In first appearance since Nov election; Zeldin calls out Hochul
ALBANY, NY (WRGB) — In his first appearance since losing the November election, Lee Zeldin wasted no time calling out governor Kathy Hochul Monday morning.
“ What the governor's State of the State address indicated, it was kind of like a college student who waits until the last possible minute to write that essay."
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Toward the end of the campaign trail, Zeldin pushed for more statewide public safety efforts; even coming to Albany's Pine Hills' neighborhood where several shootings occurred in the summer and fall.
In an October 2022 Siena College poll, New Yorkers voiced concerns over crime and democracy.
42% of Republicans ranked crime as a top concern, where 23% of democrats were concerned over protecting democracy, but 18% Democrats wanted to focus on crime.
MORE: Zeldin addresses recent crime in Pine Hills during a visit to the Capital
In January at the governor's state of the state , she touched on re-evaluating bail reform and least restrictive means for judges. Here's what she said in Syracuse Monday.
"So right now, the law says there's factors a judge should consider when deciding whether someone should receive bail, and these are bail eligible cases. By nature, they're already serious cases. Otherwise, they wouldn't be before a judge for bail,” said Governor Hochul. “But our law also says that the judge has to consider the least restrictive means to ensure they come back to court. Do you see the inconsistency of what I just said? Consider all these factors, but you have to use the least restrictive means to get them back - I just want to fix that."
Meanwhile, Zeldin says those actions speak louder than words.
“On crime it’s important for judges to have discretion. Dangerousness needs to be added in her amendments. This should be her stance out of the gate, and she should be utilizing the tactic that she has failed to utilize in the past. Go to the public, New Yorkers want judges to have discretion of a dangerousness and you’ll be shocked," added Zeldin."We need to make sure that that the judges are following these laws as far as what is bail eligible that you are in fact, you have a duty to a dangerousness not an assumption, not something as part of a bill memo as part of a press release."
Those efforts pushed Zeldin forward in the race but not enough, losing by less than 400,000 votes.
MORE: Zeldin not running for RNC chair, calls on Republicans to forge ahead with new leadership
Zeldin who isn't in public office currently says his future in government remains up in the air. "I will continue to serve; I do believe that at some point there will be a re-entry to government. What exactly that will be and when, we'll see."
He said he had army reserve duty over the weekend and will be finishing his 20th year in the military this spring.
