A Valley Viewpoint Narrative:
Kathy Hochul’s Leadership Crisis — Or Who’s Really Running New York?
Every now and then, a political story comes along that doesn’t just raise eyebrows — it raises a far deeper question: Who exactly is in charge?
That’s the question at the center of Michael Goodwin’s blistering op-ed in the New York Post, and frankly, it’s a question more and more New Yorkers are asking about Governor Kathy Hochul.
According to federal prosecutors, one of Hochul’s own senior aides — Linda Sun — now faces charges for allegedly acting as a covert agent for China. That’s shocking on its own. But the real stunner? Sun reportedly described Hochul as “obedient” and “easier to influence” than Andrew Cuomo.
Think about that. A governor of the largest, most complicated state in America being labeled “obedient” by someone allegedly working for a foreign government. And instead of distancing herself, Hochul promoted her.
But you don’t need a scandal to see the pattern. New Yorkers have watched this governor deflect, delay, reverse, and punt on every major decision that required conviction. Congestion pricing? Supported it, paused it, revived it, reshaped it, defended it, fled from it. Crime policy? Tough talk in the debates, mushy governance afterward. Judicial nominations? Backed down the minute the Legislature snapped its fingers.
And now, with the political winds shifting again after the NYC mayoral election, Hochul seems prepared to bend once more — this time to the loudest progressive voices in the room. Suddenly she’s “open” to raising corporate taxes, a move even former Governor George Pataki warned would send more New Yorkers packing for good.
This isn’t leadership. It’s weather-vane governance — spinning whichever direction the gusts blow hardest.
New York doesn’t need a governor who waits to see what others think. It doesn’t need a governor whose decisions are shaped by indicted aides or ascendant ideologues. And it certainly doesn’t need a governor who treats the job like a group project where someone else is always the final decider.
Leadership is standing firm when the easy choice is to retreat. Leadership is owning decisions, not outsourcing them. Leadership is doing what’s right — not what’s politically convenient.
And increasingly, New Yorkers are asking whether Kathy Hochul has that in her.
Because if there’s one thing this state cannot afford right now — with crime concerns rising, affordability collapsing, taxes driving out the middle class, and trust in government evaporating — it’s a governor who passes the buck.
New York needs a leader.
Right now, it has a follower.
That’s the Valley Viewpoint.
The Valley Viewpoint 