ALBANY – On October 4, Governor Kathy Hochul flew on a state plane from Albany to New York City. She drove to Brooklyn to sign a bill, then held three consecutive campaign-related “events” that afternoon before flying back to Albany that evening.
Although much of the day was devoted to winning a full term in the November elections, her political campaign did not reimburse taxpayers for any part of the day’s trip.
During the first 45 days in Hochul’s office, on at least three separate days, the governor’s use of state aircraft has raised the question of whether there has been any abuse of taxpayers, according to a review of public records by the Times Union.
During that time, Hochul participated in 64 “private events” related to her gubernatorial campaign, including fundraising meetings and fundraisers, which raised her campaign a record $ 10 million in her first three months in office.
Amid a turbulent schedule juggling government and election campaign activities, Hochul used state aircraft for 45 flights in the first 45 days of his tenure. None of the trips were classified as “mixed use” by Hochul’s office – consisting of government and campaign activities – despite a busy campaign program on many of the trips. And none of the airfare to use a state-owned Beechcraft King Air 250 or state helicopter was reimbursed to taxpayers through Hochul’s campaign.
David Grandeau, the state’s top lobbying official, said Hochul’s campaign had reimbursed taxpayers for multiple trips.
“You have to reimburse the non-governmental share of the travel,” said Grandeau.
On Tuesday, the governor’s press secretary Hazel Crampton-Hays said the governor’s ethics council would re-examine the flights on instructions from Hochul.
“Reg. Hochul works around the clock to supply New Yorkers and visits all 62 counties each year to hear directly from their voters, “Crampton-Hays told the Times Union.” The governor is committed to the highest ethical standards and only uses government resources, such as a government aircraft, when legally and ethically appropriate. In accordance with Governor Hochul’s commitment to transparency and compliance with the highest ethical standards, the Governor has instructed her Ethics Council to re-examine all aircraft uses and make appropriate reimbursements. “
On Wednesday, Hochul unveiled a plan for ethics reform in her first state of the art address, while admitting that politicians “may still stumble and occasionally make mistakes.”
On their official government website, Hochul’s office recently published timetables shows Hochul’s government meetings and attendees between her inauguration on August 24th and through October 9th. The flight schedules show in detail when and where Hochul took flights, and in all 45 cases it is stated that the flights were fully funded by taxpayers. The schedules also list the myriad “private events” related to their campaign, though no other details are given beyond the times the events took place.
Crampton-Hays said the “private events” included campaign fundraisers, political meetings, political events for other candidates and groups, or any other event in which the governor attended primarily in a political capacity.
Crampton-Hays declined to say what part of the private events had to do with campaign collecting and what types the other activities had to do with. A number of the “private events” lasted less than an hour, held sequentially, and took place in New York City, suggesting meetings with potential sponsors of the campaign.
Hochul’s office has not issued a press release announcing the release of their detailed daily schedules for their first 45 days. Her office informed the Times Union on Monday of its publication in response to a request on the Freedom of Information Act.
After those first 45 days, Hochul continued an extensive campaign plan for the next three months that raised the possibility of more questionable air travel beyond the Times Union-verified records.
Former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo began with a governor proactively sending participants to his daily government meetings. Cuomo’s calendars also reported cases of holding fundraisers for campaigns; Hochul’s calendars only list “private events”.
According to New York law, officials are not allowed to use their official positions to “secure unjustified privileges”. Opinion by the now-defunct State Commission on Public Integrity from 2007 found that officials when using state aircraft must “accurately divide” the time between state-owned and non-state corporations and “immediately reimburse the state” for part of a trip that does nothing has to do with state affairs. The calculation of the reimbursement is based on the tariffs for private charter aircraft.
The submissions also noted that the state government’s affairs could not be used as a “pretext” to use an airplane for partisan activity. Over the years, numerous New York lawmakers have taken advantage of the directive, often mixing government meetings with political fundraisers or events to use state planes for travel.
On September 24, Hochul flew on a state plane from New York City to Bolton Landing, where she made remarks at the annual meeting of the State Economic Council. Immediately thereafter, Hochul hosted a private, campaign-related “event” before flying back to Lake Placid on state planes. She held two more government-related events before another private campaign-related event in the North Country, where she stayed the night.
On the morning of September 19, Hochul flew from Buffalo to Syracuse, gave an inaugural address at Syracuse University, and then held a “private event”. That afternoon, she flew from Syracuse to Buffalo, had a phone call with staff, and then held another private event at 7 p.m. before staying in Buffalo.
The September 19, September 24 and October 4 flights all raise questions about whether taxpayers should be partially reimbursed as the trips involved campaigning activities. And the flight from Syracuse to Buffalo raises other questions.
In his 2007 opinions, the Commission on Public Integrity wrote that for state aircraft to be used by a public official, “the state purpose must be the primary reason for travel”.
Grandeau said the Syracuse to Buffalo flight “sounds like something she should have paid the whole way” since the only government-related activity after landing in Buffalo was a call from staff before private Hochul flew off the next morning Buffalo to New York City, apparently without conducting further government-related activities in Buffalo.
It is not clear whether Hochul organized a fundraising event on the evening of September 19th or whether the “private” event had a different political character. Hochul’s office declined to say so.
One of the 2007 statements found that a state official would not have to reimburse taxpayers if they were brought back “home” on a state plane and participated in a fundraiser that evening. Originally from the Buffalo area, Hochul moved to the Executive Mansion in Albany when he took office on Aug. 24, although she and her husband still own a condo in Buffalo.
Hochul’s office says she splits her time between Albany, New York City, and Buffalo. State ethical reports have not addressed the question of whether a governor has multiple “residences” or whether returning to one of them enables an official to avoid reimbursing taxpayers for air travel.
In 2011 the Public Integrity Commission was abolished and replaced by a new body, the Joint Public Ethics Commission. Two years later, JCOPE issued an opinion confirming the most important aspects of the 2007 ethical opinion. But in its 2013 statement, JCOPE created a new exemption for civil servants to check whether Cuomo could operate “one-way flights” on state aircraft without reimbursing the taxpayer.
Under the 2013 opinionwhen Cuomo took a taxpayer-sponsored air trip, held both a government event and a campaign fundraiser at his destination, and then spent the night at his Westchester County residence or Albany or New York City – where he had government offices – air travel will not be reimbursed to taxpayers.
This exception is of great concern to Hochul, who on many occasions has flown to New York City, attended government and private political events, and then stayed there.
For example, Hochul took a flight from Albany to New York City on September 28 and returned to Albany on October 1. During the four days in New York City, Hochul handled 13 government-related matters, including a COVID-19 media briefing, government employee meetings and an environmental group gala. In addition, she took part in 20 “private events” over the four days, many of which lasted less than an hour in a row.
Since Cuomo and the Legislature founded JCOPE in 2011, the Ethics Authority’s acts and omissions have been widely criticized for being influenced by Cuomo. After Cuomo resigned in August, most of his six commissioners were replaced by commissioners appointed by Hochul.
In her speech on the state on Wednesday, Hochul suggested replacing JCOPE with a new entity that would be far more independent from state politicians, although the state legislature must agree on how the new entity will be created. In any case, Hochul’s taxpayer-sponsored air travel could serve as a test for the New York ethics apparatus.
“It’s a good test of whether this incumbent governor will be able to circumvent ethical rules,” said Grandeau.
On the day Hochul was inaugurated, she promised to change the culture of Albany through ethics reform and more. During her early tenure, Hochul also faced the prospect of a difficult major Democratic challenge from Attorney General Letitia James. Hochul decided to build a massive war chest that might deter competition, with the goal of raising $ 10 million by the end of last month.
Included Hochul accelerated it Longstanding practice of outsourcing fundraising to lobbyists: At least eight companies with a large presence in Albany hosted high profile events between August and October. Hochul also had a number of less formal “meetings” with potential donors to the campaign. The fundraising helped establish Hochul as a clear favorite in the area code; James was abruptly eliminated from the gubernatorial race on December 9th.
One of Hochul’s remaining opponents in the Democratic primaries for governor, US MP Tom Suozzi, has criticized her fundraising practices. He tweeted last week that although COVID-19 was “out of control”, Hochul “had spent so much time raising funds and making politics that she failed to implement a real plan”.
“She should disclose how much time she spent on fundraising and policy work and how much time she spent on her job,” wrote Suozzi.
