Chicago’s transit fight and New York’s city-budget negotiations show how local promises become state-level decisions.
asserted
promises → show → ?
Voters beyond the city limits should take notice, writes Dave Bovee.
asserted
Bovee → take → notice
Kathy Hochul (D) last week won another term as New York governor by roughly 20 points.
asserted
Hochul → win → points
Democrats also flipped governors’ offices in Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, and Nevada.
asserted
Democrats → flip → Texas
If you live in a small town or suburb in any of those states, here’s a question worth asking: Who will be paying for what comes next?
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what → live → states
Most of the postelection attention has focused on Congress.
asserted
Most → focus → Congress
I would keep an eye on the governors' offices and legislatures, because that is where a great deal of your money gets allocated.
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deal → keep → money
The serious question is whether state spending is justified, how long it lasts, and which communities bear the cost.
asserted
communities → justify → cost
A governor should be able to answer without hiding behind the word ‘free.’
asserted
governor → answer → word
I live in upstate New York, not far from the dairy farms where I grew up.
asserted
I → live → farms
Whatever its mayor did didn’t seem to affect us very much.
asserted
did → seem → us
I have changed my mind about that, and I think people who live far from big blue cities should, too.
asserted
who → change → cities
Zohran Mamdani took over New York City Hall in January promising free buses, free child care, and city-run grocery stores.
asserted
Mamdani → take → buses
He calls himself a democratic socialist, and to his credit, he never hid his ambition to enlist Albany in his efforts.
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he → call → efforts
A city can make promises on its own.
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city → make → own
Paying for those promises is another matter entirely.
asserted
Paying → pay → promises
In February, Mamdani presented a $127 billion preliminary budget and warned that without state permission to raise taxes on wealthy residents and corporations, he might have to increase city property taxes by 9.5%.
uncertain
he → present → %
The final budget adopted in June was $125.8 billion, without that proposed property tax increase.
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budget → adopt → increase
Hochul and Mamdani announced $1.5 billion in additional state support over two fiscal years.
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Hochul → announce → years
Part of it reversed costs that earlier administrations had shifted onto the city; $500 million was one-time assistance.
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million → reverse → city
Separately, Albany budgeted $2.4 billion for child-care assistance statewide, including money for New York City’s programs.
asserted
Albany → budget → programs
Those are different appropriations, and the distinction is worth making.
asserted
distinction → make → ?
A lot of that money comes out of the pockets of people in Elmira and Buffalo who will never ride one of Mamdani’s free buses.
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who → come → buses
And the city isn't finished looking for other people’s money.
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city → finish → money
Its adopted financial plan projects a $6.44 billion gap in fiscal 2028 and gaps exceeding $8 billion in each of the two years after that.
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plan → adopt → that
The serious question is whether state spending is justified, how long it lasts, and which communities bear the cost.
asserted
communities → justify → cost
A governor should be able to answer without hiding behind the word “free.”
asserted
governor → answer → word
Other states face their own versions of this problem.
asserted
states → face → problem
Illinois approved a transit-funding overhaul that redirected gas-tax revenue, raised regional sales taxes, and changed tollway financing to help Chicago-area transit.
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that → approve → transit
Those decisions have winners and losers.
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decisions → have → winners
Georgia just elected Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor, as governor.
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Georgia → elect → governor
I would be curious how many voters in Valdosta or Dalton have started
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voters → start → Valdosta
whose priorities she will carry into the state Capitol
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she → carry → Capitol
My career has been in the energy and utility business, and I have seen how rules written in Albany can reach people who never asked for them.
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who → see → them
In 2024, New York enacted a Climate Change Superfund Act designed to collect $75 billion over 25 years from major fossil fuel companies, starting in 2028.
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York → enact → 2028
Lawmakers called it a “bill for industry.”
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Lawmakers → call → industry
I would have liked to hear more about how much could eventually be passed along to customers, including farmers and families who heat their homes with propane.
uncertain
who → like → propane
Federal courts blocked that law earlier this year, and New York has appealed.
asserted
York → block → law
The state isn’t collecting those billions — yet.
asserted
state → collect → billions
But the attempt tells us something about the spending and taxing ideas that can get traction in Albany.
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that → tell → Albany
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
