ALBANY, NY \u2014 For the first time in New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) history, the union representing New York state corrections officers has publicly endorsed a candidate for governor, backing Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman as it presses to end Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act.<\/p>\n
Union leaders and officers said the endorsement is driven by safety concerns inside state prisons, including assaults on staff.<\/p>\n
Kym Strawbridge, a former corrections officer, described being attacked by inmates while working at Groveland Correctional Facility in Livingston County. <\/p>\n
\u201cThree inmates jumped over the wall, the desk, hit me to the ground, started beating, kicking, locking a sock, choking me unconscious,\u201d Strawbridge said. \u201cThey wanted to kill me, and they told OSI that I was going to die.\u201d<\/p>\n
In February 2025, Strawbridge was assaulted by inmates during a 24-hour shift at the facility. She was forced to medically retire at 50 years old and continues to feel the impacts of a traumatic brain injury. The injury has forced her wife, Mary, to take on three jobs.<\/p>\n
NYSCOPBA President Chris Summers said the union\u2019s decision followed a vote by members. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when we signed out this endorsement, they spoke loud and clear and the vote was overwhelmingly,\u201d Summers said. \u201cIt\u2019s about giving our members a direct voice in the political process that affects their profession, their families, their workplace and their future in corrections.\u201d<\/p>\n
NYSCOPBA officially endorsed Blakeman for Governor Tuesday afternoon, tying the endorsement to its push to end the HALT Act.<\/p>\n
Blakeman argued the law has created safety risks for both officers and inmates.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow first the corrections officers said it was unsafe and unsecured, but now the prisoners, they don\u2019t want these highly violent criminals in the general population,\u201d Blakeman said. \u201cIt is a danger not only to our corrections officers, but to the very prisoners who want safety and security in their own environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The endorsement comes days after the family of Robert Brooks reached a $24 million settlement with the state<\/a>, almost two years after Brooks was beaten to death by corrections officers. It also comes more than a year after a 22-day strike by corrections officers that ended with more than 2,000 fired after refusing to return to work.<\/a><\/p>\n Hochul\u2019s campaign responded with a statement criticizing Blakeman and defending the governor\u2019s record.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll put Governor Hochul\u2019s law enforcement record up against Bruce Blakeman\u2019s any day. She\u2019s invested nearly $4 billion in public safety and helped drive gun violence to record lows, and when correction officers broke the law, abandoned their posts and put their colleagues and surrounding communities at risk, Governor Hochul acted to restore order and hold them accountable \u2013 something Blakeman knows nothing about after letting violent crime spike on his watch and running an untrained, armed MAGA militia that undermines law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n RELATED: NYSCOPBA urges Gov. Hochul to intervene after violence, deaths, contraband<\/a><\/p>\n