Cong. Lee Zeldin For Governor
The Jewish Press enthusiastically supports Rep. Lee Zeldin (R – District 1) over incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul for governor on Nov. 8. When it comes to core issues facing our state – religious rights, rampant crime, a thoroughly compromised criminal justice system, out-of-control spending, oppressive taxation, loopy energy policies, wokeism in the public schools, cancel culture, critical race theory, aggressive gender revolutionaries, and the disenfranchisement of parents of school children – Rep. Zeldin is far and away the better choice.
Simply put, while Rep. Zeldin has come forward with common-sense approaches, Gov. Hochul has been missing in action on all of these critical fronts, seemingly determined to avoid angering her leftist-woke base with its catastrophic agenda.
Symptomatic of Gov. Hochul’s single-minded obeisance to the progressive left was her disastrous initial choice of a notoriously “woke” lieutenant-governor soon after she replaced Andrew Cuomo as governor following his resignation. Her preferred second-in-command soon resigned after being indicted on allegations of past criminal activities that even superficial vetting should have picked up.
Then there is the matter of some serious pay-to-play allegations dogging the governor. Most recently, her administration allegedly paid $280 million more for COVID-19 tests than it had to because it used a company owned by a major campaign contributor as an intermediary instead of dealing directly with the manufacturer. It has also been reported that the New York State Department of Health awarded a multi-billion dollar contract to a longtime Hochul political donor’s company, this one to act as the middleman in arranging transportation for Medicaid patients’ doctor’s appointments. (To be sure, the company’s decade-long partnership with the department existed pre-Hochul, but the situation merits further scrutiny.)
Then there’s the matter of Gov. Hochul’s husband’s position as the senior vice president and general counsel for a huge hospitality and gambling company that has substantial business dealings with New York State, including food and beverage concessions at state parks, airports, and the Buffalo Bills Stadium. This relationship between the state and the company began while Andrew Cuomo was governor and Hochul was lieutenant- governor and then continued after she rose to her current position. What makes transparency even more urgent with regard to Mr. Hochul’s business interests is the governor’s recent out-of-the-blue announcement that New York State would contribute $850 million toward the cost of building a new Buffalo Bills stadium, which could potentially provide even greater revenues to her husband’s company. Her husband has promised to recuse himself from matters involving the state, but this is still a subject that cries out for a public debate between the candidates.
On top of all of this, we again note our dismay over Gov. Hochul’s lack of real interest in the plight of yeshivas, which are being forced by the New York State Department of Education to alter their curricula to conform with what is offered in the public schools. Her constant refrain is that, as governor, she has no role to play in helping us in the ongoing war the department is waging against yeshivas – the DOE reports to the Board of Regents, not to the Governor, she says.
Yes, we are well aware that the DOE reports to the Board of Regents, which in turn reports to the New York State legislature. But think about it. The governor of New York State has plainly declared that we cannot count on her for help in avoiding the compromising of our yeshivas! Has she never heard of the governor’s “bully pulpit”? Can she really be unaware of the tremendous leverage a governor has over other branches of government?
On the other hand, here is Congressman Lee Zeldin’s most recent statement on the issue:
Yeshiva education teaches values that have their students living law-abiding productive lives, and provides high-quality learning experiences for so many young boys and girls. New York is wrong for pushing these substantial-equivalency standards, and Kathy Hochul has been AWOL every step of the way, claiming this is all outside her purview as Governor as if she isn’t even allowed to have and express an opinion …
Instead of defending access to choice and other educational options that fit each child’s needs, Kathy Hochul stands idly by and does nothing to set any of the record straight. Meanwhile, the State Education Department and Board of Regents continues to expand its power as an unelected fourth branch of government. As Governor, I will promote more school choice, not less, and do everything in my power to fight for students first and empower parents to be in control of their family’s destiny in life and truly be in charge of their child’s education and upbringing.
All things considered, there cannot be any doubt but that Lee Zeldin stands with our community on the issues that matter to us. Logic dictates that we should all come out and vote for him to become our next governor.
