"She wants to be governor, but she wants to throw transit under the bus. Rep. Elise Stefanik, who announced her long-rumored run for governor on Friday, used her first interview to impugn congestion pricing, one of the most important revenue streams of the MTA. "The congestion pricing tax is a tax on workers," she told radio host Sid Rosenberg (yes, the same Sid Rosenberg who joked with Andrew Cuomo about Zohran Mamdani "cheering" a terrorist attack on New York City). "It is a commuter tax.""
"It's odd to hear the Plattsburgh-area legislator and longtime ally of President Trump undermine the MTA, as she clearly knows its benefit; her district is home to at least 9,000 workers at companies that sell services or material to the state-run transit authority. And although Stefanik has voted against federal funding for the MTA, she has also demanded more funding at other times. That could complicate her outreach to transit labor unions."
"The bigger problem is that Stefanik's campaign materials continue the New York State GOP's modern tradition of ignoring the fiscal health of the MTA in favor of fear-mongering and culture-warring. Like Stefanik so far, the most recent Republican candidate for governor, Lee Zeldin, focused his campaign on law and order and the supposed "scam" of congestion pricing, while ignoring the need to maintain and expand its transit capacity. Reminder: He lost."
Elise Stefanik announced a gubernatorial run while denouncing congestion pricing as a commuter tax and attacking a key MTA revenue stream. Her campaign launch used footage of a subway immolation, signaling a strategy that emphasizes fear over transit investment. Stefanik's district benefits economically from MTA contracts, and her mixed record on funding — voting against federal aid at times while requesting funds at others — could complicate outreach to transit labor unions. The state GOP continues prioritizing criticism of congestion pricing and law-and-order messaging over plans to maintain and expand transit capacity, a tactic that has not delivered electoral victory.
Read at Streetsblog
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