Covering the politics, policies and people of New York State government.
With a new Legislature about to be seated in Albany, a coalition of more than 90 groups is asking the governor and lawmakers to reform the state’s voting laws this coming session. The Fair Elections of New York campaign sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and all 213 members […]
Thursday’s primary election saw the defeat of six former Independent Democratic Conference members. These senators often conferenced with Republicans and shared in the control of the house, co-chairing committees and writing legislation with Republican colleagues. The group officially dissolved on April 16, 2018, but they could not withstand a concerted […]
Control of the state’s upper house will remain with Republicans until at least November, according to Sen. Simcha Felder, D-Brooklyn. Though Democrats won Tuesday’s special elections in Senate Districts 32 and 37, giving them the electoral majority — 32 Democrats to 31 Republicans — Felder’s support of the Democratic party […]
Long ago I nicknamed the Independent Democratic Conference “The Traitors.” That’s because these people who ran as Democrats actually kept the Republicans who control the Senate in very Blue State New York in power. Many people, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, have called out Governor Andrew Cuomo for his […]
An open letter to New York state Democrats from the party’s Executive Director, Geoff Berman: In the last few weeks New York State’s Democratic political world was revolutionized. The Senate Democrats, who were part of the Independent Democratic Caucus (IDC), have dissolved and joined with the mainline Democrats. Governor Cuomo […]
Gov. Andrew Cuomo brokered a deal between mainline Senate Democrats and the eight-member Independent Democratic Conference Wednesday, to create a unified Democratic Senate. Cuomo said the move will help to “protect against Washington’s attack on New York and continue New York’s bold, progressive path forward.” The IDC was founded in […]
Geoff Berman, executive director of the New York State Democratic Committee, issued the following statement on the 2018-2019 budget, blaming the failure of many progressive policy goals on the Independent Democratic Conference — a group of eight senators who were elected as Democrats but often vote with Republicans — and […]
Twenty-two state legislators earned perfect scores while 36 received failing marks in a first-ever environmental scorecard issued by the League of Conservation Voters. The scorecard highlights the performance of every state legislator on this year’s key environmental issues. The League of Conservation Voters issued memos on more than 30 bills […]