City Councilman Vinny Ignizio said there's one criteria Republicans should consider when deciding whether to stick with Rick Lazio, or embrace Steve Levy: Who will ll keep Republicans from getting bounced from their ballot line. "A strong top of the ticket is imperative because it ensures ballot position for the next four years," Ignizio told me. "I have legitimate concerns about ensuring the Republican Party takes Line A, if not, stays on Line B... READ MORE»
Andrew Cuomo has done very well politically, as attorney general, by holding himself apart from the Albany muck. Soon, barring a serious career reversal, he’ll be in it. What happens then? Will the capital’s notorious dysfunction and defiantly reform-proof Legislature have the same toxic effect on his approval ratings as it had on Eliot Spitzer’s and David Paterson’s? Can a Governor Cuomo be, of all things,... READ MORE»
Thanks to C-SPAN's newly available archive, readers have been reliving some of New York's most memorable moments in politics. Like Andrew Cuomo's withdrawal from the 2002 gubernatorial race. In his speech, he said advisers wanted him to go negative, and that the party was still recovering from the contentious 2001 Democratic mayoral... READ MORE»
Andrew Cuomo's office received a request from the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York to "stand down" and not open a probe into the Working Families Party while the U.S. Attorney conducts a criminal probe, according to a law-enforcement source.... READ MORE»
Andrew Cuomo continues to be cagey about when he'll announce his run for governor, but with David Paterson out of the way, opponents are figuring they may as well attack... READ MORE»
Here's the 'Prince Andrew' ad hitting Cuomo for not investigating the Working Families Party. It's by New Yorkers for Growth, which was founded by Ed Cox, John Faso, and, while technically non-partisan, has lots of Republican ties. The ad goes after Cuomo, but the group's main target is the W.F.P., who, in turn, released a statement today demanding Cuomo investigate Faso for his role as an advisor for the now scandalous and defunct Aqueduct... READ MORE»
The Working Families Party is calling on Andrew Cuomo to investigate John Faso for payments his law firm got as part of the Aqueduct deal. "Faso and his partners were paid up to $600,000 of taxpayer money to protect the public interest. The mess of a bidding process that resulted raises the question: what did Faso and his firm do with the money?" W.F.P. spokesman Dan Levitan said in a public statement.... READ MORE»
Well, David Paterson must be pleased that Eric Massa took over the news cycle. Mr. Massa was kind enough to teach us some new words: fracking and snorkeling. Elsewhere, we discovered the goodness of Garden and Gun, the twisted beauty of a little blight, and the inevitablity of e-books. We also got a window into Andrew Cuomo's wordsmithing. And his politicking. And we saw Jay-Z work a shovel. View the slideshow... READ MORE»
Andrew Cuomo recused himself from two investigations his office was conducting of Governor David Paterson's office, saying he wanted to avoid the "appearance" of impropriety, since it's very likely Cuomo will run for governor this fall. The first investigation is looking into accusations that Paterson and the state police interfered with a woman's attempt to file domestic violence charges against a top gubernatorial aide. The other case involves charges that Paterson lied to investigators about... READ MORE»
On Wednesday, the print edition of The Observer ran a story called, "In the Shadow of the Boom," about the travails afflicting the inexperienced, young developers of One Madison Park, that slender, 60-story glass tower on the south side of Madison Square... READ MORE»
David Paterson did not commit to a specific date by which he'd call a special election for the upstate congressional seat vacated by Democratic Rep. Eric Massa. "I would not imagine it would be too long," Paterson said this morning during an interview on WOR News Talk Radio. Massa resigned from Congress amid accusations he groped a male staffer, an incident that was being investigated by the House Ethics Commission. Upon Massa's resignation, the committee... READ MORE»
On a conference call this afternoon, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo dispelled the notion that he's closed the investigation into Steve Rattner and the alleged kickbacks paid by his former firm, the Quadrangle Group. "Those were false reports. That's an ongoing matter -- we have no updates at this time," Mr. Cuomo said, according to Politico's Ben... READ MORE»
How does he do it? Despite all the revelations, most New Yorkers don't want Governor David Paterson to resign, according to a poll from Marist today. Sixty-six percent say they want Paterson to finish out his term, compared to 28 percent who want him to step down now. But most New Yorkers, 60 percent, admit that if he stays in office, he won't be effective. Paterson's approval rating: 19... READ MORE»
According to the blog Planet Albany, someone is soliciting opinions about Andrew Cuomo's campaign strategy. So, as it stands, Mr. Cuomo will try to become your next governor under one of the following slogans: "The independence to do what's right, the experience to get it done." "Independent leadership we can depend on." "Leadership that works for a change." "Strength, independence,... READ MORE»
Michael Bloomberg said he does not consider it a conflict of interest to have Attorney General Andrew Cuomo investigate Governor David Paterson. Some, like City Councilman Charles Barron and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio raised concerns that Cuomo's expected gubernatorial run could influence the... READ MORE»
