Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Cooney reverses bail stance after lefty criticism

Not exactly a profile in courage …

State Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D-Rochester) caved to pressure from the political left late Tuesday night — just hours after Gov. Kathy Hochul sang his praises for being “courageous” enough to back a key change to bail reform.

“Our state law allows for those accused of violent crimes or repeat offenders to be held. And we must continue to give judges the tools to enforce these laws,” Cooney said at a Hochul event in Rochester Wednesday.

“This isn’t a rolling back or an overstep in public policy. It is a surgical approach to the law,” he said.

Amid rising crime, especially among repeat offenders, Cooney had joined Hochul as she pushed Albany Democrats to change – for serious offenses – an existing law requiring that judges impose the “least restrictive conditions” on criminal defendants ahead of their trials, whether or not the crime is bail-eligible.

But after cameras stopped rolling and daily newspapers went to print and web, Cooney expressed a change of heart in a statement to The Post sent via a spokesman late Tuesday night.

“Continued discussion on tweaks to bail reform is necessary, but he did not state his support for all of the proposed bail reform changes,” read the statement.

A day’s worth of phone calls and tweets from progressive constituents angry about him supporting any bail changes appeared to be a reason for Cooney backing away from the idea Hochul wants to pass in the state budget due April 1.

“My response of ‘WTH?’ was quite spontaneous,” Kelly Cheatle, a Rochester member of the Working Families Party, told The Post of criticizing Cooney soon after he spoke.

Cooney was the only state lawmaker who appeared alongside Hochul on Tuesday after ongoing resistance from state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) to changing controversial criminal justice reforms first passed in 2019.

A Hochul spokeswoman did not provide immediate comment.

His about-face leaves Hochul with just a few Democratic senators who have publicly supported her proposed bail change while exposing himself and the governor to mockery from across the aisle.

“Senator Cooney is a perfect example of Albany politicians who only pay lip service to issues when it is convenient for them. He is afraid of angering the far left, while residents in his district are fearing for their lives,” state Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt (R-Lockport) said.

Republican political consultant William O’Reilly noted that Cooney’s apparent fear of the left makes Hochul look weak with the Legislature just weeks ahead of the state budget deadline.

“Sen. Cooney appears to be more afraid of the ‘woke’ Left than he is of his governor. That doesn’t bode well for Mrs. Hochul, who clearly realizes that current bail reform laws are a political loser. We keep waiting for Mrs. Hochul to use her substantial leverage with fellow party members, but she somehow seems disinclined to crack the whip. It’s odd,” O’Reilly said.

Violent crime has also ravaged Rochester in recent years before shootings ticked downwards this past year, Cooney critics note is one

“Representing Rochester Sen. Cooney should know better than most that when it comes to bail reform Governor Hochul gets it mostly right. As such it’s sad that he in an outright embarrassing manner would cave to downstate progressive interests,” Conservative Party Chair Gerald Kassar told The Post.

“Strange the governor has such a weak hold on her Democratic colleagues,” he added.

Other Republicans argued that scaling back the “least restrictive” standard was hardly a bold move given the wider push to loosen limits on cash bail while increasing judicial discretion to jail people pre-trail based on their supposed threats to public safety.

“Senator Cooney was correct the first time …  The “least restrictive means” should be removed.  But that’s just a Band-Aid.  Bail reform must be repealed and there needs to be consequences for people who commit crimes,” state Sen. George Borello (R-Jamestown) said.

Members of the political left have similarly felt burned by Cooney after he supported a “Good Cause Eviction” bill while running for his state Senate seat with the backing of progressive groups like the Working Families Party.

But Cooney reversed that position amid big donations from the real estate industry and what he later claimed was feedback from constituents.

“A profile in courage! A real stand-up guy!” Michael McKee, treasurer of the left-leaning Tenants PAC, told The Post Wednesday while expressing regret for his group ever supporting Cooney before his “betrayal.”

Cooney denied that he changed his position on bail reform when asked by The Post at the state Capitol on Wednesday while nonetheless citing a letter from 100 prominent Rochester citizens to state reps demanding they support Hochul’s bail proposal.

“I would be against inaction, like not doing anything,” he said. “I do think that we need to give clarity so that judges know that they have the ability for violent offenders, and for repeat offenders to be able to hold them. And I’ve said that on the record.”

He noted that he “did not specifically say” he supported her proposal – despite his comments giving the exact opposite impression – while claiming he would somehow still “stand by her” on the issue of bail despite the evidence to the contrary.

“I think she’s being courageous and leading on this issue. I think it’s well-needed,” Cooney said. “Rochester is looking for leadership on this issue.”