This week on From the Lobby, host Joanna Pasceri sits down with Jack O’Donnell, managing partner of O’Donnell & Associates, to unpack a flurry of high-stakes fiscal moves out of Albany and a looming political moment in Washington. Governor Kathy Hochul is sending an additional $1.5 billion to New York City over two years and another $40 million to bail out Buffalo, even as the state faces its own budget headwinds. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is escalating his demands for higher taxes on the wealthy — and floating an across-the-board property tax hike if he doesn’t get them. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is sounding the alarm about a budget provision he says could weaken oversight of billions in spending. And President Trump is preparing for the first State of the Union of his second term, with polling suggesting Americans are growing impatient on pocketbook issues.
Joanna Pasceri
Big dollars, tough choices, and a lot of political pressure from Albany to Washington, D.C. Hi, everyone, and thanks for joining us. From the Lobby with Jack O’Donnell, a podcast that breaks down the fast-moving headlines from politics and government. With Jack, managing partner of O’Donnell & Associates, one of New York’s top government affairs firms, he gives us straight answers about the issues shaping budgets, taxes and services here in New York and across the country. Let’s bring him in. Jack, welcome back to the Lobby.
Jack O’Donnell
Hi, Joanna. A lot going on again this week.
Joanna Pasceri
Yes, Governor Hochul making big news right out of the gate this week, announcing the state will provide an additional $1.5 billion over the next two years to help New York City manage its fiscal challenges. Is this a good move?
Jack O’Donnell
Well, I’m sure people in New York City think so. I mean, look, I do think, and we’ve talked about this a little in the past, that investment by the state, by the federal government, in municipalities, especially in cities and urban areas, has been lacking over the last generation or two. And I think it’s good for the governor to try to redress that. When you get into the details she’s talked about, you know, these are costs that the state used to cover for New York City and then over the last 15 years have been pushed back to the city. So it seems fair for the state to come in and kind of make that up.
Joanna Pasceri
Well, right after that announcement, Mayor Mamdani pushed even harder, calling once again to increase taxes on the wealthy and for higher corporate taxes. And now he’s floating an across-the-board property tax hike if he doesn’t get what he wants. It appears he’s playing hardball here.
Jack O’Donnell
Yeah, I mean, you know, look, we talked about the money from the state to the city, and it was quite a contrast to see, you know, the cooperation that the governor has really created with this mayor, with the last mayor, you know, trying to bring that together. And then to hear Mayor Mamdani basically say, you better raise taxes and give us the money or else. I mean, look, I guess underneath it all, the mayor was very clear in his campaign last year in what he believes and that he wants the state to increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and give that money to him to do other things with it. And so, you know, he’s trying to use this mechanism to do it.
That said, it seemed a little clumsy, not just because of coming on the heels of the state investment, but also, you know, we heard from Julie Menin, who’s the new speaker of the New York City Council, very powerful elected official in New York City, say she’s not interested in raising property taxes. You know, we’ve heard from several councilmen saying they’re not — so it’s not even clear that Mayor Mamdani has a path to do this, even if he really wants to. So, you know, some of this will play out. I also think this is the mayor trying to show his coalition and his voters that he’s trying to keep his word to the extent that it is in his control. And I think that’s part of what you’re seeing here is also him signaling to people that he tried to get the state to raise taxes and, you know, he’s doing what he can. But the city has another fiscal update, I think in three months. It’d be interesting to see where things stand. I do not see the state doing that. We have heard loudly, consistently from Governor Hochul that she has no interest in a personal income tax hike. And so I don’t think that’s going anywhere.
Joanna Pasceri
Well, today we’re hearing now that Buffalo is also getting in the game. The governor announcing she is giving the city a $40 million bailout. What impact do you think this will have? And can the state afford to continue giving these handouts?
Jack O’Donnell
You know, I think the second part of that question is the more interesting one. Where does the state go from here? Right. And how long can they be filling these gaps? Because the state is facing some, you know, similar fiscal challenges that we’ve talked about at length on this podcast. And in our memo, you know, the fiscal outlook for the state is not so rosy. So, you know, that’s something that certainly has to play out. You know, I think we’ve heard from Mayor Ryan about, you know, he’s got a plan to move forward and to get the city of Buffalo on sound financial footing. But to do that, he has to get out of the current budget hole that the city finds itself in. You know, I think the hope from a lot of different quarters here is that this is a one-time thing and Buffalo can get back on its feet. But, man, we’ll see.
Joanna Pasceri
Well, we’ve also heard this week from State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who says a provision in the governor’s executive budget could weaken financial oversight, potentially affecting billions in state spending. I think a lot of us want to know, why would the administration want to loosen that oversight?
Jack O’Donnell
Yeah, what a good question. You know, this is the constant back and forth that we’ve seen from this governor, the last governor, and the comptroller. I mean, I think executives always want to have control and be able to spend money the way they want, to be able to react to things, be able to change things in real time, react to crisis, react to circumstances. And it’s what I think this governor wants the ability to do. And the comptroller, as the fiscal watchdog, wants to go over everything. And so, you know, I think it’s really just part of that natural back and forth.
We could talk about this at length, but people getting state funds or state resources, you know, often it’s great. And we do this a lot for clients. You get money in the budget or, you know, you get money directed by a legislator, and you think this is great. And then you realize all the hoops you have to jump through to try to actually get that money out. So much of what the state does are reimbursement. So you now have to spend the money and then try to get it back. And often you’re paying financing and other costs. So, anyway, that’s a long answer to say, I think this is the natural give and take of, you know, how much power does the governor have versus how much power does the comptroller have?
Joanna Pasceri
Well, let’s turn to Washington before we let you go, Jack. President Trump’s State of the Union address is next week, technically the first in his second administration. Big stage, big messaging moment. What does he need to accomplish?
Jack O’Donnell
In a lot of ways, the President speaks a lot, and I think, you know, in some ways speaks much more often than some of his predecessors, whether that is tweets on Truth Social or other posts or interviews. So I feel like, you know, we hear a lot from President Trump, and that, you know, means that this speech kind of hits differently. But, you know, I do think we’re seeing in polling across the country that people are not happy with where the President has gone, and that’s the danger of speaking a lot.
I think people hear about Iran, they hear about South America, they hear about Greenland, and a lot of them are saying, what about me? What about my pocketbook? Right? When are grocery prices going down? What happened to the winning? Right. I think there are a lot of folks who are waiting for that, looking for that, and I think that’s what a lot of folks want to hear from the president. What is he doing about them? When does that start and what does it look like? And the president has made a lot of promises on the campaign trail and then over the past year in office, and I think Americans want to hear what he’s doing to actually make their lives better.
Joanna Pasceri
We’ll have to stay tuned for that, Jack. We’ll be watching for your Monday Morning Memo next week. Thanks for joining us.
Jack O’Donnell
Thanks for having me, Joanna.
Joanna Pasceri
So much is happening in politics and government this year. Stay ahead of it with us. Be sure to check out our 2026 Legislative Preview, where we break down the biggest policy decisions ahead, and our Executive Budget Overview, a concise breakdown of the governor’s spending proposal. You can find them both on our website at odonnellsolutions.com — that’s odonnellsolutions.com — and while you’re there, make sure you’re signed up for our Monday Morning Memo, Jack’s weekly look at the biggest stories in politics and government, delivered straight to your inbox every week. Thanks for listening, everyone. We’ll be back soon from the Lobby with Jack O’Donnell.
