Cuomo Devotes State Address to Campaign as Anti-Trump

New York state must stand as an alternative to Donald Trump, showing the nation that progressive policies like a higher minimum wage and investments in public education can create an economy that works for all, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

Without mentioning the Republican President-Elect by name, Cuomo, a Democrat, said it is up to New York to find a different way to address the middle-class angst that propelled Trump to the White House. His remarks came during a State of the State address at Manhattan’s World Trade Center, the first of six addresses planned for locations around the state this week.

“We all heard the roar on election day, and we must respond,” Cuomo said. “The nation once again looks to New York to find the way up…. We will hold the torch high to light the way.”

Cuomo’s answer: big investments in public education, including free state tuition for middle class students; infrastructure projects such as an overhauled Kennedy Airport and a new Tappan Zee Bridge; subsidies for high-tech industries like the life sciences; and a government that works to reduce taxes and regulations to stay competitive.

Cuomo has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender in 2020. He has said he is focused on running for a third term in 2018, but Monday’s speech was crafted with a national audience in mind. Cuomo spoke of the anger of a middle class that feels squeezed economically and forgotten by political elites.

“Misdirected, that anger can be destructive. It can scapegoat and it can demonize. It can spread fear of those that are different,” he said. “New York knows that our progressive principals of acceptance and diversity are not the enemy of the middle class, and that middle-class success is not the enemy of our progressive beliefs.”

Other proposals from Cuomo this year include an expansion of ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft into upstate cities; an expanded child care tax credit; and significant changes to the state’s cumbersome voting rules.

He also called for the end of a state practice of prosecuting and imprisoning sixteen and seventeen year old defendants as adults, the creation of a legal defense fund for immigrants facing deportation, funding for a new hate crimes task force and the passage of the Dream Act, which would extend financial aid to students in the country illegally. Cuomo also wants to close Indian Point nuclear power plant in suburban New York City.

Governors typically deliver a single State of the State address to lawmakers in Albany. Cuomo has opted for a different approach this year, scheduling six speeches throughout the state.

The road show — and the lack of budget details backing up the proposals — failed to impress some of Cuomo’s critics, who said the governor is putting his political ambitions over the welfare of the state.

“Rather than Bernie Sanders-inspired policies aimed at getting national headlines, we need the governor to stop spending money that taxpayers simply don’t have,” said Brandon Muir, executive director of the organization Reclaim New York. “New Yorkers aren’t political props, and there’s no such thing as ‘free.’”

Top lawmakers are skipping Cuomo’s speeches in a sign of the tense relationship between lawmakers and Cuomo. Republican Senate Leader John Flanagan, R-Long Island, called on Cuomo to move past the speeches and get to work.

“The last thing hardworking, middle-class New Yorkers need right now is flashy press releases, lofty pronouncements, or more broken promises,” he said.

This article appeared in print on page 5 of the January 10th, 2017 edition of Hamodia.