7 December 2021: Did Hochul Throws Malatras a Lifeline or the Rope He'll Use to Hang Himself?

Hochul throws embattled SUNY Chancellor Malatras a life line, refuses call for ouster

This excerpt describes replacement NY Governor's choice to not call for SUNY Chancellor Malatras' resignation:

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday refused to seek the resignation of embattled SUNY Chancellor James Malatras — a confidante of disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — while calling for an overhaul of the sprawling 64-campus university system.

Hochul offered Malatras — who is under fire for smearing former state worker Lindsey Boylan in nasty texts 18 months before she accused Cuomo of sexual harassment — a life raft, at least for now.

“I understand that Jim Malatras — as all of us understand — has been appointed to the position by the trustees. I understand that he’s working with individuals to earn their trust, and I encourage him to do so,” said Hochul when asked about the SUNY chancellor during a Monday press briefing.

Nearly all the current SUNY trustees are Cuomo appointees.

Hochul, when asked specifically if Malatras should step down, only said, “We need a leader of the SUNY system.

Hochul has few options to force Malatras to resign from his appointed position. With SUNY's board controlled by Andrew M. Cuomo's appointees, they have chosen to protect him, so she would appear weak if she called for him to step down and he refused and the board backed him over her. Putting that weakness on display would almost certainly cost her additional support as she seeks to be elected as New York's governor next year.

In that light, Hochul's statement is a classic politician's dodge. It's also interesting because in expressing her position as she has, she's setting both Malatras and SUNY's board up for blame for any problems SUNY develops or sustains. That would include opposing any reforms she might propose for the troubled institution, which has seen student enrollment plummet during the coronavirus pandemic.

The report indicates that she plans to announce several significant reforms for SUNY in January 2022. It's possible she's just fed Malatras and the board the rope she needs for them to hang themselves, metaphorically speaking, if they don't go along with what she will propose. But is she that clever?