ALBANY—In August, Larry Bulman wasn’t convinced Bill Owens would win his race to replace John McHugh in Congress.
“It’s simple: boots on the ground,” Bulman, the Saratoga County Democratic chairman and the political director for the plumbers and steamfitters union, told me over lunch. “Which means union support. That’s how we won Read More
ALBANY—The other day I wrote about the late State Senator Ron Stafford's campaign account, and how nearly $60,000 of it has been spent since his death in 2005.
It turns out there are lots of pots of campaign money out there, just sitting, some being spent, controlled by elected officials who have left Read More
ALBANY—Republicans sources say that Ed Cox, the son-in-law of Richard Nixon and a longtime party activist, is now gauging support for a bid to become the state G.O.P. chairman.
"He has been approached by several party leaders and donors about running," Tom Basile, one of Cox's advisers, said.
I've heard from several prominent Republicans that Read More
ALBANY—Prominent Republicans around the state have spent the last several days digesting the report of the Eristoff Commission, which outlined an agenda for a stronger party moving forward, talked baldly about past mistakes, and has a recommendation that could be read as a charge against the current state chairman Joe Mondello.
Recommendation 6 Read More
ALBANY—Every May, some school districts in central New York and the North Country hold public policy forums in conjunction with school budget votes, and elected officials often attend.
When Ray Meier was still serving in the State Senate, he would run into Representative John McHugh at this event, and others like it, from time to Read More
Conservative author and former Port Authority head George Marlin is out with a piece criticizing Republican State Party chair Joe Mondello's performance and telling Republicans that if they are "to become relevant in New York's political arena, they must dump Mondello and install a new generation of leaders committed to a philosophy of Read More
ALBANY—Add another voice to the list of Republicans calling for the immediate resignation of Joe Mondello as chair of the state party: State Senator Marty Golden.
"He should get out. It's time for him to step aside," Golden told me by phone, after expressing similar sentiments on Fred Dicker's radio show Read More
BALLSTON SPA—Officials at the Republican State Committee sent out an email yesterday updating the invite speaker list for their annual dinner in Manhattan to include Brian Kolb, the newly elected minority leader of the State Assembly.
Kolb will speak along with former Governor George Pataki. Both will "join an already star-studded lineup of political leaders" Read More
Fox News has declared Mike Arcuri the winner in New York’s 24th Congressional District, defeating Republican Ray Meier in the race to succeed the retiring Sherwood Boehlert. CNN has not yet called the race, which Arcuri leads by about 10 points with two-thirds of the votes counted.
– Steve Kornacki
