Covering the politics, policies and people of New York State government.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a cease-and-desist letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office on Wednesday, arguing that the federal agency had no business in storming an upstate New York farm and arresting one of its employees earlier this month. During a press conference to discuss his letter, Cuomo called […]
Governor Andrew Cuomo issued this letter to Senator Simcha Felder hours after Democrats won two seats in the state Senate in special elections Tuesday. Because Felder, a Democrat, conferences with Republicans in the Senate, the GOP retain control of the house despite being outnumbered. Dear Senator Felder, Given Shelley Mayer’s […]
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 […]
We know that most people know little or nothing about state government. I’d hate to hazard a guess as to how many New Yorkers actually know the name of the lieutenant governor. Ignorance of politics works to the advantage of the politicians who practice their rather obscure art. We know […]
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 […]
State legislators finished approving the 2019 state spending plan in the early hours of Saturday morning, achieving an on-time budget ahead of the new fiscal year which began on Sunday. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said “the budget hit the priorities that we had set out” despite a $4.4 billion deficit. “When […]
Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the following open letter to President Trump on Wednesday March 7, 2018: Dear Mr. President, The old adage is right: “go with your first instinct.” Your White House meeting with bipartisan federal legislators right after the Florida massacre appeared and was unscripted and productive. You essentially […]
Following the announcement of several election-related reform proposals last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pledging approximately $7 million in state funding towards his goal of instituting early voting. The trio of proposals — which Gov. Cuomo outlined in his annual state of the state address— include the introduction of early […]