Rochester-area and statewide leaders are giving their thoughts on Gov. Kathy Hochul's first State of the State address.

The State of the State, much like the president's State of the Union, is meant to give a broad-brush view of the governor's agenda for the new year. 

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans:

"I was thrilled to hear that Governor Hochul will support the next phase of Rochester’s “ROC the Riverway” initiative as part of her New Era for New York agenda. This includes exciting plans to create a Rochester High Falls State Park, revitalize the former Riverside Hotel, update the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center, and renovate the High Falls Visitor Center.

All of these projects are central to the revitalization of our waterfront and our Downtown. “ROC the Riverway” is a product of our strong state and local partnership which improves the quality of life of our residents and makes Rochester an attractive destination for visitors.

On behalf of the entire Rochester community, we express our sincere gratitude to the Governor. We look forward to furthering our commitment and collaboration to make Rochester a thriving city with an exciting future."

Monroe County Executive Adam Bello:

"During her State of the State address today, Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined her blueprint for guiding New York through the COVID-19 pandemic and ushering us into a new era of success and prosperity. Her vision for robust workforce and economic development, help for families seeking child care, assistance for vital small businesses, clear-eyed focus on public safety and health and the importance of key, equitable investments in our infrastructure and residents are exactly what we need here in Monroe County. I thank her for helping protect our public health by providing National Guard troops for Monroe Community Hospital and 330,000 KN-95 masks to frontline essential workers and businesses. I’m grateful for her continued support of the Inner Loop North fill in project, ROC the Riverway and the Aqueduct Reimagined project which will create a central gathering point for our community and helped spur the relocation of Constellation Brands to downtown. I look forward to working in partnership with Gov. Hochul as we seek to build the future the residents of Monroe County and New York state deserve to inherit."

Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bob Duffy:

“Governor Hochul offered an optimistic and encouraging message for the year ahead, even as COVID19 continues to wreak havoc on businesses and communities in our region and far beyond. Now is the time to put words into action, and Greater Rochester Chamber supports the Governor’s efforts to do that.

If we hope to revitalize our regional economy, we need to reduce taxes and mandates, encourage outside investment by incentivizing companies and individuals to come to New York, resolve the workforce shortages being faced by nearly every sector of our economy, eliminate the red tape and bureaucracy that impede business and local government from succeeding, and promote corporate social responsibility and sustainable business practices that will keep New York safe and relevant.

I applaud the proposed income and property tax cuts for the middle class that will help combat the current state of inflation. Expanding access to affordable childcare, investing one billion dollars into small businesses, and offering tax credits to cover COVID-related purchases will help to jumpstart our economy and offer respite to the thousands of businesses who have struggled these last two years.

By far the most common issue we hear from business leaders is access to qualified talent. Up-skilling and re-skilling existing workers, partnering with school districts and higher education institutions to ensure that their curricula meet the current needs, and offering incentives to recruit and retain existing workers will prove beneficial in combatting our workforce shortages. Greater Rochester Chamber is proud to be the regional lead for talent strategy and workforce development, and we offer our full support to Governor Hochul’s efforts around workforce training.

I have faith in Governor Hochul’s ability to accomplish the goals she set out, and stand ready to help her administration make New York better and stronger than ever.” 

Assemblymember Josh Jensen:

“Our state is facing real, difficult problems. Unfortunately, we didn’t hear enough about how this administration will solve the everyday issues concerning New Yorkers in my community and across the state: skyrocketing prices, soaring inflation, and out of control crime that make people feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods.”  

“Today, we heard more of the same tax-and-spend policies that have plagued our state for over a decade. New Yorkers are frustrated with the status quo. Gov. Hochul should be pledging to work with all members of the state government—regardless of political party—to bring our state together and accomplish real results for New Yorkers.”

“It’s time to work together, while respecting our differences, to find common sense solutions to our problems and make our great state a place we can all be proud to call home.”

Assemblymember Harry B. Bronson:

“As Chair of the Assembly’s Economic Development Committee, I was encouraged to hear Governor Hochul highlight the need to focus on support for our businesses and workers making sure that workforce development and training programs prepare workers for jobs our businesses’ need. The Governor put forth an ambitious healthcare workforce agenda that will expand our healthcare workforce, invest $10 billion in it and take steps to recruit and retain workers in healthcare.

“Recognizing that our economy continues to struggle, I am committed to working with my colleagues, Governor Hochul, and stakeholders from across the region to ensure that federal and state recovery funds will be used to create opportunities for the benefit and economic prosperity for all New Yorkers including those individuals and families from marginalized communities and those historically left on the economic sidelines.  Fighting for an equitable and inclusive economic recovery will also include the work I do with the implementation and evolution of the Adult Use Cannabis Industry as we transform it from an illegal economy to a regulated economic engine for our communities.  I will make sure that every dollar we invest in the expansion of economic development has a component that will include securing training funds for workers that need additional skills training. Governor Hochul’s plan to tie workforce development dollars to regional, industry demands and high hiring rates will ensure we have the return on investments for our families.

“We were in a mental health crisis before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has pushed our families further into trauma.  There are critical workforce shortages in the public mental and behavioral health and substance use disorder systems of care across New York State.  I sponsored legislation that would address this shortage of licensed mental health professionals by allowing mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists and psychoanalysts to align with the existing requirements for other licensed diagnosing professionals so they can serve this need.  I will work with Governor Hochul to push this commonsense solution into law.  Our families need full access to these services.

“In her historic State of the State address, Governor Hochul presented an overview of where New York is heading.  Last year the Childhood Poverty Reduction Act, which I sponsored, was signed into law.  This law is meant to reduce childhood poverty by 50% in the next decade through policies that contribute to that reduction.  Many of the components of the State of the State are aligned with the anticipated policies required from this law and I look forward to moving this forward so we can move our children from poverty to a place of opportunities.

“Rochester, as is many urban settings across the country, is experiencing an increase in violent crimes.  Working with members of the Rochester delegation, we have secured substantial funding that will be directed toward anti-violence programs across our region.  From conflict resolution to after school programs and job training, these programs are a step toward ending violence in our communities.  I look forward to working with the Governor as well as Mayor Malik Evans as we continue to steps to reduce the violence in our neighborhoods.

“I applaud the governor and her commitment to increasing the availability of COVID testing for our families.  This will be a necessity, so those who have been exposed to the virus can find out if they need to isolate to prevent further spread of the infection. Along with our attempt to stop the spread, I will continue to monitor how COVID-19 is affecting the physical, mental and economic health of our families, and will move to implement policies that will move us beyond the pandemic in an equitable and successful way.”

“Finally, the overall tone of the State of the State was a welcome change. Historical in its nature with the first female Governor of New York State and bringing it back in the Assembly Chambers –the peoples’ house is symbolic of who we are as New Yorkers. The Governor pointed out that we as New Yorkers have been leaders in many movements for civil and human rights –the labor movement; racial justice movement; women’s movement and the LGBRQ+ movement— these movements are part of who we are. Today we are, as she said “the keepers of the flames of the movements of the past…for a better, fairer, more inclusive American Dream; the New York Dream.”  I strongly believe everything we do must be looked at through a social, economic and racial justice lens and this was, indeed, the overall, welcomed tone of today’s State of the State address.”

Assemblymember Sarah Clark:

"Today Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her first State of the State Address. I am so thankful for her refreshing perspective, a Governor willing to work with the state legislature to tackle the challenges we face, continue to build on the progress we have made, and ensure that all New Yorkers fully recover from this pandemic. 

I am grateful for the Governor’s commitment to many of my top priorities, including our mission to fully fund public education, support for our frontline workers and those in the caring economy, addressing affordable housing and homelessness, tackling climate change, and investing in our infrastructure including transformative projects here in Rochester like ROC the Riverway.

I look forward to building on the Governor’s support for universal child care and will continue discussions with her and her team surrounding my bill with Senator Jessica Ramos, the Early Learning Child Care Act (S.7615/Assembly Bill # pending). I agree wholeheartedly that the eligibility for subsidies needs to reflect a higher percentage of the poverty line, that serious investments need to be made into the wages and development of the child care workforce and our providers are desperate for support. Our bill outlines a bold and transformational plan to do so, independent of whether Build Back Better passes. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and collaborate to deliver desperately needed help for families and providers, while also alleviating the workforce shortage.

And as the Subcommittee Chair of the Tuition Assistance Program in the Assembly, I am very pleased to see the Governor’s support for greater access to higher education by ensuring that TAP is available to part-time students, acknowledging the reality of many working-class families looking for a pathway to success. In addition, I’m encouraged by her promise to lift a decades-long ban on TAP for currently incarcerated individuals - the state should not be throwing up barriers to those who want to successfully transition from incarceration to a better path."

Assemblymember Marjorie Byrnes:

“It was great to hear Gov. Hochul speak to so many of my priorities in her State of the State Address today. Specifically my efforts to promote workforce development and support farmers struggling with overtime expenses were addressed. I look forward to working with the governor to advance solutions on these pressing needs for our state as we restore the economy and ensure every New Yorkers has a path forward.

“This year’s budget must include appropriate resources for direct-care workers and the disability community to protect group homes from closures, jobs are not lost and people with disabilities have the best possible care close to their loved ones. I was happy to hear that Gov. Hochul shares this concern and wants to implement a $3,000 bonus for those providing direct care. This is a good start.

“Addressing our state’s exponentially growing mental health needs also must be a priority for the governor as we rebuild our state. While we all want to keep kids in school and appropriately protected, it is a shocking reality that suicide rates are up. Mental health resources in schools are desperately needed, as well as for veterans and the frontline workers who have been running on empty fighting the pandemic for the past two years. This is another area I will gladly be working together with the governor on, and I also hope she will extend the Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Counseling Program, as part of this effort, to Livingston County in this year’s budget.”

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie:

"I am proud that Governor Hochul returned the State of the State address to the People’s House.

It has been two years since New York became the epicenter of this global health crisis, and – evidenced by my own positive COVID-19 test – we are not out of the woods yet. Throughout the pandemic, we have fought tirelessly to restore New York to the place we know and love – to support our mom-and-pop shops and local restaurants, to keep our friends and neighbors in their homes, to strengthen the safety net for our most vulnerable communities, and to support students and schools.

The governor outlined numerous proposals in her address, and in the coming weeks we will be reviewing them so that together we can improve the lives of all New Yorkers. In the Assembly, we have and always will put families first and fight for the everyday needs of the people we represent. I look forward to working with Governor Hochul and my colleagues in the Assembly and Senate to keep our kids in school, get New Yorkers back to work, and ensure that everyone has a chance to grow and thrive."

State Senator Jeremy Cooney:

“First, I want to share how proud I was to see a woman Governor deliver the State of the State Address for the first time in its history.

Rochester families will be glad to know that the Governor expressed a commitment to a $1.2 billion tax cut that will put more money into the pockets of middle class New Yorkers. She also promised property tax relief, which I hear about often from Monroe County homeowners.

Governor Hochul’s focus on economic development and growth in the Rochester region aligns with her acknowledgement of population decline in our state. Creating new jobs through new state investment in ‘shovel ready’ sites will attract employers to come into our region. 

Public safety is also a key component to attracting new investment in our community and growing our population. I support the Governor’s plans to increase resources for community-based initiatives to combat gun violence, and new funding to bring comprehensive pretrial services to localities outside of NYC, including supervision.

Finally, Governor Hochul’s strong commitment to a collaborative relationship between the executive and legislative branches is refreshing news for the residents of Rochester. This new environment will allow us to truly deliver for our residents and build a more prosperous state committed to creating a bright future for all.”

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli:

"Kathy Hochul took over as governor at a time of great challenge in New York state and immediately demonstrated her leadership, competence and more collaborative style. Her State of the State message today continued her thoughtful, common-sense approach to governing.

"My office has detailed the stronger-than-expected economic recovery taking place here in New York. Local sales tax receipts continue to improve, the unemployment rate continues to fall and the state, with the addition of important federal funding, has a relatively strong fiscal footing. These are positive developments for New York as we begin 2022, but my office has also identified economic sectors that are still struggling and will need the state to continue its role addressing the health and economic effects of the pandemic.

The pandemic is stretching into a third year and the need for real, hands-on leadership is crucial at this point in our history to beat back the virus and to safely get us back to a more normal way of life. Based on what I’ve seen in these last four months and from what I heard today from her State of the State, I’m confident Governor Hochul can help us achieve this. I look forward to working with her and moving New York forward."