{"id":20090,"date":"2026-03-16T21:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T21:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/hochul-promotes-her-agenda-with-state-funded-ad-campaign\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T21:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T21:17:11","slug":"hochul-promotes-her-agenda-with-state-funded-ad-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/hochul-promotes-her-agenda-with-state-funded-ad-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Hochul promotes her agenda with state-funded ad campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gov.<\/p>\n

HOCHUL\u2019S AD CAMPAIGN: <\/b>Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s office is using taxpayer money to fund an advertising blitz promoting her agenda, brushing up against a ban on governors appearing in promotional material.<\/p>\n

State law<\/a> prohibits elected officials from appearing in ads paid for with state funds.<\/p>\n

Hochul doesn\u2019t directly appear in any of the ads. Instead, they encourage people to visit a state-run website<\/a> where she\u2019s prominently featured talking about wanting to cut red tape to build affordable housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re skirting the very intent of what that law was meant to do, and that\u2019s using taxpayer dollars to promote the image or likeness of the governor,\u201d Republican Assemblymember Matt Slater said. \u201cIt\u2019s clearly something that needs to be looked into so we can figure out what consequences she should be facing if she is in fact violating the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ads have appeared over the past week on Facebook, YouTube, and at least one billboard. The governor\u2019s office said a FOIL request would be required to see the full scope.<\/p>\n

One example<\/a> is a YouTube commercial that simply states \u201cLet Them Build\u201d and directs people to the state\u2019s website. The Executive Chamber has spent between $10,000 and $15,000 on that ad \u2014 one of 21 to air on YouTube or Google over the past week. The ad has been viewed one million times.<\/p>\n

“The state routinely engages in awareness and education campaigns on critical policy priorities and this campaign was designed in compliance with all ethics laws,\u201d said Hochul spokesperson Jen Goodman.<\/p>\n

Reinvent Albany\u2019s Rachael Fauss said that if the 20-year-old law had been written today, \u201cit probably would take into consideration\u201d campaigns like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a technical perspective, she may not be violating the law,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I think the spirit of the law is to not have the governor\u2019s likeness be promoted through the use of taxpayer funds. That was the intent of it. Unfortunately, this is an area where the law hasn\u2019t kept up with the way people consume media and ads these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ban on advertising came about after former Gov. George Pataki ran state-funded commercials<\/a> during an election year in which he encouraged people to register in a new healthcare program. Ethics reforms passed as part of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer\u2019s inaugural agenda included language prohibiting the practice.<\/p>\n

Hochul isn\u2019t the first elected official to brush up against the intent of the law in recent months. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s likeness has appeared on WiFi kiosks<\/a>, a practice that\u2019s permitted since the city is given the screentime for free. And Mamdani, unlike Hochul, isn\u2019t up for reelection anytime soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s got plenty of campaign funds that she could be using to pay for these things,\u201d Slater said. \u201cWhat she\u2019s doing right now is spending taxpayer money to enhance her image when she\u2019s on the ballot this year.\u201d \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

FROM THE CAPITOL<\/h3>\n

\"Attorney<\/p>\n

PRICING POLITICS: <\/b>Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James is throwing her support behind a bill meant to crack down on retailers\u2019 use of algorithmic pricing.<\/p>\n

James was in Albany this morning to back legislation meant to halt the practice, which uses a consumer\u2019s personal data to set individually tailored prices.<\/p>\n

The bill, backed by Assemblymember Michaelle Solages and Deputy Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris, is part of a broader push being made by elected officials to address peoples\u2019 pocketbook concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis online pricing model hits hardest where it hurts the most \u2014 food, medicine, diapers and other essentials,\u201d James said at a news conference. \u201cWe all have all been focused on the issue of affordability across this state.\u201d \u2014<\/i><\/b> Nick Reisman<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

FROM CITY HALL<\/h3>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

EVIDENCE HUNT: <\/b>The former NYPD sergeant accusing former mayoral aide Tim Pearson of sexual harassment wants to get her hands on the evidence that prompted the Mamdani administration to stop paying for Pearson\u2019s legal bills.<\/p>\n

In 2024, the former sergeant, Roxanne Ludemann, sued Pearson, a confidant and top adviser to former Mayor Eric Adams, accusing him of sexually harassing her at work and then professionally retaliating against her when she rejected his overtures.<\/p>\n

Thanks to an unusual arrangement greenlit by Adams\u2019 Law Department, Pearson received taxpayer-funded private lawyers to defend him against Ludemann\u2019s suit. But Mamdani\u2019s corporation counsel, Steve Banks, announced last week that he had rescinded Pearson\u2019s arrangement, citing unspecified \u201cnew evidence\u201d that warranted terminating it.<\/p>\n

In a court filing late Friday, John Scola, an attorney representing Ludemann, demanded that the Law Department provide his client with access to the evidence in question, arguing it\u2019s relevant to her ongoing case.<\/p>\n

\u201cProduce all documents, records, evidence, reports, memoranda, and materials of any kind that constitute, refer to, or relate to the \u2018new evidence\u2019 relied upon, reviewed, considered, or referenced by corp counsel in making its determination to decline or withdraw representation of Defendant Timothy Pearson in this matter,\u201d Scola wrote in the filing.<\/p>\n

Also last week, Banks terminated a similar arrangement that allowed Jeffrey Maddrey, an Adams ally and former NYPD chief of department, to receive taxpayer-funded attorneys in the Pearson matter, too. Maddrey is accused by Ludemann of helping Pearson retaliate against her.<\/p>\n

Scola\u2019s filing demanded access to the information that prompted Banks to slash Maddrey\u2019s arrangement as well.<\/p>\n

Pearson and Maddrey, who resigned from city government in late 2024 after being ensnared in unrelated corruption investigations, have denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

A Law Department spokesperson did not comment when asked today about Scola\u2019s demand.<\/p>\n

New York City taxpayers have already paid more than $620,000<\/a> to cover Pearson\u2019s legal tab alone. \u2014 Chris Sommerfeldt<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

FINANCE SHUFFLE: <\/b>Mamdani is zeroing in on a pick to run the Department of Finance, a normally under-the-radar agency that has taken on new prominence amid the mayor\u2019s push to raise property taxes.<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s administration is in talks to hire Richard Lee for the job, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions who were granted anonymity to discuss an internal personnel matter.<\/p>\n

Lee currently serves as director of the City Council\u2019s Division of Finance. That means his move to Mamdani\u2019s finance department would leave Council Speaker Julie Menin without her top budget adviser amid increasingly tense negotiations over the city\u2019s $127 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year.<\/p>\n

The Council is conducting budget oversight hearings throughout the month to better ascertain how city agencies are planning to operate amid a precarious fiscal situation. The city is facing a projected multi-billion dollar deficit over the next fiscal year, and Mamdani\u2019s administration is relying on cash reserves, optimistic revenue projections and an increase in property taxes to bridge that gap and balance the spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1.<\/p>\n

Increasing levies on property owners would require approval from the Council, and Menin has dismissed the idea as a nonstarter. She has argued the city needs to look for other ways to cut costs beforehand. The mayor, by contrast, says drastic steps like property levy hikes can be avoided if Albany gives the city the authority to raise local taxes on millionaires and corporations \u2014 proposals Menin has declined to support.<\/p>\n

Lee, should he ultimately join Mamdani\u2019s administration, would be working for the finance department as it tabulates a key variable \u2014 the assessed value of property in New York City \u2014 which helps determine how much revenue the city collects from owners each year.<\/p>\n

Read the story from Joe Anuta and Chris Sommerfeldt in Blue Light News Pro<\/i><\/b><\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

AROUND NEW YORK<\/h3>\n

\u2014 MACHIAVELLIAN MAMDANI:<\/b> The mayor forced his political will on fellow lefty lawmakers, including by squashing Tiffany Cab\u00e1n\u2019s congressional prospects and threatening Chi Oss\u00e9. (The New York Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u2014 ADAMS OFFICIAL UNDER PROBE:<\/b> The former commissioner of the city\u2019s probation department under Mayor Eric Adams is being investigated by the Manhattan district attorney. (Gothamist<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u2014 MAYOR DINES WITH KNICKS:<\/b> Mamdani broke his Saturday Ramadan fast with Senegalese Knicks player Mo Diawara. (GQ<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. <\/b>Read it here<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HOCHUL\u2019S AD CAMPAIGN: Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s office is using taxpayer money to fund an advertising blitz promoting her agenda, brushing up against a ban on governors appearing in promotional material. State law prohibits elected officials from appearing in ads paid for with state funds. Hochul doesn\u2019t directly appear in any of the ads. Instead, they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}