Covering the politics, policies and people of New York State government.
After a decade of fighting, supporters of the Child Victims Act saw their legislation pass both houses of the state Legislature this week and are awaiting a signature from the governor. The newly Democratic Senate passed the bill (S.2440/A.2683) on Monday, followed soon after by the Assembly. The passage of […]
Seven bills are aimed at reversing New York’s historically low voter turnout The Legislature on Monday passed seven bills that bring major revisions to the state’s elections system. The bills, all passed by the Senate and Assembly on January 14, are expected to be signed by the governor. They will […]
For the first time in almost a decade, Democrats will hold a firm majority control of the New York State Senate. Based on preliminary numbers from the State Board of Elections, Democrats appeared to have secured a total 39 seats in the state Senate, with a couple races still too […]
The race for the New York State Senate is on, big time. It would appear that the Democrats have a fair chance of taking the so-called “upper” house. A lot of the old Republicans are retiring, perhaps because the incumbents see the handwriting on the wall. We all know that […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Senate Democratic Conference presented the second legislative package in their “resistance agenda,” this time to expand voting accessibility and voter rights in New York. The package includes nine pieces of legislation to expand voting rights, including proposals for early voting, easier party enrollment, and modernization of voting methods, as […]