As New Yorkers increasingly worry about the cost of filling up their gas tank and their grocery bills, candidates for governor are proposing ways of addressing the anxiety over inflation.
The discussions are partially the product of a state budget season in Albany overlapping with the ramping up of statewide political campaigns. But it also reflects issues that could still resonate with voters heading into the June primary and fall general election.
So, as lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul debate measures meant to reduce prices at the pump, gubernatorial hopefuls are pledging to address pocketbook, consumer issues.
With the price of gas still $4 a gallon in many parts of New York, some candidates for governor say the issue will be a major one for voters this election season.
"There's people who are really suffering out there, they've worked hard all their lives, and they just can't afford to stay in New York," said U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, who is challenging Hochul in a Democratic primary.
Late last year, Suozzi called for a three-month suspension of the tax on gasoline. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate on Thursday said that effort needs to be taken to the national level as well.
"I would be fighting to try and get it done at the federal level quite frankly. We need the governors throughout the country to be helping us with this and use this opportunity to just give people a break because people are choking right now," Suozzi said.
Republican candidate for governor Lee Zeldin also backs a gas tax suspension as well.
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"The gas tax is one piece of this absolutely, but that's just one piece of this," Zeldin said during a news conference at state GOP headquarters in Albany.
In the long term, Zeldin also wants to pursue ways of encouraging natural gas extraction in the state, as well as gas hookups and pipelines.
"There are people who can be put to work, revenue generated for the state, local economies that can be revitalized, energy costs that can be driven down," he said.
Democrats in the state Senate have backed a gas tax holiday that would run from May 1 through the end of the year. Drivers pay about 48 cents a gallon in taxes when filling up their cars and the state generates $2 billion in revenue from the tax.
Hochul has been skeptical a gas tax holiday or suspension would benefit consumers in the long term. Proposals under discussion also include a rebate check program for drivers, similar to what has been proposed in California.
The politics and policy of gas and consumer costs are being driven, most likely, by New Yorkers' concerns. A Siena College poll released Thursday found many voters are increasingly anxious about the rising cost of goods.
"When we go down the list, the concern over everyday items is overwhelming," said Don Levy, the director of the Siena College Research Institute. "Eighty percent say they're concerned about the cost of gasoline, 87% about the cost of food.
Those worries are broadly being felt — regardless of a person's income, Levy said.
"Everyone's budget is being affected, everyone is feeling impacted," he said, "and although the arithmetic says that lower income people are affected more, right now it's an emotional reaction that's taking place.