Republican candidate for governor Bruce Blakeman attacked Mayor Mamdani Monday, pitching himself as a foil to Mamdani’s proposed tax hikes as he brought his race against Gov. Kathy Hochul to City Hall.
Blakeman slammed Mamdani’s proposals of a property tax hike and lowered threshold for estate taxes, and he accused Hochul, a more moderate Democrat who herself has resisted a number of tax hikes, of being “in league” with Mamdani to move on a “secret plan” to raise taxes on the middle class. The governor plays a key role in setting tax policy statewide.
He said, as governor, he’d make the state more affordable for the middle class than the incumbent has.
“New Yorkers will no longer be miserable under Kathy Hochul,” Blakeman said at his City Hall steps press conference.“They will be happy once again, and they’ll be able to afford not only the necessities of life, but the simple pleasures and luxuries of life, like being able to take your kids on vacation or being able to buy your daughter a prom dress without having to sweat it out.”
The Nassau County executive, who was flanked by Republican candidates for attorney general and state comptroller at the press conference, also blasted Mamdani, saying he doesn’t believe in “hard work.”
“He wants to take your taxpayer dollars and spend them frivolously on programs that don’t work, such as giving you a free bus ride,” Blakeman said.
The republican is facing an uphill bid for the governor’s seat, consistently trailing Hochul in polls by double digits. Hochul has slammed Blakeman as being closely aligned with President Trump.
“While Bruce Blakeman can’t stop touting Trump’s illegal tariffs that make everything from groceries to clothing more expensive, Governor Hochul has lowered costs for New Yorkers at every opportunity: Putting money back in their pockets, passing universal free school meals, and cutting middle-class taxes to their lowest rate in 70 years,” Ryan Radulovacki, a spokesperson for Hochul’s campaign, said in a statement.
Despite the struggle over taxes and their differing stances on public safety and Israel, Hochul and Mamdani have forged an alliance, finding common ground over expanding childcare and a need to build more housing. Mamdani, who’s popular in the city, which contains a big slice of the state voting population, has supported Hochul’s re-election bid, effectively forcing out Antonio Delgado, a challenger from the left.
Asked at an unrelated Monday morning appearance about how he feels to be made a punching bag in the governor’s race, Mamdani said it only serves to amplify his own message:
“It’s no surprise to me that he’s coming all the way to City Hall to talk about affordability because we’re one of the only places that is taking affordability seriously. In Nassau County, his focus is on how to round up as many people as possible and send them as far away as he can.”
Blakeman slammed Mamdani for his proposal to lower the state’s estate tax exemption threshold of more than $7 million to $750,000, as well as his threat to raise property taxes if Hochul didn’t pitch the city more money in the state budget. Mamdani has also floated the idea of raising taxes on wealthy New Yorkers, a proposal Hochul has resisted.
The mayor said Monday the estate tax proposal has been “mischaracterized” and that primary residence exemptions were built into his plan.
