Blakeman pledges to "immediately end" the HALT solitary-confinement law at a Capitol event with NYSCOPBA, then concedes a Democratic Legislature would make it a budget negotiation

At the Sept. 22 event formalizing the correction officers' union endorsement, Blakeman said he would use the governor's leverage to repeal HALT and rehire officers fired after the 2025 strike. Pressed, he said repeal would be a negotiation with Democratic leaders. Hochul's campaign pointed to ~$4B in public-safety spending and defended the firings.