State Senate Democrats unveiled a comprehensive ethics package today and called on it to pass quickly in order to reinsure voters that an election season promise is being honored.
Minority leader John Sampson said that the Democrats’ six-part bill that will cover a variety of ethically-dubious areas including client disclosure requirements, proper use of campaign Read More
ALBANY—Add another one to the list of reasons a bill legalizing same-sex marriage failed in the State Senate: alphabetical coincidence.
Republicans called for a rare slow roll-call vote, which meant that senators in alphabetical order were called on to say yea or nay. Here’s an alphabetical list of the senators: three of the Read More
ALBANY—What went wrong?
Despite the spin, most everyone pushing for a bill legalizing same-sex marriage privately acknowledges that the 24-38 loss in the State Senate was a whopper, and while theories abound, there’s no clear explaination for how the bill was so soundly defeated.
Senator Eric Schneiderman started by blaming Republicans.
“If you Read More
ALBANY—Some pre-same-sex marriage Senate tea leaves:
Christine Quinn, the openly gay speaker of the New York City Council, is here. I snapped this photo of her near the Senate chamber, where she told me “I’m up here hopeful there will be a vote on marriage equality and that it will move the issue forward.” Read More
Here’s Eric Ulrich, the newly elected Republican City Councilman from Queens, at City Hall this morning, after he brought a government official from Palermo, Italy to meet Bloomberg.
Bloomberg is also going to officiate at his swearing-in ceremony this weekend, Ulrich told me. When I asked Ulrich if he’d like to see Bloomberg run Read More
Here’s Eric Ulrich, the newly elected Republican City Councilman from Queens, at City Hall this morning, after he brought a government official from Palermo, Italy to meet Bloomberg.
Bloomberg is also going to officiate at his swearing-in ceremony this weekend, Ulrich told me. When I asked Ulrich if he’d like to see Bloomberg Read More
ALBANY—With fireworks not normally seen in committee hearings, the Senate Elections Committee just voted along strictly partisan lines to approve a bill that would require a voter referendum on the repeal of term limits.
It was expected to pass the committee, but is not necessarily expected to get much further.
Republican State Senators Read More
ALBANY—With fireworks not normally seen in committee hearings, the Senate Elections Committee just voted along strictly partisan lines to approve a
Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler told me earlier that this issue is "not on [his] agenda."
The bill will now go to the Senate Finance Committee. It is currently also sitting in the Read More
Getting your opponent knocked off the ballot has its practical benefits, but it won’t necessarily make you popular, as City Council candidate Geraldine Chappey found out during a debate last night at the Saint Barnabas Church in Howard Beach.
Chappey filed a challenge and succeeded in knocking off the leading candidate in the race, Read More
BUFFALO—With wins against two incumbent Republican State Senators—Caesar Trunzo and Serf Maltese—Democrats have taken control of the State Senate, and will convene in Albany later today to hash out their agenda.
It is the first time Democrats have controlled the State Senate in 40 years. (The winner of the race between Democrat Jim Read More
