Hochul on the Issues - As you know, Kathleen Hochul is being sworn in as Governor effective midnight, Monday, August 23. To date, she has talked publicly about several current issues, including an extended eviction moratorium and other COVID safety measures, but she has yet to present a detailed policy agenda. Interesting, Mercury Public Affairs put together this overview of Governor Hochul’s recent and past policy positions, which we are authorized to share with our membership. Of particular interest for Business Council members is her past support for: incentives for investing in manufacturing processes and energy efficiency projects; improvement to and expansion of the H-2A non-immigrant visa program; legislation to help align worker training opportunities with advanced manufacturing firms; employer/education partnerships; small business tax cuts; and increased infrastructure spending. However, she had also expressed support for: a statewide $15 minimum wage; pay equity mandates; mandated Paid Family Leave; congestion pricing; and restrictions on economic development funding for firms “moving jobs overseas;” and had opposed the federal Tax Cut and Jobs Act. Earlier, The Business Council issued this statement on the transition, and will be providing Governor Hochul information on our priority issues.
Staff Appointments – Incoming Governor Hochul has announced two senior staff appointments:
Karen Persichilli Keogh as Secretary to the Governor. Keogh served on then-Senator Hillary Clinton's senior staff as New York State Director and campaign manager for her successful 2006 Senate re-election. She also managed U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's transition from the House of Representatives to the U.S. Senate and served as a senior political advisor to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2009 campaign. She most recently served as the Head of Global Philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Elizabeth Fine as Counsel to the Governor. Fine was Executive Vice-President and General Counsel of Empire State Development (ESD). Previously, she served as General Counsel of the New York City Council from 2006-2014, and was Counsel to former United States Attorney General Janet Reno. |
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