In the interest of a neat newspaper narrative, we sought a common thread that would tie together the five fiercely contested Democratic congressional primaries we profile in this issue. We sailed through the usual suspects: shifting demographics, the lure of open seats, the old guard versus the new, insurgents against the machine, incumbents exposed by redistricting, and all the other timeworn tropes ascribed to campaigns as their raisons d’être. And yet while each of these stock motifs could plausibly be… [More]

By ADAM LISBERG and LAURA NAHMIAS Pension-reform battle ends with bad blood but a Cuomo victory Gov. Andrew Cuomo campaigned on it. Mayor Michael Bloomberg beat the drum for it. Editorial boards championed it. Polls showed New York voters supported it. Yet by the time a pension reform bill hit the Assembly fl oor at 5 a.m. one day last week, its fate was still uncertain. It would reduce pension benefits for new state employees, start a 401(k)-style plan for… [More]

Evan Stavisky and Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky are husband and wife. He is a well-known political consultant in Queens; she is the head of the Rockland County Democratic party. When they attend the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina in September, they will represent districts an hour’s drive apart. Their dual lives have led to grumbling among Queens Democrats and questions about the state’s porous residency laws. But Evan Stavisky says the arrangement is proper, if convoluted, as he remains as… [More]

Last October, days before the fall election, the young Democrat challenging State Sen. Marty Golden, a Brooklyn Republican, was prepping to watch the election returns from his parents’ basement. Mike DiSanto, a 29-year-old business school grad, had raised just $14,000 for the race, barely enough to buy a low-end sedan, much less take out an entrenched incumbent. DiSanto wasn’t optimistic about his chances. “It’s not really a party,” DiSanto said then. “We’re just ordinary, regular people.” Golden spent $850,000 in… [More]

The field to fill Assembly Member Darryl Towns’ soon-to-be-vacated Assembly seat has narrowed to three: Council Member Erik Martin Dilan, his wife, Janitza Luna Dilan and his chief of staff, Rafael Espinal, according to multiple sources close to the Dilan family.… [More]

More than anything, though, the debate gave New Yorkers their first real look at the man who will almost certainly be their next governor. Reporters and close Cuomo observers already know well this style of a presentation of ideas that loops in and out of clichés, well-traveled lines and coherent syntax. But others, especially those whose memories still ring with a faint echo of Mario Cuomo’s oratory, may not. Transcribed, his remarks at the debate can serve as a window… [More]

With the pension fund investigation fading as a usable issue in the state comptroller’s race since Andrew Cuomo’s decision to publicly clear Tom DiNapoli, Republican candidate Harry Wilson has turned to a new line of attack: blaming DiNapoli for the state’s high property taxes, an issue that has consistently proven to be a voter motivator.… [More]

Reflecting on his preparations for his first face-to-face meeting with Kirsten Gillibrand, taping Friday at the WABC studios, Republican Senate candidate Joe DioGuardi said he was feeling confident.… [More]

Cuomo intends for the bank to create a pool of available funds for the state to use for economic development or transportation infrastructure projects. It would also incentivize private investment in public infrastructure, and spread out the costs created by project delays or setbacks. The proposal suggests the bank is an efficient way to finance small local projects that are necessary but too expensive for local governments to fund.… [More]

Also located in the office of the subpoenaed non-profit linked to Malcolm Smith: Great Abstract Company, LLC, a mortgage title company that Smith served as vice president of for more than four years, according to his personal income disclosures with the Legislative Ethics Commission.… [More]