Gov. Kathy Hochul joined running mate Adrienne Adams and several local elected officials Thursday, Aug. 27, to launch the New York Democrats Queens field office in Jamaica ahead of the November general elections.
Hochul, who was also celebrating her 68th birthday, joined Adams and a slate of Queens Democrats at the new field office for her gubernatorial at 95-26 Sutphin Blvd. as she gears up for a showdown with Republican opponent Bruce Blakeman in November.
A Siena poll of likely voters earlier in August found that Hochul holds a 10-point lead over Blakeman, the current executive of Nassau County.
But speaking to a crowd of local organizers at the launch event, Hochul said her campaign could not rest on its laurels ahead of the election. She said the new Queens field office would be crucial in winning the vote of local residents this fall.
“I am so looking forward to election night this year, but there is a lot of work to be done between now and then, and it will be happening here,” Hochul told supporters.
Hochul also accused Blakeman and the Republican Party of attempting to bring back the “bad old days” during Thursday night’s address. She also slammed President Donald Trump for his recent move to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, accusing the president of seeking to distract voters from issues impacting their daily lives.
“Shame on him for doing this,” Hochul said. “He’s doing this because he’s harming this country every single day. It’s another assault on America.”
Meanwhile, Adams, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, said the new field office was opening while the country was in the midst of a “serious situation.” She accused Blakeman of supporting Trump’s policies, which she described as extreme and unhinged.
“We are facing an opponent right now who wants to bring New York State under the administration of a maniac. I can’t be nice about it,” Adams said.
Adrienne Adams. Photo by Shane O’Brien
She further accused the President of focusing on all issues except those facing common people.
“His attention is not on the high price of gas, the high price of our groceries,” she said.
Several local elected officials appeared at Thursday’s launch event, including U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, Assembly Members David Weprin, Alicia Hyndman and Nily Rozic, State Sen. John Liu, and Council Members Ty Hankerson, Lynn Schulman, Linda Lee and Shekar Krishnan.
A number of Queens Democrats joined the event. Photo by Shane O’Brien
Hankerson, who replaced Adams in the 28th Council District, said Hochul and Adams’s ticket represented an “exciting moment” for politics in New York State.
“It is the first time that we have two women at the top of the ticket,” Hankerson said. “(Adams) is a woman from Hollis, Queens, and has made so much history in her time in government.”
Adams, who served as council speaker until last year, was the first woman to be elected in the 28th Council District and the first black woman to serve as council speaker.
“Breaking barriers and breaking glass ceilings is nothing new to Adrienne Adams,” Hankerson said. “With these two amazing folks at the top of the ticket, I believe that New York is going to be even more progressive, even stronger.”
Meng, meanwhile, credited Hochul and Adams for “always prioritizing Queens.”
“We’re so proud to have someone like Adrienne Adams, who is literally a daughter of Queens and who knows these neighborhoods like the back of her hand,” Meng said. “We are so proud to welcome Governor Hochul, who has been to Queens countless times. She doesn’t need GPS to come to our Queens neighborhoods.”
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng. Photo by Shane O’Brien
Meng said there is a “long road ahead” until the general election in November but said Adams will have “Queens right behind her” as she campaigns alongside Hochul.
“We need folks to knock on doors, to send text messages, to make sure we are calling everyone, to make sure we are not taking this race for granted,” Meng said.