Gov. Kathy Hochul highlighted an endorsement from a prominent police union Tuesday ahead of the Nov. 8 election for governor — only to get one-upped 36 minutes later by Republican nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin. who got backing from an even bigger group.
“He opposed efforts to defund the police, supports keeping qualified immunity for our police officers, and as part of his plan to secure our streets, he proposes a law-enforcement bill of rights,” Police Conference of New York President Richie Wells said about Zeldin, of Long Island.
“Lee opposes the disastrous cashless bail law, Less is More, and more pro-criminal policies that put criminals back on our streets and law enforcement in danger,” he added in reference to laws enacted on Hochul’s watch amid rising crime.
The Police Conference includes about 200 law enforcement agencies with 50,000 total members whose leaders voted by roughly an 80% to 20% margin to back Zeldin over Hochul though member organizations can opt to endorse whoever they want in the increasingly hot gubernatorial race, according to Wells.
One of those groups – the PBA of New York State – announced it was endorsing Hochul for a full term in office following a 2% pay bump approved by the governor as part of a new contract that expires on the eve of the April 1 state budget deadline next year.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was endorsed by the the PBA of New York State. Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Summit“The Governor has helped address staffing shortages by authorizing new police officer academies, addressed pay inequity by increasing salaries for downstate officers to offset higher costs of living, and promoted the advancement of women in law enforcement with her pledge to increase the number of women in law enforcement to thirty percent,” PBA President James McCartney said.
A spokeswoman for the Hochul campaign said the “endorsement process” did not include any contract talk.
The incumbent Democrat has denied other allegations of leveraging her day job for political benefit while accumulating a big advantage over Zeldin when it comes to union endorsements, polling and fundraising in a state where registered Democrats outnumber their GOP counterparts by roughly two-to-one.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin secured an endorsement from the Police Conference of New York. J.C.Rice
Police Conference of New York President Richie Wells noted in his endorsement that Zeldin opposed efforts to defund police departments. Christopher Sadowski“We have made progress toward making our streets safer and our criminal justice system fairer,” Hochul said in a press release.
But Zeldin says he’s betting rank-and-file cops in police departments across the state will break with union leadership in instances where they support his opponent, which could help him pull off a big upset in November despite the political headwinds.
“New Yorkers are sick and tired of the attacks on their safety, and police officers from across the state know that as governor I’ll ensure the have the resource they need to safely and effectively do their jobs,” Zeldin said in a statement.
