ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul is attempting to enlist the Democratic-led Legislature’s help in booting former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin from June’s primary ballot.
Benjamin resigned earlier this month and suspended his campaign after being arrested and indicted on federal bribery and fraud charges — but his name will still appear on the Democratic primary ballot due to a quirk in New York’s election laws.
Hochul admitted Tuesday she has asked legislative leaders to consider a bill that would make it possible to remove Benjamin.
“There is a need for a legislative solution,” Hochul told reporters following a campaign event in Albany. “I would like the Legislature to do just that and to pass legislation that corrects what is really a strange part of our law that does not allow the removal of someone who is under indictment.”
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) said she received a call from the governor about the matter late Monday, but said she’s still skeptical of passing a fix so close to the June 28 primary.
“I really, really, really don’t like to change rules in the middle of a process, and certainly in the middle of an election,” Stewart-Cousins said. “She did speak to me last night. We will continue the conversations. Right now, there’s no bill in the Senate.”
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-Westchester) introduced a bill that would allow for a replacement candidate on the ballot if someone is facing a criminal charge or is terminally ill.
Even if a version of Paulin’s bill is passed, Benjamin would have to agree to remove himself from the ballot spot.
Sources told the Daily News that even if Hochul’s office submitted its own measure, known as a program bill, the chances of it being approved by the Senate remain slim.
Hochul has the power to appoint a new lieutenant governor at any point. Her options, however, remain limited when it comes to getting a new second-in-command on the ballot, even though lieutenant governors and governors run separately in the primary.
While Stewart-Cousins remained noncommittal, she said Hochul has put the issue “on the table.”
Hochul’s public support for the election law change drew condemnation and criticism from political opponents of all stripes.
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-L.I.), who is challenging Hochul in the primary, called on lawmakers to avoid making a “backroom deal” with the governor.
“How long are they willing to carry Kathy Hochul’s water?” Suozzi said in a statement. “She made these messes, she needs to clean them up herself.”
Hochul, seeking a full term after replacing disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo last year, said she was blindsided by Benjamin’s indictment despite a string of reports raising ethical questions about the Harlem pol.
The governor argued that she made the best decision she could “based on the information I had at the time” when choosing the embattled former state senator to be her lieutenant governor last year.
Benjamin faces charges of bribery, fraud and falsifying records related to an alleged scheme involving illegal campaign donations and state grants.
State GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy vowed to make any ballot changes approved by the Democratic-led Legislature a major issue in November’s general elections.
“If Kathy Hochul’s co-conspirators in the Legislature help her avoid accountability for picking a crook as lieutenant governor they will be directly responsible for aiding and abetting the cesspool of Albany corruption, and we will make sure every voter knows it,” he said.
Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens) compared Hochul’s latest request to the weeks-late budget that eventually included several of the governor’s public safety policy changes and $600 million in taxpayer money for a new Buffalo Bills stadium.
“So let me get this straight. Governor Hochul kept the legislature hostage for two weeks over her promised taxpayer subsidy for Buffalo stadium,” he tweeted. “Now she’s asking leadership to undermine our democracy to replace her pick for Lt. Governor on the ballot?”
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