Latest news with #AntonioDelgado
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mike Lawler is not running for New York governor
The congressman said that he will be running for re-election to his current seat in the House, while Kathy Hochul and Antonio Delgado, who are running in the Democratic primary, reacted to his announcement. Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
13-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado on why he's running against his boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul
New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado is seeking to replace his boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is up for reelection in 2026. Delgado said he plans to focus his primary campaign on lowering the cost of living and criticized Hochul for refusing to raise taxes on the ultra wealthy and large corporations. He also believes more voters in the deep blue state are turning away from the Democratic party under the governor's leadership. "I think there's a real thirst out there for driving down the cost of living, whether it's housing, whether it's child care, whether it's health care. And I think for a very long time those trend lines for the typical New Yorker across the state have been going in the wrong direction, and the numbers bear that. One in five kids right now live in poverty. One in four New Yorkers can't afford basic necessities, be it groceries, be it housing. I think when you combine that with the fact that we had the largest wealth inequality gap in the country right here in New York, there's a reason why we saw the largest swing from left to right in the country right here in New York," Delgado said Sunday on CBS News New York's "The Point with Marcia Kramer." Hochul has frequently focused on affordability, including expanding the child tax credit in her latest $254 billion state budget deal in Albany. She is opposed to raising income taxes. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado celebrate their win during an election night party during on November 8, 2022 in New York City. Gov. Kathy Hochul defeated Republican challenger Lee Zeldin to become the state's first woman to be elected governor . Alex Kent / Getty Images "I think raising revenue, certainly on the ultra wealthy and big corporations is a part of that. The governor has refused to do that at any point over the course of her administration, which is not the right approach," the lieutenant governor continued. "I think it's also a mistake to not reevaluate the manner in which we leverage tax subsidies and credits in the name of economic development. We give a lot of these things out to the private sector without really getting a return on investment. We should be reevaluating how we spend public dollars and reinvest those dollars directly into folks who need it the most." Statistics show approximately 7,000 people in New York pay the bulk of the taxes, but Delgado said he's not concerned about the wealthy moving out of the state if they were forced to pay a higher rate. "The people who are moving are making between $30,000-$60,000 a year," he said. "This has been a trend line for decades. And I think that speaks to the fact that there hasn't been any real, bold, transformational change that has been driven by a commitment to reassessing how we are allocating public dollars. Instead, entrenched economic and political interests have more or less maintained this dynamic over time, and has left communities behind. That's not just in the city, that's all across the state, rural areas upstate as well." Hochul was elevated to governor in 2021, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned from office in his third term. She defeated Republican challenger Lee Zeldin to win a full term in 2022 -- the closest governor's race in New York since 1994, when the GOP's George Pataki unseated incumbent Mario Cuomo. In 2024, President Trump lost to Vice President Kamala Harris by about 13 percentage points -- the closest presidential race in the Empire State since 1988. Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado speaks during the NYREC Emerging Leaders and Markets (ELM) Conference at the Victoria Renaissance Hotel on June 06, 2025 in New York City. Delgado spoke during the event which brings together leaders from Government, Business, Community Development, and Finance as he begins to campaign for governor as he primaries Gov. Kathy Hochul. Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images So far, polling indicates she would defeat her challengers in the Democratic party. Delgado was appointed lieutenant governor in 2022 after Brian Benjamin was indicted on federal bribery and fraud charges and resigned. The charges were eventually dropped. In his interview, he also discussed rising electricity rates, Zohran Mamdani and the New York City mayor's race, the Trump administration, and more. To watch the full interview, click here.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lt. Gov. Delgado pitches fundamental change as he challenges his boss for governor
Jun. 7—SCHENECTADY — Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado is pitching himself as a transformative leader who will make fundamental changes to how New York operates and will prioritize issues, blaming "current leaders" — his boss Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul — for failing to effectively respond to the core issues of our time. On Saturday, in a humid half-court YMCA gymnasium to a crowd of about 150 people in his hometown, Delgado spoke of family, of loyalty, of his commitment to representing the people of New York above all, and batted away criticism that he's proven a disloyal No. 2 to Hochul. "Some folks will talk about this idea of loyalty, since I announced my run for governor, loyalty," he said. "But I have to ask, loyal to who? Loyal to what?" "Loyalty to a broken system is why we're in this mess to begin with," he continued. "Don't talk to me about loyalty unless it's loyalty to the people." Delgado didn't name Hochul outright in his speech, but derided many of the policies the Hochul administration has overseen as fundamentally out of touch with good governance. "All New Yorkers, every single New Yorker, deserves better leadership," he said. He criticized programs that funnel public, taxpayer money into private enterprises, both to achieve economic growth and to deliver public benefits like healthcare and public housing. He questioned the financial viability of such programs, which he said have not done much to improve quality of life or boost economic performance. He said New York is the nation's third-largest economy, and would be eighth in the world if identified as its own nation — and with a $254 billion public state budget for the coming year. "Where is the money going?" he asked his supporters on Saturday. Delgado laid out a number of broad policy proposals — just a first look, he said. He called for efforts to address poverty, taking back public housing programs and increasing the income cap to qualify for New York's "Essential Plan" publicly-subsidized health insurance plan. He called for universal pre-school across the state and an increase in the statewide minimum wage "for everyone." He said the state should stand up it's own rental assistance programs, and make efforts to reach the estimated seven out of 10 eligible people who don't take advantage of that and other public benefit programs. He also called for universal childcare beyond universal pre-school as well, and said the state should establish a taxpayer-funded account to pay extra money to childcare workers as well. But when asked if he supported the extra spending that would come with those programs, Delgado said he wasn't backing the bills that currently exist in the state legislature that would enact many of these programs. "What I'm laying out is a vision," he said to gathered reporters after the campaign event. "Then you work with the legislative body to effectuate the vision and figure out what the best way forward is to get there. Delgado's message is one of change, of a departure from the way Hochul and recent governors before her have done things — and he said he has not been a significant part of that governance despite being the No. 2 most senior elected official in the state since 2022, when Hochul appointed him to replace then-Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin. "I've tried very hard to communicate all these things within the administration, I've tried to push to make sure that we take bolder steps," he said. "Now listen, to do that you have to be part of the decision-making process, right. To do that, you have to be included." He said he was not included in that process, despite promises from Hochul before he was appointed that she would take a different approach to governing and would include the lieutenant in more decisions. That's not historically how the job works — for years, the lieutenant governor position has been varying degrees of thankless and responsibility-free. The lieutenant is no longer even regularly handed control of state government when the governor leaves the state, thanks to modern communications technology and the governor's private planes and helicopters. Delgado broke with Hochul nearly a year ago — first by calling for President Joseph R. Biden to step aside from his reelection campaign after his poor debate performance in June of 2024, then on further and further issues. After telling reporters in a rare Capitol news conference that he was working toward a better relationship with the governor, Delgado announced he would step aside and not run for reelection with Hochul. She responded by stripping him of everything but the most basic essentials for his office — taking back his downstate and Capitol second floor office space, a significant amount of his staff, digital devices, executive email and vehicles. Delgado has been left with a skeleton crew for official staff and a rarely-used office off of the state Senate chambers mostly used for ceremonial purposes in typical times. She also took all the duties and initiatives she's assigned to him and his team — a program to boost civic engagement and any assignments to represent the Governor's office at events across the state. All that remains is his constitutional duty to preside over the Senate — another rarely used ceremonial role almost always delegated to the Senate Majority Leader by assigning them as President Pro Tempore. Delgado hasn't done that since the first day of session in January. Delgado has maintained for months, since he started to break with the governor, that his real job is to "get out there and connect with people," a phrase he's repeated often including on Saturday. He, in his capacity as Lieutenant, has held quasi-campaign rallies across the state framed as town hall events, meeting with those in the community who care to show up. Many of those events were filmed and cut together for his campaign announcement video. "As lieutenant governor, I can't control when somebody decides to take a look at my staff, I can't control someone taking my phone, I can't control that," he said. "What I can control is my connection to New Yorkers, and I'm going to continue to lean in on my connection to New Yorkers. New Yorkers, who, by the way, who independently elected me to serve in this capacity." Delgado went on to say that he didn't see that same approach from Hochul — and that's what made him decide to run against her. "I wasn't seeing the plan, on top of that you don't have visibility to where we're going, you don't know exactly what the plan is, what the vision is, this feels more reactive, that's the piece I want to make sure that I change," he said. Delgado's path to victory is far from simple — Hochul has the incumbency advantage, years of fundraising, the support of the state Democratic party and polls better than Delgado in statewide rankings. Shortly after Delgado dropped his announcement video on June 2, a coordinated effort by the state party to shore up local Democratic support resulted with over 40 out of 64 local county Democratic chairs endorsing Hochul. On Friday, three leading Schenectady County Democrats announced they're backing Hochul. Hochul's campaign declined to comment on the lieutenant governor's criticism, or his candidacy in general, but pointed to a handful of news reports detailing those county and local endorsements of her, plus a New York Post article from Saturday with the headline "'No Show' Delgado: NY's lieutenant governor does little to earn $220k paycheck, records show." But Delgado isn't without his support — a handful of Democratic chairs, including from Greene and Otsego counties were at his event on Saturday. They appeared in their personal capacities — many county committees don't endorse before a primary, and others haven't had meetings to decide if they want to endorse, and who to endorse, yet. Greene County Chair Lori Torgerson said her county committee hasn't met yet, but said that for her personally, Delgado represents a good leader with a clear vision. "Antonio has integrity, everything he said today I believe he delivers on, and in my experience he has never been a leader who says one thing and does another," she said. Otsego County chair Caitlin Ogden said her committee generally doesn't endorse a candidate if there's a primary, but said that since Delgado's time in Congress he's demonstrated an ability to flip Republican and Trump-loyal voters and could be the best pick to stop the shift to the right the electorate has demonstrated in recent elections "I feel that he's the one whose got a proven track record doing that, and he has a really good shot," she said.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hochul's estranged lieutenant announces he will challenge her in NY governor's race
ALBANY – Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado is challenging his estranged boss, incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, in next year's election. Delgado called for 'bold, decisive, transformational leadership' for New York in a video launching his campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, released alongside an interview in The New York Times Monday afternoon. 'It's love of family, it's love of community, it's love of state, it's love of country — and I'm dedicated to that,' Delgado says in the spot. 'That's why I'm running for governor of New York.' The video and Times story were released moments after The Post reported that Delgado was telling allies that he would make his campaign plans public sometime this week. The former Hudson Valley congressman formally split from Hochul earlier this year following significant public disagreements between the two. Delgado first attracted the governor's ire last summer when he publicly called for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. Hochul, at the time, was an outspoken voice in the chorus of Democrats still cheering on the dithering president despite clear evidence of his failing health. Delgado also got out in front of Hochul earlier this year when he called for Mayor Eric Adams to resign amid his swirling corruption scandals. While sources familiar with the two's declining relationship said they were heading towards a public breakup for months, Delgado made it 'social media official' on Feb. 24, suddenly announcing that he wouldn't run for re-election as her No. 2 next year. 'There are a lot of folks in politics who wake up every single day thinking about everything but the damn people,' Delgado told a room full of Democrats in his hometown of Schenectady a day later in what unmistakably resembled a campaign speech. The abrupt announcement prompted Hochul to take away many of Delgado's state perks, like his capitol office and even official email, according to the sources. Since then, Delgado has been using an email address set up for him by the state Senate, which he technically presides over as lieutenant governor, according to a source familiar with the situation. He has spent the last few weeks traipsing around all corners of the state hosting town hall events. A spokesperson for Governor's campaign declined to comment, but referred The Post to a statement from the Hochul-friendly Democratic Governors Association. 'The Governor knows how to take on big fights and win for New York families — and her agenda is overwhelmingly popular with New Yorkers on both sides of the aisle,' the statement from Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Meghan Meehan-Draper read. 'The Democratic Governors Association is 100 percent behind Governor Hochul as she continues to deliver for New York, take on Donald Trump, and build the operation it will take to beat Republicans up and down the ballot in 2026,' it continued. Delgado would no doubt struggle in an attempt to topple Hochul — who became governor in 2021 after Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace and who was elected to a full term the following year. She has an undeniable advantage in name recognition, a massive $15 million campaign war chest and the benefit of keeping New York's powerful unions and other special interests happy as the incumbent. According to Siena College polling's most recent survey, Delgado would currently receive just 12% of the vote in a matchup including him, Hochul and Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) who is also rumored to be considering a bid in the 2026 race. Hochul won in that simulation, though with only 46% of the vote. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who posed a bruising primary challenge against Hochul in 2022, was quick to pan Delgado's entry into the race. 'Antonio, you are a talented guy, with a great future. Based upon my experience this may not be the most well-thought out idea!,' Suozzi posted to X. Delgado was Hochul's second pick after her first lieutenant governor, Harlem state Sen. Brian Benjamin (D-Manhattan) resigned while facing charges he accepted bribes from a real estate developer — a case that was eventually dropped. She recently made a point to slam the door shut on any chance she may have to serve with Delgado for another four years by shoving a provision into the state budget that would change New York election law so governors and lieutenant governors run as a ticket during the primary, instead of separately as it worked previously. Hochul's detractors were quick to chime in on Delgado's entry as well. 'Her own Lieutenant Governor that she hand picked is now primarying her which shows she has lost support not just from Republicans and Independents, but Democrat New Yorkers as well,' North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) wrote in a statement. 'Her first LG was indicted for public corruption. Her second LG has announced he's running against her. We can't wait to see who she picks as her third LG candidate,' Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) snarked on X.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘No show' Delgado: NY's lieutenant governor does little to earn $220K paycheck, records show
He wants to be New York's next governor, but Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado has been all but a no-show since getting his $220,000-a-year post three years ago, according to records and Albany insiders. Since being sworn in as Gov. Kathy Hochul's No. 2 on May 25, 2022, the lefty pol has racked up at least 411 days in which he took off or had easy shifts with only one scheduled event or meeting — or none at all, public schedules The Post obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request show. That's a whopping 41% of his first 1,011 days on the job, through Feb. 28. And his schedule has gotten only lighter since he publicly broke from Hochul in late February and announced he won't be seeking re-election, insiders said. Delgado's schedules don't document vacations, but over the nearly three-year period, he racked up a whopping 135 weekdays with no reported work. That translates into 27 weeks of vacation for an average working stiff. If you include weekends — and many statewide pols attend public events on weekends — he reported blank work schedules for 318 days, or nearly 32% of the time. On dozens of other occasions, his shifts included one workday activity: a half-hour or hour-long call with staff. The former two-term Hudson County congressman has since been plotting his campaign, which he announced Monday, to challenge Hochul in next year's Democratic primary, while still collecting a paycheck as lieutenant governor. 'It's no secret that the lieutenant governor rarely showed up for a full day of work, and there were plenty of times he didn't show up at all – even for the few initiatives he claimed were his big accomplishments,' said an Albany source familiar with Delgado's work habits. 'When it comes to the last few months, it's hard to know if he's been doing his day job at all.' The state's Executive Chamber stopped providing administrative support to Delgado on Feb. 28, and the governor's office said it's 'our understanding' that since that time, Delgado 'has been utilizing state Senate systems for his calendar, email, and other [work] purposes.' However, Mike Murphy, a spokesman for the Senate's Democratic majority, told The Post the upper house 'has nothing to do' with Delgado's schedule, adding the lieutenant governor has not attended a Senate session since parting ways with Hochul in February. New York's lieutenant governor, by law, also serves as the Senate president, a largely ceremonial title that carries little weight beyond casting the tie-breaking vote in the rare case it's needed. Delgado's campaign fliers boast he's traveled 'over 60,000 miles to over 1,000 events' as lieutenant governor to 'hear from New Yorkers' – a claim that reads more like fiction based on his available public schedules and insider accounts. His campaign website also touts that his job duties include chairing New York's Hate and Bias Prevention Unit, the state's 10 regional economic development councils, and its Council on Community Justice – and that he 'oversaw the creation of the state's very first Office of Civic and Service Engagement.' However, his public schedule shows only 31 instances where Delgado attended meetings or conducted business via phone or in person related to the Hate and Bias Prevention Unit; 19 times for the regional economic development councils; 10 for the OSCE, and five for the COCJ. Much of Delgado's time was spent attending parades, ribbon cuttings, and heritage events. He sporadically met with top state government leaders and various elected officials. By comparison, Hochul earned a reputation as a workhorse during her nearly seven years as lieutenant governor under then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Her re-election campaign declined to comment. Robert Duffy, who served as lieutenant governor from 2011 through 2014 under Cuomo, said he was flabbergasted by Delgado's work ethic and The Post's findings. 'You can't be in one corner for a couple of days here and there, and then call it a week,' said Duffy, adding the job is not 'part-time.' 'It's at a minimum, five full days a week, but probably closer…to seven days a week to fulfill your responsibilities. But then, even at that schedule, you still feel like you're not accomplishing what you should. 'So the thought of having that many days off and for that length of time is shocking to me,' added Duffy. Duffy, for example, said he averaged attending about 20 regional economic development council meetings a month. As co-chair of the Finger Lakes REDC the past decade, Duffy said he knows first-hand Delgado never attended any of its meetings since becoming Hochul's No. 2. 'He's a very nice man, very smart, but I have to question his heart about wanting to take on a job like governor with a track record like that as lieutenant governor,' added Duffy. Delgado's campaign declined to provide The Post copies of his work schedules since the February break-up with Hochul, but it provided a link to one of his social media accounts that appears to show him attending at least 85 public events from March through May. The campaign also doubled down on its claim that Delgado has attended more than 1,000 events and traveled over 60,000 miles as lieutenant governor. 'Antonio is proud to serve the people of New York,' Delgado campaign spokesman Steven Ileka said. Ileka also pointed out that 'Hochul publicly praised Antonio for doing a 'phenomenal job' as recently as July – adding 'the only thing that's changed since then' was Delgado calling on then-President Joe Biden a week later to step down as the Democratic presidential nominee even as Hochul continued to campaign for Biden. 'We understand that challenging the status quo can be hard for some to handle, but New Yorkers deserve better leadership,' Ileka said. However, longtime Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf said he believes Delgado has no shot at unseating Hochul — mostly because too many New Yorkers 'don't even know Delgado's alive.' 'They have no idea what he does, who he is, and where is!' Sheinkopf said. 'He has no presence. The idea that he could be governor is ridiculous.'
