It appears the plan hatched by Democrats in the State Legislature and halls of Congress to give Governor Kathy Hochul new powers to delay special elections in New York State is dead.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins introduced a bill to give Governor Hochul new powers to delay the expected Congressional special election to replace North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who is expected to become President Trump's United Nations Ambassador.
Now, word is coming from Albany that the bill is essentially dead and will not be voted on at this time.
Conservative Party of NYS Chairman Gerry Kassar says “My opinion on why this bill will not go forward is that efforts by Republicans, Conservatives, and Good Government people prevailed upon the state legislature to not go forward with legislation to allow Governor Hochul to delay the NY-21 election. It would stymie representation for nearly 800,000 New Yorkers in the US House of Representatives for purely political gain.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-Hudson Valley) wants some reassurance that what he described as an ll-fated, anti-democratic effort is dead.
Lawler says, “As with everything in New York, it ain’t dead until it’s over. Gov. Kathy Hochul needs to publicly state that she will not support this corrupt scheme and attempt to thwart the will of the voters. She should answer for this publicly and clearly — today.”
Those sentiments were shared by GOP lawmakers in the New York State Assembly and Senate.
“The bill to delay the special election for the 21st Congressional District is no longer moving forward. It was a terrible piece of legislation in policy & principle. Thanks to strong pushback from Republican legislators & North Country residents, the bill has been halted,” said Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C-Pulaski).
Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R,C-WNY) said, “While this bill appears to be defeated for now, the Senate GOP will remain vigilant against any effort to bring it back. The fact that Democrats even attempted this sham is proof of how corrupt and desperate the Albany swamp has become.”
The Constitution of the United States commands the executive branch of a state to call a special election to replace members of Congress. New York State law required the Governor to call for a special election within 10 days of the vacancy and then set the special election day for 70 to 80 days from the Governor's proclamation.
“I guess the public outcry was too much for the Democrats on this one,” said Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano. “The voters have caught on to the lengths they will go to in their attempts to stay in power and backed them down. This is a good day for Democracy. Let’s just hope we’ve seen the last of their manipulative behavior.”
“I stood in the NYS Capitol and called out Hochul and Hakeem Jeffries on their BULL$#IT! This is nothing but a corrupt plot to block President Trump and the America First agenda,” said Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C-Schoharie).