan,
[1:21:26] thank you so much
[1:21:27] for spending some time
[1:21:29] with us.
[1:21:29] Excellent job,
[1:21:30] as always,
[1:21:31] moderating that debate
[1:21:32] tonight.
[1:21:33] Coming up after the break,
[1:21:34] we're going to go back
[1:21:35] to our statehouse reporter,
[1:21:36] Bernadette Hogan,
[1:21:37] and Upstate political reporter,
[1:21:38] Jack Arpey,
[1:21:39] with some more analysis
[1:21:41] of tonight's debate.
[1:21:42] Stay with us.
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[1:23:07] From my time growing up
[1:23:08] in Queens
[1:23:09] watching New York One
[1:23:10] to my time reporting here,
[1:23:12] I've seen how quickly
[1:23:13] a story can change.
[1:23:15] At News All Day,
[1:23:15] we bring you the news
[1:23:17] as it's happening
[1:23:18] from around the boroughs
[1:23:19] to local government
[1:23:20] to your neighborhood
[1:23:22] because our city
[1:23:23] never stops moving.
[1:23:27] I'm Shannon Ferry
[1:23:28] with the day's
[1:23:28] developing stories.
[1:23:29] But first,
[1:23:30] stay up to date
[1:23:31] and informed
[1:23:32] with News All Day
[1:23:33] weekdays
[1:23:34] from noon to four.
[1:23:35] We are back
[1:23:59] with more coverage
[1:24:00] of New York One's
[1:24:01] gubernatorial debate tonight.
[1:24:03] The candidates for governor,
[1:24:04] Democrat Kathy Hochul
[1:24:05] and Republican Bruce Blakeman
[1:24:07] faced off right here
[1:24:08] on Spectrum News.
[1:24:09] And joining me again
[1:24:10] for analysis
[1:24:11] are State House reporters
[1:24:12] Jack Arpey
[1:24:13] joining us from Albany
[1:24:14] and Bernadette Hogan.
[1:24:16] Jack, let me ask you
[1:24:16] about the energy issue.
[1:24:19] This is something
[1:24:19] that was front and center
[1:24:21] in tonight's debate
[1:24:22] and in this race.
[1:24:23] Bruce Blakeman
[1:24:24] has talked about
[1:24:25] high utility bills
[1:24:26] as one of the failings
[1:24:28] of Kathy Hochul's
[1:24:30] time in office.
[1:24:31] She, meanwhile,
[1:24:32] pointed to
[1:24:33] President Trump's war
[1:24:34] in Iran
[1:24:35] and that impact
[1:24:36] on energy prices
[1:24:38] as a reason
[1:24:39] that New Yorkers
[1:24:40] are suffering.
[1:24:41] And they really had
[1:24:42] a lot of back and forth
[1:24:42] on that tonight.
[1:24:45] That's right.
[1:24:45] Well, it's certainly a factor.
[1:24:46] I'm sure that a lot
[1:24:47] of New Yorkers
[1:24:47] would have liked
[1:24:48] to have heard,
[1:24:49] you know,
[1:24:50] specific plans.
[1:24:50] And that's one thing
[1:24:51] that has kind of
[1:24:52] been elusive.
[1:24:52] The governor's talked
[1:24:53] about some of the things
[1:24:54] that she has done here,
[1:24:55] such as the utility
[1:24:56] rebate checks.
[1:24:57] She didn't talk a lot
[1:24:57] about the changes
[1:24:58] that she made
[1:24:59] to the climate law
[1:24:59] this year,
[1:25:00] which is, you know,
[1:25:01] unsurprising
[1:25:01] given some of the voters
[1:25:02] that she's probably
[1:25:03] trying to court.
[1:25:05] But one of the things
[1:25:06] that Blakeman has said
[1:25:06] is that he's going
[1:25:07] to cut utility bills
[1:25:08] in half.
[1:25:09] And once again,
[1:25:09] that's an easy thing
[1:25:10] to say when you're
[1:25:10] campaigning.
[1:25:11] It's a much more
[1:25:12] difficult thing to do
[1:25:13] when you're actually
[1:25:14] out there.
[1:25:14] And he's, of course,
[1:25:15] going to have to face
[1:25:16] a Democrat legislature.
[1:25:17] So those types of things
[1:25:18] that the governor
[1:25:19] or that Governor Blakeman
[1:25:21] would do probably take
[1:25:22] with a little bit
[1:25:22] of a grain of salt
[1:25:23] given the obstacles
[1:25:24] he would face
[1:25:25] in Albany.
[1:25:26] And Bernadette,
[1:25:27] let me ask you
[1:25:27] about another issue
[1:25:29] that they touched
[1:25:30] on tonight.
[1:25:31] And that was the issue
[1:25:32] of artificial intelligence
[1:25:33] and related to that,
[1:25:35] data centers, right?
[1:25:36] Governor Hochul
[1:25:36] has enacted
[1:25:37] basically a one-year
[1:25:39] moratorium on data centers,
[1:25:42] which she touted tonight.
[1:25:44] She talked about the fact
[1:25:44] that Bruce Blakeman
[1:25:45] is not opposed
[1:25:47] to data centers.
[1:25:48] And he sort of
[1:25:49] doubled down on that
[1:25:50] as well
[1:25:51] and talked about
[1:25:51] the fact
[1:25:52] that we shouldn't
[1:25:53] be slowing
[1:25:54] artificial intelligence
[1:25:55] and the growth
[1:25:56] of something
[1:25:56] that is really
[1:25:57] the fastest-growing
[1:25:59] industry on the globe.
[1:26:02] Yeah, and this is an issue
[1:26:03] that the governor
[1:26:03] maybe predictably
[1:26:05] was going to be
[1:26:05] leaning into
[1:26:06] considering that
[1:26:07] people overwhelmingly
[1:26:08] are anti-data center
[1:26:10] construction.
[1:26:11] The governor was just
[1:26:11] in upstate New York
[1:26:12] talking to residents
[1:26:14] in Fishkill
[1:26:14] just below
[1:26:15] or around Poughkeepsie,
[1:26:17] New York
[1:26:17] and the Hudson Valley
[1:26:18] where people don't want
[1:26:19] the construction
[1:26:20] of a data center.
[1:26:21] They say it will harm
[1:26:22] residents from everything
[1:26:23] with their utility bills,
[1:26:25] having them go up even higher
[1:26:26] to draining on
[1:26:27] their natural resources.
[1:26:28] And she criticized Bruce Blakeman
[1:26:30] for failing,
[1:26:32] as she described,
[1:26:33] to stand up
[1:26:34] to the Trump administration,
[1:26:35] their push,
[1:26:37] as she describes,
[1:26:38] to allow AI companies
[1:26:40] to do pretty much
[1:26:41] whatever they want.
[1:26:42] They're two related
[1:26:43] but not completely
[1:26:44] the same issues.
[1:26:46] And again, on AI,
[1:26:47] Blakeman does use AI
[1:26:49] in his campaign ads.
[1:26:50] He has been criticized
[1:26:51] for that.
[1:26:52] He defended that move,
[1:26:54] of course,
[1:26:54] saying that he has
[1:26:55] a disclaimer.
[1:26:56] But both candidates
[1:26:58] will continue to be
[1:26:58] talking about this issue.
[1:26:59] Yeah, and Kathy Hochul
[1:27:00] said that that disclaimer
[1:27:01] is too small
[1:27:04] for voters to really read
[1:27:06] and that that is inadequate
[1:27:07] in serving the public.
[1:27:09] All right,
[1:27:09] that is going to have to do it
[1:27:10] for our coverage
[1:27:11] of tonight's gubernatorial debate
[1:27:13] right here on New York One.
[1:27:15] If you missed any part
[1:27:16] of tonight's broadcast
[1:27:16] or any of our previous debates,
[1:27:19] including for state attorney general
[1:27:20] and for state controller,
[1:27:22] you can watch them
[1:27:22] in their entirety
[1:27:23] on our website
[1:27:24] and on our YouTube channel.
[1:27:26] Thanks for watching tonight,
[1:27:28] everybody.
[1:27:29] Stay tuned for more news
[1:27:30] after the break
[1:27:31] with Cheryl Wills
[1:27:32] on New York Tonight.
[1:28:01] My time at New York One
[1:28:02] has shown me that
[1:28:03] in the city that never sleeps,
[1:28:05] the news never stops.
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[1:28:09] turn to the rush hour
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[1:28:13] that matter
[1:28:14] across the five boroughs
[1:28:15] with in-depth interviews
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[1:28:18] plus the latest forecast.
[1:28:20] Catching you up with today,
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[1:28:23] right here on The Rush Hour,
[1:28:26] weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m.
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[1:29:44] This is New York One.
[1:29:45] Here's what we're covering this hour.
[1:29:47] You saw it live right here
[1:29:48] on Spectrum News.
[1:29:49] The two candidates for governor
[1:29:51] go head to head
[1:29:52] in their only debate.
[1:29:54] Democrat Kathy Hochul
[1:29:55] and Republican Bruce Blakeman
[1:29:57] face to face.
[1:29:59] A recap of the high-stakes showdown
[1:30:01] just weeks before Election Day.
[1:30:03] Plus, developing news this hour,
[1:30:04] the Vatican confirms
[1:30:05] Pope Leo has lung cancer,
[1:30:08] what we know about his surgery in Rome.
[1:30:11] And it looks like a deal is in place
[1:30:13] to ban horse carriages
[1:30:14] in New York City.
[1:30:16] Lewis Finley in Central Park
[1:30:18] standing by.
[1:30:19] Those stories and more happening now
[1:30:21] on New York One.
[1:30:31] Hey, thanks for being here with us
[1:30:32] on this Tuesday night.
[1:30:33] I'm Cheryl Wills.
[1:30:34] And we begin this hour
[1:30:35] with the only televised debate
[1:30:38] in the race for governor.
[1:30:40] And you saw it live right here
[1:30:41] on Spectrum News.
[1:30:42] Democrat Kathy Hochul
[1:30:44] and Republican Bruce Blakeman
[1:30:46] sharing their very different visions
[1:30:48] for the future of New York State.
[1:30:51] And they're doing it
[1:30:52] less than one month before the election.
[1:30:54] Political Director Bob Hart
[1:30:55] is here now with a recap.
[1:30:57] Boy, Bob, they came out swinging
[1:30:58] right out the gate.
[1:30:59] I thought last week's debate
[1:31:01] for state attorney general
[1:31:02] was going to be heated.
[1:31:02] And this was like they turned it up
[1:31:04] to 11, as they say, on Spinal Tap.
[1:31:06] Yeah, right from the outset,
[1:31:07] they often were talking over each other.
[1:31:09] Luckily, Susan Arbett and Errol Lewis
[1:31:11] did a good job cutting them off
[1:31:13] at times when they had to be cut off.
[1:31:14] But when people say
[1:31:15] all politicians are the same,
[1:31:16] I'd say, did you see that debate?
[1:31:18] Because they were very different
[1:31:19] people tonight.
[1:31:19] They were very different.
[1:31:20] And the hot topic right off the bat
[1:31:22] was the ice shooting
[1:31:24] in Upper Manhattan,
[1:31:25] the immigration crisis.
[1:31:27] Explain how they differed on that.
[1:31:28] Well, I think the big difference
[1:31:30] was one of them, the governor,
[1:31:32] wanted to talk about
[1:31:32] the specific incident
[1:31:33] and said, hey, the ICE agents
[1:31:35] shot at this guy
[1:31:37] with a five-year-old in the car.
[1:31:39] Bruce Blakeman wanted to talk
[1:31:40] about the overall issue
[1:31:41] and also talk about other crimes
[1:31:43] involving migrants
[1:31:44] who shouldn't have been here
[1:31:45] in the first place.
[1:31:46] So they were talking around each other,
[1:31:48] Hochul wanting to talk specifics,
[1:31:50] and Blakeman wanting to talk
[1:31:51] about the general issue overall.
[1:31:53] Okay, let's watch a recap.
[1:31:54] I had a cooperative agreement
[1:32:00] with ICE until Kathy Hochul said
[1:32:02] we could no longer cooperate with ICE.
[1:32:04] We got over 2,000 illegal migrants
[1:32:07] out of my county with criminal records
[1:32:09] ranging from rape, attempted murder,
[1:32:11] robbery, burglary, drug dealing,
[1:32:13] carjacking, gang activity.
[1:32:17] And that's because we cooperated with ICE.
[1:32:19] And we didn't raid one school,
[1:32:21] one hospital, one daycare center,
[1:32:23] or one church.
[1:32:24] We always work with law enforcement
[1:32:26] to remove people who are committing crimes.
[1:32:28] And the other thing is,
[1:32:30] when people commit a crime,
[1:32:31] I want them to go through our court system.
[1:32:33] I want victims to have their day in court.
[1:32:36] Then we kick them out of the country
[1:32:37] at the end of their prison term.
[1:32:39] That's how it's always operated,
[1:32:41] always worked successfully
[1:32:43] until you have rogue agents
[1:32:44] roaming the streets
[1:32:45] and county executives like him supporting them.
[1:32:49] In addition, Bob,
[1:32:50] to the immigration crisis
[1:32:52] and the ICE shooting,
[1:32:53] they also talked about data centers,
[1:32:55] which is on the minds of many New Yorkers,
[1:32:58] both downstate and upstate.
[1:33:00] Right.
[1:33:00] Kathy Hochul is the first governor
[1:33:01] in the United States
[1:33:02] to call for a moratorium
[1:33:04] and create a moratorium
[1:33:04] on the additional data centers in the state.
[1:33:08] Blakeman has said,
[1:33:09] this does not make good economic sense
[1:33:11] for New York
[1:33:12] because this is a burgeoning industry
[1:33:15] and to put a pause on it
[1:33:16] could make New York lag behind.
[1:33:18] So they mixed it up on that issue as well.
[1:33:20] But polls have shown
[1:33:21] that Kathy Hochul's position is popular.
[1:33:23] And so that's what Blakeman was having to deal with
[1:33:27] is that a lot of New Yorkers
[1:33:28] are suspicious about AI
[1:33:30] and data centers as well.
[1:33:32] Okay.
[1:33:32] It was a very informative one-hour debate.
[1:33:35] Congrats to the entire political team
[1:33:37] seen only on New York One,
[1:33:39] political director Bob Hart.
[1:33:40] And if you missed the debate,
[1:33:42] we invite you to watch our website
[1:33:45] or the Spectrum News app
[1:33:47] to see it in its entirety.
[1:33:50] To the other major headline this hour,
[1:33:52] the Vatican confirms Pope Leo has lung cancer.
[1:33:56] The pontiff underwent surgery Tuesday
[1:33:58] to remove the lower lobe of his right lung
[1:34:00] after a small nodule was discovered.
[1:34:03] Tests confirmed that that growth was indeed cancerous.
[1:34:06] The Vatican released a statement
[1:34:08] saying the surgery was successful
[1:34:10] and that Pope Leo is now recovering
[1:34:12] in a hospital in Rome.
[1:34:14] New York One caught up with churchgoers
[1:34:16] outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
[1:34:20] I'm happy that they were able to find out
[1:34:22] that hopefully it's on time.
[1:34:25] I am absolutely looking forward
[1:34:26] to a full recovery
[1:34:27] and I truly believe it will happen
[1:34:29] because God just put him in the chair
[1:34:31] and I know he needs more work done
[1:34:33] from him and through him.
[1:34:35] We've only enjoyed having Pope Leo
[1:34:37] a short time as our Pope
[1:34:38] and I know that we're looking forward
[1:34:40] to many, many years of having him as our leader.
[1:34:44] I'm not worried about him,
[1:34:46] but I'm going to, now that I know,
[1:34:48] I'm going to be praying a lot for my Pope.
[1:34:50] Yeah, the Vatican made no mention
[1:34:53] of his treatment going forward.
[1:34:55] The 71-year-old is the first American-born man
[1:34:58] to lead the Catholic Church.
[1:35:01] Now to developing news here in the city.
[1:35:03] It looks like horse-drawn carriages
[1:35:05] will soon be banned.
[1:35:07] We're getting word that Mayor Mamdani
[1:35:09] and City Council Speaker Julie Menon
[1:35:11] reached a deal that still needs to be voted on
[1:35:14] by the full City Council next week.
[1:35:16] This after a tourist was killed in Central Park
[1:35:20] after falling from a runaway horse-drawn carriage in June.
[1:35:24] Lewis Finley in Central Park tonight
[1:35:25] with late-breaking details.
[1:35:27] Lewis.
[1:35:29] Well, Cheryl, as the saying goes,
[1:35:31] the deal is not done until the ink is dry.
[1:35:34] So we'll have to wait until next Thursday
[1:35:36] when the bill goes to a full vote.
[1:35:39] But this has been a highly contentious debate
[1:35:42] here at Central Park where animal activists
[1:35:45] and the horse carriage industry
[1:35:47] have been pitted against each other.
[1:35:50] But what brought things to a boiling point
[1:35:52] was the death of 18-year-old Romaj Mahajan.
[1:35:56] If you remember, back in June,
[1:35:58] Mahajan was visiting the city with his family
[1:36:01] when a horse was spooked darting off
[1:36:04] while they were on an unattended carriage.
[1:36:07] Mahajan appeared to have been thrown off the carriage
[1:36:09] and died from his injuries.
[1:36:11] That led to renewed calls to end the industry
[1:36:14] as the family now plans to sue the city.
[1:36:18] On October 22nd, so that's in nine days,
[1:36:21] Speaker Julie Menon will bring the bill
[1:36:23] named for the team Romajan's Law to a vote.
[1:36:26] As is typical, the administration gave input
[1:36:29] and reviewed and approved bill language.
[1:36:31] In a statement, the speaker calls the industry
[1:36:34] a liability, saying in part, quote,
[1:36:36] we can honor our city's traditions while recognizing
[1:36:40] when it's time to move forward
[1:36:41] in the interest of public safety,
[1:36:43] protecting workers,
[1:36:44] and strengthening our city's economic vitality.
[1:36:47] Some of the highlights of the bill
[1:36:49] include ending the horse-drawn carriage operation
[1:36:52] by June 2028.
[1:36:55] That's with limited exceptions.
[1:36:57] It will require humane placement of horses,
[1:37:01] prohibiting these horses to be transferred
[1:37:03] to slaughterhouses and require a worker transition plan
[1:37:08] by April 2027.
[1:37:10] We spoke to a union rep along with some New Yorkers
[1:37:13] regarding the lease.