Mr. Delgado goes to Albany (for a change)

Get ready to see more of Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado around Albany as he runs for governor against his boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul. 

Speaking to reporters in the state Capitol on Monday, Delgado said he plans to preside over the state Senate more often. Constitutionally, that’s his only role: serving as president of the state Senate and casting a tie-breaking vote if a floor vote ends evenly split on a bill. That’s a rare occurrence, given that Democrats currently control nearly a supermajority of senate seats.

In recent history, lieutenant governors have typically only presided over the state Senate on the first day of the legislative session or during other special occasions. But after doing so last week on the first day, Delgado was back again Monday to fulfill the role. “Certainly going to keep moving around the state as well, like I’ve done in the past, but I am going to try to preside a bit more,” he said. 

For Delgado, that means more time spent around legislators who may be willing to ditch Hochul in favor of him – and all on the state’s dime. Two lawmakers have already jumped ship to Delgado: state Sen. Jabari Brisport and Assembly Member Emily Gallagher. 

Besides, he doesn’t have much else to do. The governor drastically cut Delgado’s staff and budget, leaving him with only the barest bones of his office left at his disposal. (Notably, his Monday appearance at the state Senate appeared on his campaign schedule rather than on his official government schedule, which he has not released in some time.) Generally, the state pays for the lieutenant governor to traipse around the state as a proxy for the governor at ribbon cuttings and local fairs and the like. Good opportunities to begin making inroads with local Democratic leaders around the state – but only if your boss doesn’t know you’re doing it in hopes of unseating her.

Delgado lamented his loss of resources at the hands of the governor. “It makes it more challenging to do the work on behalf of the people, to do the work of getting around the state, engaging, listening, being accountable, elevating issues of concern,” he said. Although the state constitution says nothing about the lieutenant governor’s role outside of being state Senate president and second in the line of succession, Delgado asserted that having been independently elected makes him responsible to the people. (He ran separately from Hochul in the 2022 Democratic primary, but appeared jointly on the ballot with her during the general election.) 

Delgado denied that he would have used his taxpayer-funded trips as unofficial campaign stops. He said he would have continued to do what he’s always done: “bringing their stories to the governor when I could.” But that could be tough considering Delgado couldn’t say exactly when he last spoke with Hochul. “Been a while,” he admitted.