It’s hard to get a fresh face in Albany. Almost all incumbent lawmakers get returned to office every two years. Tuesday’s special election offers the rare opportunity to make a change. The 15th Assembly District seat in Nassau was vacated when Republican Rob Walker of Hicksville left to serve in the Mangano administration. This district [...]
State Sen. John DeFrancisco announced today he will run for a 10th term in office this year. “I can say unequivocally this is not the time (to retire),” DeFrancisco said from his campaign headquarters at 321 W. Onondaga St., flanked by dozens of supporters. DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, [...]
Two members of the Common Council, Demone A. Smith and Bonnie E. Russell, have financial histories that include liens for failure to pay their state income taxes, a Buffalo News investigation has found. A search of public records showed Smith — who represents the Masten District and serves as president of Grassroots Inc., the political [...]
Assemblywoman Joan Christensen’s announcement that she plans to retire from the state Legislature puts the 119th Assembly District up for grabs, but no political hopefuls seized the opportunity Wednesday to announce their candidacy. Democrat Jane Fahey-Suddaby, 54, of Onondaga, is the only candidate who has said she is running for the job. Two other Democrats [...]
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday he has “no plans” to run for president and insisted that hiring Hillary Rodham Clinton’s former media strategist is not a step toward a future White House bid. But the billionaire Republican-turned-independent appeared to enjoy the speculation when asked about the political implications of Howard Wolfson joining his [...]
A former Long Island legislator pleaded guilty day to lying to the IRS about nearly a quarter of a million dollars in unreported income. Roger Corbin, 63 admitted to filing false tax returns and to tax evasion. A developer who was awarded more than $15 million in contracts in Corbin’s district wrote $229,000 in checks [...]
A Long Island politician is taking some flak for getting himself and two colleagues pay raises averaging 42 percent. Fellow Republicans in the Nassau County Legislature carried the pay-hike vote that was proposed by Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt. One of the raises was for Democratic Minority Leader Diane Yatauro. She calls the action “shameless.” Yatauro [...]
Jefferson County Legislator Barry M. Ormsby said Tuesday that he is interested in the 48th state Senate District seat, and will decide by month’s end if he’ll seek the Republican nomination. The Belleville resident said he’s considering a bid, in part because he’s displeased that lawmakers did not sufficiently prepare for the economic downturn that [...]
Dede Scozzafava, the GOP nominee in a key upcoming House special election, is running dangerously low on campaign cash, according to several GOP sources familiar with her spending and fundraising. While Scozzafava’s official fundraising numbers will not be known until next Thursday, the third-quarter Federal Election Commission reporting deadline, the GOP sources acknowledged to POLITICO [...]
The former head of the state Liberal Party, Ray Harding, pleaded guilty today to taking more than $800,000 for doing political favors for former State Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Harding was charged in April with accepting the money from investment companies doing business with the state pension fund. In return, prosecutors say Harding helped create a [...]
