Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul completed their first two weeks as governing partners on Wednesday, marking a busy start to the enactment of an ambitious shared affordability agenda.
The newly elected mayor and the governor, running for re-election this year, claimed numerous victories in the early days of their working relationship, with the crown jewel being their Jan. 8 announcement of a citywide free childcare program for two-year-olds, a home run on a high-priority agenda item for both elected officials.
The scale of the universal childcare agreement — which, according to Hochul, would be fully funded by the state and serve about 2,000 children in its first year — is unusual so early on in a mayoral administration.
Former Mayor Bill De Blasio and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, for example, sparred for months over funding New York City’s pre-kindergarten program in 2014 before settling on a deal.
However, the childcare agreement Hochul and Mamdani reached is not everything the new mayor has pledged to New Yorkers on the campaign trail. Core to Mamdani’s democratic socialist agenda is increasing taxes on New York’s wealthiest to bankroll his plans for affordability, which include a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments, universal childcare, and the elimination of city bus fares.
Though Hochul has long been an advocate of affordable childcare, often noting that she is New York’s “first mom governor,” she has poured cold water on Mamdani’s hopes for free bus fares and has bristled at calls to “tax the rich.”
“Nothing is a permanent ‘no,’ we’re having conversations,” Hochul said in a Pix11 interview last week about free bus fares. On taxes, she said, “I don’t think it makes sense to tax anyone, or the wealthy in particular, for just the sake of raising taxes.”
Hochul’s endorsement of Mamdani after he won the Democratic primary in June 2025 came despite some ideological differences. Hochul is a centrist Democrat, Mamdani a democratic socialist.
A stark reminder of those differences confronted the duo last week, when Hochul endorsed Rep. Dan Goldman (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn) for re-election to New York’s 10th Congressional District — a race in which Mamdani is pulling for political ally and former City Comptroller Brad Lander.
The diverging endorsements, however, came as little surprise to Albany experts who spoke to amNewYork.
“To call it ‘much ado about nothing’ would be wrong because it’s not even ‘little ado about nothing,’” Evan Stavisky, a longtime lobbyist in Albany and president of the public affairs firm The Parkside Group, said.
Mamdani and Hochul have both stood by their endorsements and dismissed suggestions that the differing endorsements signal a rift in their relationship. Hochul’s annual State of the State address on Tuesday largely revolved around her focus on affordability and fighting the Trump administration — priorities shared by Mamdani.
Spokespeople for Mamdani and Hochul did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
Establishing a working partnership
Hochul and Mamdani’s united front in their first two weeks as partners in government, though it’s early to tell, could indicate a uniquely productive working relationship despite their ideological differences, according to Ben Max, executive editor and program director at the Center for New York City and State Law.
“In a number of ways, Governor Hochul and [former Mayor Eric Adams] were more ideologically aligned than Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani,” Max said. “However, there are obvious overlapping priorities that Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani have, such as childcare, and ways in which politically, they both also recognize that they need each other.”
Stavisky characterized the governor-mayor relationship as one in which pairings have historically “fought with each other in order to establish dominance.” Stavisky does not recognize that dynamic in Hochul and Mamdani.
“They’re both taking a different approach than their predecessors in ways that not only benefit their constituents but also benefit their respective politics,” Stavisky said.
Regarding the pair’s willingness to compromise, Stavisky pointed specifically to Mamdani’s willingness to accept a 2-Care childcare plan that is not funded by a tax hike. The plan, which will strengthen the city’s existing 3-K program, will cost the state $1.7 billion in its first two years.
Jack O’Donnell, a longtime Albany legislative strategist, said Hochul and Mamdani need to be “meeting in the middle” and avoid focusing too much on ideological divides.
“Everyone in politics comes to this with different friends and allies. So, you know, I think that’s bound to happen based on where they both come from,” O’Donnell said.
Finding compromise
Since her endorsement of Mamdani, Hochul has been upfront about where their priorities and beliefs diverge. Hochul endorsed Mamdani in a New York Times op-ed, in which she outlined areas of friction with the then-candidate. She wrote that she had discussed public safety, antisemitism, and economic priorities with Mamdani, all issues that drew heated debate during the primary and general elections.
“I didn’t leave my conversations with Mr. Mamdani aligned with him on every issue,” she wrote. “But I am confident that he has the courage, urgency and optimism New York City needs to lead it through the challenges of this moment.”
Hochul said in July that she told Mamdani he has “a lot of healing to do with the Jewish community. Many of your words have been hurtful and hateful to people in their interpretation.” Mamdani, who has long allied himself with the pro-Palestinian cause, has faced criticism for refusing to outright condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” and for threatening to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were he to come to New York City.
In her op-ed, she encouraged him to put an emphasis on subway safety and resources for the NYPD — the new mayor came under fire during the primary for previous calls to “defund the police,” an opinion he walked back during his campaign for City Hall.
Mamdani himself has touted the importance of finding common ground on important issues despite differences, frequently quoting former Mayor Ed Koch’s famous adage: “If you agree with me on nine out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist.”
“I expect the governor to want to help the mayor fulfill some of his promises while opposing him on others,” Max said. “She knows that so much of the governing power over New York City lies with the state, but she also realizes that so much of the current political power, especially within the Democratic Party, lies with Mamdani in New York City right now.”
Shoring up support on the left
For Mamdani, Hochul’s endorsement was a monumental vote of confidence from the state’s highest officer. For Hochul, it was an opportunity to ally with the Democratic Party’s brightest rising star ahead of her run for reelection.
“One of Hochul’s political calculations seems to be that she is going to get attacked as a Mamdani ally by Republicans, no matter what,” Max said. “And so she has decided, in part, to endorse him in the general election and lean in on some of their relationship in order to, partly listen to the voters of New York City and also partly to show Mamdani supporters that she is someone they should support.”
Hochul, though favored by most polls to handily win the Democratic primary against Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado and the general election against Trump-endorsed Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, is entering a unique race. Aside from her focus on affordability, one shared with the mayor, she has her eyes set on Trump himself.
In her State of the State address Tuesday afternoon, she pulled no punches when evaluating the impact of Trump’s first year back in office on New York State.
“This moment carries real threats from Donald Trump and his enablers in Congress,” Hochul said, pointing to tariff-induced inflation, killed infrastructure projects, and mass Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention of New Yorkers arriving at routine immigration hearings. “It’s all part of an agenda that only makes our lives harder.”
As Hochul approaches a battle with Trump-aligned Republicans in the fall, she’s looking to her left for support.
“She will be attacked as a Mamdani ally by the Republican nominee for governor, but she hopes that that’s counteracted by significant support from Mamdani voters,” Max said. “And the childcare announcement is key in currying some of that favor, but if she’s not willing to budge much on taxes … she might face some real skepticism if she’s not following through on support for Mamdani in other ways.”
