NEW YORK STATE POLITICS- OUR GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO IS RUNNING FOR REELECTION….WITH A SIDEKICK KATHY HOCHUL FOR LT. GOVERNOR…IT IS INSTRUCTIVE THAT BOTH ARE RUNNING ON THE FUSION TICKETS- AS DEMOCRATS, INDEPENDENTS, AND WORKING FAMILIES AND WOMEN’S EQUALITY..PARTIES. EVEN LIBERALS LIKE CHUCK SHUMER ESCHEWS THE LATTER AND RUNS JUST AS A DEMOCRAT. KATHY HOCHUL WAS A REP. FOR NEW YORK’S DISTRICT 26 FROM JUNE 2011( WINNING IN A SPECIAL ELECTION) UNTIL SHE LOST IN 2012 AFTER AN UNDISTINGUISHED TERM……NEW YORK STATE IS ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSED AND CUOMO’S STEADFAST OPPOSITION TO FRACKING, THE XL PIPELINE HAS DOOMED RECOVERY. HE SHOULD LOSE HIS BID TO ROB ASTORINO…..RSK
Governor Andrew Cuomo thinks Westchester, N.Y., is a racially discriminatory county. He’s certainly entitled to his opinion, but if he really thinks that, you might ask, why does he continue to live there?
Cuomo’s opponent in this year’s gubernatorial race, Westchester County executive Rob Astorino, has received endless criticism from the left for refusing to comply with a federal housing settlement, culminating in a series of attacks ads from the Cuomo campaign effectively calling the county executive racist, saying that he is the “only county executive in the nation who refuses to comply . . . with federal anti-discrimination laws.”
Astorino has been battling with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) since he took office in 2010. Astorino’s predecessor, Andrew Spano, signed an agreement with HUD that required the county to spend tens of millions of dollars building affordable housing in 31 of the wealthier Westchester communities. Astorino “vociferously opposed” the deal Spano reached, as he told National Review Online, but having no choice, adhered to the agreement once he took office.
The county is ahead of schedule in the building of the 750 affordable housing units, but HUD has demanded that the county go beyond the original agreement by spending more and allowing the federal government to have the power to change local zoning laws.
Astorino has adamantly refused. In a press release at one point, he explained, “I opposed the 2009 settlement because I was afraid it would open the door for the federal government to overpower the decision making authority of local communities. As it turns out, my fears have been realized.” In retaliation, HUD has withheld $20 million in grants from Westchester since 2011.