Taxpayer-Funded $850 Million Stadium Project Sinks Gov. Hochul’s Ratings

By Yehudit Garmaise

The ratings of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who usually ranks as the top candidate for NY's next governor, have sunk to their lowest levels ever after she announced a tax-payer-funded $850 million plan to rebuild the stadium for the Buffalo Bills, according to the results of a poll released Monday by Siena College.

Republicans and independents overwhelmingly disapprove of Gov. Hochul’s performance, and even Democrats, who usually provide her with high marks, have reduced their ratings from 30 in March to 13 in the poll conducted on April 18 to 21.

The majority of the 806 registered voters rated Gov. Hochul’s performance as "fair" or "poor" for her leadership in bringing back New York’s economy.

Similarly, 69% gave low marks on Gov. Hochul’s handling of crime, and 65% were not thrilled with her abilities to “restore trust in government,” which she had many times promised to do after stepping up to replace former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In fact, Hochul’s promises that she would “clean up Albany” were greatly called into question after Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, a Hochul- appointee, was indicted for bribery, fraud, and falsification of records to illegally raise campaign funds while he served as a NY state senator.

The perhaps temporary lack of support for Gov. Hochul, is likely piquing the interest of Cuomo, who did not provide the necessary paperwork to participate in New York’s June Democratic primary, but he has until the end of May to run as an independent candidate for governor in November.