State corrections officers’ union backs Blakeman for governor

ALBANY―The union representing the state’s corrections officers has backed Republican Bruce Blakeman, marking the first time in the organization’s history that members have voted on a statewide gubernatorial endorsement.

Blakeman, the Nassau County executive who is challenging Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul this November, received overwhelming support from the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), earning the endorsement of 95 percent of the 1,476 members who voted.

“This is about more than an endorsement. This is about the members of NYSCOPBA having a voice and using it,” said NYSCOPBA President Chris Summers.

“For the first time in our organization's history, we took this decision directly to our statewide membership. We didn't make this decision behind closed doors. We didn't make it in a small room with a handful of people. We put it in the hands of the men and women who work inside New York's correctional facilities every single day—and they spoke loud and clear,” said Summers.

The endorsement comes 18 months after the 22-day wildcat strike by thousands of correction officers who cited severe staffing shortages, dangerous working conditions, forced overtime, and opposition to the HALT Act, a state law limiting solitary confinement.

Blakeman said Tuesday that if elected, he will work with state lawmakers to end the HALT Act.

“It is a danger not only to our correction officers but to the very prisoners who want safety and security in their own environment” Blakeman said, adding that since the HALT Act took effect in 2022, violence has skyrocketed within the prisons.

Repealing the law would require action by the State Legislature.

“The governor has a tremendous amount of power,” Blakeman said. “I will use that leverage to make our prisons safer and protect our corrections officers.”

“There’s a lot of things that Democrats may want that I may disagree with, but it’s a negotiation process, it’s a bargaining process, and at the top of my list is making things safer,” he added.

Hochul’s campaign responded by saying it will put the governor’s law enforcement record up against Blakeman’s any day.

“She’s 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,” her campaign stated.

When last year’s strike ended, the State fired approximately 2,000 correction officers who refused to go back to work. About 900 of them have since been rehired, according to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). However, the New York National Guard, called in during the strike, still maintains a presence of more than 2,000 in many facilities and the State has allocated more than $1 billion for their continued deployment as ongoing staffing shortages continue―a problem DOCCS has been actively trying to resolve through an ongoing recruitment campaign.

“It’s a burden on the taxpayers, it’s unsafe for members of our National Guard and it’s a security breach for our prisons to have people who are untrained serving as correction officers,” said Blakeman.

According to NYSCOPBA, its members understand the challenges facing New York's correctional system because they experience them firsthand.

“The people who work in our prisons know what is happening inside those facilities better than anyone,” Summers said. “They see the staffing shortages. They work the mandatory overtime. They deal with the safety issues. They walk into dangerous situations every day and are expected to keep order and protect both staff and incarcerated individuals.”

“Their voices deserve to be heard when decisions are made about the future of corrections in New York,” Summers said.

Greene County is home to two state prisons: medium-security Greene and maximum-security Coxsackie.

Meanwhile, a Siena Research Poll released Wednesday shows Hochul leading Blakeman in the race, 50-41 percent.

“With six weeks until election day, voters offer good news to both Hochul and Blakeman. She now has the support of 50% of voters and saw her favorability and job approval ratings edge into positive territory. He now trails by single digits―well, nine points―in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than two-to-one,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said.

“At this time four years ago, Hochul led Lee Zeldin 17 points, 54-37%, before going on to win by six points,” he added.

In 2022, 5.9 million voters came out for the gubernatorial election―an estimated 43% of those registered at the time.

Currently, Blakeman is doing a better job with Republicans, leading 88-8 percent, than Hochul is with Democrats, leading 81-11 percent, Greenberg noted.

“Additionally, Blakeman is holding onto a narrow lead among independents, 44-39 percent, nearly the same as last month, 45-40 percent,” Greenberg said. “Hochul has a dominant lead in New York City, 61-27 percent, and the two are running neck and neck in the downstate suburbs―Hochul 48-46 percent―and upstate, Blakeman 47-44 percent,” he said.