FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 4, 2023
Contact: Lee Ziesche, info@publicpowerny.org, 954-415-6228
JUSTIN DRISCOLL’S NEWLY REVEALED LEGAL LEGACY IS DISQUALIFYING
Public Power NY responds to additional damning information on Justin Driscoll, Hochul’s pick to lead NYPA, before likely Senate vote this week
Albany, New York – New information provided by LittleSis researchers reveals that Justin Driscoll, Governor Hochul’s nominee to lead the New York Power Authority (NYPA), successfully worked to deny land rights to indigenous people and healthcare to New Yorkers.
Driscoll, who has been acting CEO of NYPA for the last 18 months, also donated over a thousand dollars to a member of the Trump transition team and recently awarded discounted energy to Plug Power, a client of his former lobbying firm implicated in financial scandals.
The Public Power NY Coalition released the following statement:
The disqualifying evidence against Governor Hochul’s handpicked nominee to lead NYPA is stacking up.
Justin Driscoll’s opposition to the Build Public Renewables Act reflects a deeper problem – he is a right-wing corporatist who has spent his career fighting for private interests that are antithetical to NYPA’s mission.
The passage of the Build Public Renewables Act earlier this month is being celebrated across the country as the largest Green New Deal victory ever. In order for the law to be properly implemented, we need strong leadership at NYPA from the President and the Board of Trustees.
The first NYPA President, Frank P Walsh, was an avowed progressive appointed by FDR. He helped the National Women’s Trade Union League win a ruling that women had the same right to employment as men, fought to ban child labor, and was a longtime labor ally. Driscoll’s most lasting contribution to our legal system may be a ruling he won declaring that healthcare providers have “no duty of reasonable care.”
To revive NYPA as an engine of justice, we need a president with a record of fighting for ordinary people, not against them.
We call on the Senate to reject his nomination and that any future nominee have a history of fighting for climate justice and a commitment to using NYPA’s resources to deliver affordable, renewable energy to New Yorkers who need it most.
Driscoll has previously come under fire for opposing the Build Public Renewables Act, donating to Republican candidates, and choosing to use the Authority’s resources to give discounted renewable energy to Amazon.
Several Senators have already publicly declared they would vote against his confirmation, setting up another possible showdown over a Hochul nominee, following the unprecedented rejection of Hector LaSalle for Chief Judge.
More information on Driscoll can be found here.
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Note to the editor:
About Public Power NY
The Public Power NY Coalition is a statewide movement of community and advocacy organizations, and thousands of New Yorkers that won the Build Public Renewables Act, the nation’s biggest climate bill. BPRA will enable New York to unleash the New York Power Authority, the country’s largest public power provider, to build publicly owned, 100% renewable energy; slash energy costs for those who need it most; and create tens of thousands of green union jobs that will finally unionize the green energy sector. The bill is endorsed by unions representing over one million members in New York including 1199SEIU, NYSUT, PSC-CUNY, UUP, and UAW 9A.
Read our report: Public Power & Climate Leadership: Feasibility of 100% Fossil-Free NYPA by 2030