The bipartisan coalition governing the Senate has held together. This coalition faces a major test as we head toward the close of the Legislature’s session in June; therefore, now is a good time to assess how it has worked so far. Back in January, I wrote that a coalition government is easier to form than it is to maintain, and that the key to the success of this one would be legislative productivity. The gun control debate was divisive in… [More]

Assembly Democrats on Tuesday passed the Fair Elections Act, which includes partial public financing of election campaigns, but the bill is not expected to get much traction in the Senate, where Republicans oppose the measure. It does not help matters that the previous lead sponsor of a public financing bill was state Sen. John Sampson, who was indicted on Monday for allegedly embezzling $440,000 from an escrow account to fund his failed 2005 campaign for Brooklyn district attorney. State Sen. Malcolm Smith,… [More]

  Springtime arrived across the state, bringing with it radiant sunlight, tulips in full bloom, the calming buzz of honeybees and a publishing war between the governor and perhaps his fiercest critic. Cuomo’s newly announced memoir, which he vowed to write himself, will trump Fred Dicker’s deal for a book that the columnist hoped to write with the governor. They say history is written by winners, so here are our Winners and Losers: Can’t get enough of our winners and… [More]

  Our thoughts and prayers are with Boston this week, where a horrific attack on its marathon and its citizens united the country in empathy for the victims. The world of politics can seem meaningless in the wake of irrational and wanton destruction. But the Northeast has recovered from acts of terror and will show its resolve once again. Aside from the tragedy, as always, we have your winners and losers. Can’t get enough of our winners and losers? Tune… [More]

Legislators returned to Albany on Monday  and booted state Sen. Malcolm Smith from the Independent Democratic Conference two weeks after federal agents arrested him on bribery charges. “If [the Democrats] are willing to take him on, if they want to make him a part of their conference, they’re free to do so,” IDC spokesman Eric Soufer said. But the Democrats didn’t seem to want him either. “I don’t foresee that happening,” Senate Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said at a… [More]

Corruption case puts spotlight on shadowy development funds in state budget By Nathaniel Herz of The New York World Last week’s sprawling corruption probe that ensnared state Sen. Malcolm Smith had a guest appearance by a little known pot of cash used to pay for roads and bridges. “Multi-modal money is outside the budget and it’s always around,” the FBI allegedly recorded Smith as saying, as he hatched a plan to funnel $500,000 in state funding to a project on behalf… [More]

When it comes to politics in New York City, residents of Bayside, Queens, are disillusioned and disengaged – and while a spate of arrests of elected officials and political operatives last week reinforced those feelings, the latest corruption allegations don’t appear to have done much to alter voters’ already cynical view of politicians. “Nobody’s shocked by that,” said an elderly black man who only gave his name as Bob. “It’s all about money. There’s something wrong with that.” Some locals… [More]

  It’s not ABSCAM, but the bad old days are back. Albany was shaken up by a slew of shakedowns, filling up our losers list faster than Malcolm Smith making a deposit into his checking account. We couldn’t include everyone this week, but it sounds like more indictments could be coming thanks to Preet Bharara’s perspicacious prosecutions. The real loser in all of this is the public, but hey, you at least get to vote for our Winners and Losers:… [More]

Prosecutors charged state Sen. Malcolm Smith in a conspiracy plot to bribe his way onto the Republican ballot for mayor on Tuesday and political hopefuls are already sizing up the field to replace him two days later. Port Authority government relations director Brian Simon, a former aide to Rep. Greg Meeks and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, is reportedly evaluating a run if Smith resigns, according to a source. Simon did not return a call for comment. And several sources believe that… [More]

After largely steering clear of the media on Tuesday, Manhattan Republican Party Chairman Dan Isaacs turned up at the party’s 3rd annual “Spring Fling” fundraising event and addressed the  legal trouble that has ensnared state Sen. Malcolm Smith, City Councilman Daniel Halloran, Queens Republican Party Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone and Bronx Republican Party Chairman Jay Savino. Isaacs read a statement he had already emailed to his supporters earlier in the day yesterday, saying that the alleged crimes demonstrate that “corruption… [More]