Politics

Hochul gambles on LaSalle, but the odds are stacked against her

The governor faces growing opposition over her controversial pick to be the next Court of Appeals chief judge.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is kicking off 2023 by sticking with her controversial Court of Appeals chief judge nominee Justice Hector LaSalle, despite growing opposition within the state Senate.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is kicking off 2023 by sticking with her controversial Court of Appeals chief judge nominee Justice Hector LaSalle, despite growing opposition within the state Senate. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Gov. Kathy Hochul is starting the new year off on uneasy footing as she sticks by her controversial Court of Appeals chief judge nominee. Despite an ever growing number of state senators announcing their opposition – which currently stands at 13 – the newly elected governor has said she intends to push ahead with Justice Hector LaSalle. Hochul is taking a political gamble – but she may wind up a loser either way.

Not long after the Commission on Judicial Nomination put out its shortlist of chief judge candidates for Hochul to pick from, progressive activists and organizations named LaSalle as one of three conservative-leaning judges they urged the governor not to pick. When she announced her nomination, opposition was swift and strong, including from politically powerful unions. They took issue with a notable anti-labor decision LaSalle had made in the past. Yet despite this, and despite Democrats having enough votes to block the nomination, Hochul has refused to withdraw her nomination and pick someone new. 

The reason is likely a simple one: Hochul wanted to appoint a Latino chief judge and LaSalle was the only option. Some politicos have said that Court of Appeals Associate Judge Jenny Rivera would have been a better and equally qualified Latina choice, but the Commission on Judicial Nomination didn't include her for Hochul to pick from. “One of the things we've heard touted from the administration and from some of the judge’s supporters, is his identity as a Latino judge and leader in that community,” political consultant Jack O’Donnell told City & State. “I do think that (for) the governor’s outreach to folks in the Latino community, it's important for her to stick with that.”

A lack of Latino representation at the highest levels of government has plagued Hochul since taking office. Criticism hit a fever pitch when the initial speaking list for the state Democratic Convention did not include any Latinos. And Hochul's decision to choose Antonio Delgado as her new lieutenant governor, who self-identifies as Afro-Latino, went over poorly with the Latino community at large due to Delgado's lack of family history in Latin America. 

But while LaSalle has gained support from some in the Latino community – a group of officials and attorneys put out a press release of joint support that included former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito – the choice did not uniformly spark the backing that was sought. Notable Latino lawmakers including state Sens. Jessica Ramos and Gustavo Rivera have publicly announced their intention to vote “no” on LaSalle’s nomination, despite the fact he would be the first Latino chief judge. “Latinos deserve representation at the highest levels of the legal system, but we also need courts that respect workers and the right to organize,” Ramos said in a statement on Thursday.

Political analyst Eli Valentin noted that Hochul’s attempts to make inroads with the Latino community make sense given its growing population and political sway in the state, but that ultimately, she made a mistake in choosing LaSalle. “I think the governor did a terrible job rolling this out,” Valentin told City & State. “I don’t think that she had enough conversations around this nomination with key people, both in the Legislature and outside groups that influence the process.” He also said that the nomination revealed a generational split among Latino leaders between traditional trailblazers who have fought to simply get members of the community at the table, and newer people who give ideological concerns equal weight to demographic ones.

Regardless of her reasons, Hochul now faces the uphill battle of getting LaSalle not just confirmed, but simply getting him a floor vote in the Senate. Judiciary Committee Chair Brad Hoylman recently told City & State that he doesn’t believe LaSalle should make it that far if he doesn’t have enough Democratic votes to confirm him. And as of Friday, he doesn’t. If Hochul can’t change Democrats’ minds, she will have to court Republican votes and find a way to convince Senate leadership to permit LaSalle’s nomination to receive a full chamber vote. As some political observers have pointed out, leadership rarely brings issues to a floor vote if they don’t have enough support within the conference.

Hochul has limited leverage against an unusually strong Legislature, which has a supermajority of Democrats in both chambers. But she does have the power to block lawmakers’ recently passed pay raise for the upcoming legislative session. Although Hochul has expressed support for the salary bump, she has declined to say whether she will sign the bill authorizing it. And she has until Tuesday to make that decision. “That is the bargaining chip,” Valentin said. “I think, for the governor, it gives her time to get supporters, right? To organize and counteract what’s been happening over the week-in-a-half.” Before passing the pay raise, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters it would not be tied to any policy. A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether she would sign the salary increase.

LaSalle’s nomination leaves Hochul in a politically fraught situation no matter how it ultimately turns out. On the one hand, she can continue to stand with her nominee and he never makes it to the floor. "A nomination for the Court of Appeal failing, and failing early this year as people are having budget conversations, would be a big political blow,” O’Donnell said. On the other hand, she could cut her losses and pick a different nominee, but be forced to pick a non-Latino judge instead since LaSalle was the only one who made the shortlist. Perhaps most explosively, Hochul could throw her weight around and force a confirmation vote with Republican support, likely destroying whatever working relationship she still has with the Senate Democrats for the rest of the year, if not the rest of her tenure. “I just think she played it wrong from the beginning,” Valentin said. “I don’t see this playing out for the governor, and it would be her first major loss in 2023.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.