ALBANY—David Paterson–Republican hero?
“It seems to me that there’s a question of conscience that’s bothering him, and that’s whether all of the taxes and fees that he’s supported not just in last year’s budget, but also when he was a senator in the minority,” Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos said in a press conference after Read More
ALBANY—Assemblyman Richard Brodsky says pushing for a Constitutional Convention is going to be his next big thing.
“We did something no one thought we could do. We successfully reformed state institutions where there was a lot going on. If you use hospitals, the roads, or the subways in this state, you are deeply involved in Read More
ALBANY—Assembly Republicans are wishing Greg Ball the best in his bid for the State Senate.
“Is he? Oh, I thought he was running for Congress,” Assemblyman Ron Canestrari, a Cohoes Democrat, said, referencing an already-begun race against Representative John Hall that included robocalls and town halls on health care. “As long as he’s out Read More
ALBANY—Emerging from a thirty-minute closed-door meeting with David Paterson, legislative leaders said they are still working on a deal on the mid-year deficit and hoped it could pass soon, but Paterson insisted we’re still in Armageddonous territory.
“I don’t know why people are walking out of here saying they’re very close to a deal. Read More
ALBANY—He ran for Congress as an outsider, the non-politician who was fed up with the course of government. It shouldn’t be too surprising that he’s never been to the State Capitol.
I found Doug Hoffman gawking at the chamber’s ornate ceiling, indulging what he monotonically insisted is a deep passion for architecture, chatting Read More
ALBANY—Assembly Republicans have put forward John Cirando, an attorney from Syracuse, to sit on the Commission on Judicial Nomination.
Cirando will fill the seat of Ed Cox, who resigned from the commission in September when he became chairman of the Republican State Committee. Last week, the commission put out a public call for lawmakers Read More
ALBANY—David Paterson just said on a conference call he would agree to basically anything that would bridge the deficit.
“I am less and less ideological about deficit reduction. We just have to do it,” Paterson said on a conference call with legislative leaders. “In other words, if the four of you agreed on something, you Read More
ALBANY—The Commission on Judicial Nomination is seeking appointees.
Two vacancies now exist on the 12-member commission, chaired by former Chief Judge Judith Kaye, which is responsible for forwarding a list of names to David Paterson when vacancies arise on the Court of Appeals. The Commission’s work was criticized by Paterson last December when Read More
ALBANY—Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava has resigned her leadership post in the chamber, after she endorsed a Democrat when her Congressional bid collapsed.
“Today, I had a thorough and frank discussion with Assemblywoman Scozzafava,” Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb said in a statement. “As a result, Dede has tendered, and I accepted, her resignation as Read More
ALBANY—Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb isn’t so sure there will be a special session next week.
“I spoke with the governor yesterday,” Kolb said, hanging out in the LCA room before appearing on The Capitol Pressroom. “He said he wants us to come in for a joint session on Monday. I asked him about Read More
