Brian Kolb | The New York Observer

Republicans Claim Paterson, Kind Of

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:07:14 -0500

ALBANY—David Paterson--Republican hero?

"It seems to me that there's a question of conscience that's bothering him, and that's whether all of the taxes and fees that he's supported not just in last year's budget, but also when he was a senator in the minority," Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos said in a press conference after his formal response to Paterson's State of the State speech aired on TV. "I hope that this has been...

The Constitutional Convention and Its Multi-Dimensional Benefits

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:51:00 -0500

ALBANY—Assemblyman Richard Brodsky says pushing for a Constitutional Convention is going to be his next big thing.

"We did something no one thought we could do. We successfully reformed state institutions where there was a lot going on. If you use hospitals, the roads, or the subways in this state, you are deeply involved in the daily operation of authorities," Brodsky told me last week, referring to his work in crafting and (finally) passing...

Assembly Colleagues Wish Ball Luck Elsewhere

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:21:54 -0500

ALBANY—Assembly Republicans are wishing Greg Ball the best in his bid for the State Senate.

"Is he? Oh, I thought he was running for Congress," Assemblyman Ron Canestrari, a Cohoes Democrat, said, referencing an already-begun race against Representative John Hall that included robocalls and town halls on health care. "As long as he's out of here I don't care."

"Greg Ball's running for State Senate. Ummm, what would you like to know?" Assembly Minority...

No Deal, Mixed Messages After Leaders Meet

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:20:54 -0500

ALBANY—Emerging from a thirty-minute closed-door meeting with David Paterson, legislative leaders said they are still working on a deal on the mid-year deficit and hoped it could pass soon, but Paterson insisted we're still in Armageddonous territory.

"I don't know why people are walking out of here saying they're very close to a deal. I don't know why people are leaving here happy and I don't know why it is so difficult to understand...

Doug Hoffman, Effusive as Ever

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:10:51 -0500

ALBANY—He ran for Congress as an outsider, the non-politician who was fed up with the course of government. It shouldn't be too surprising that he's never been to the State Capitol.

I found Doug Hoffman gawking at the chamber's ornate ceiling, indulging what he monotonically insisted is a deep passion for architecture, chatting with his wife Carol and the Rev. Jason McGuire, the lobbyist here who opposes same-sex marriage on behalf of a group...

Kolb Picks Cox's Replacement (on the Judicial Nominating Board)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:21:35 -0500

ALBANY—Assembly Republicans have put forward John Cirando, an attorney from Syracuse, to sit on the Commission on Judicial Nomination.

Cirando will fill the seat of Ed Cox, who resigned from the commission in September when he became chairman of the Republican State Committee. Last week, the commission put out a public call for lawmakers to fill its vacant seats. Cirando's appointment by Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb was made in a letter dated Nov....

Paterson: Whatever It Takes

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:20:36 -0500

ALBANY—David Paterson just said on a conference call he would agree to basically anything that would bridge the deficit.

"I am less and less ideological about deficit reduction. We just have to do it," Paterson said on a conference call with legislative leaders. "In other words, if the four of you agreed on something, you know, that I don't right now, I'd be persuaded to go along with it because my main thrust is...

Judicial Commission Wants Lawmakers to Fill It Out

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:21:15 -0500

ALBANY—The Commission on Judicial Nomination is seeking appointees.

Two vacancies now exist on the 12-member commission, chaired by former Chief Judge Judith Kaye, which is responsible for forwarding a list of names to David Paterson when vacancies arise on the Court of Appeals. The Commission's work was criticized by Paterson last December when it submitted a list of candidates to replace Kaye that included no women; Paterson felt it was not sufficiently diverse.

At...

Dede Loses Leadership Post

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:28:55 -0500

ALBANY—Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava has resigned her leadership post in the chamber, after she endorsed a Democrat when her Congressional bid collapsed.

"Today, I had a thorough and frank discussion with Assemblywoman Scozzafava," Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb said in a statement. "As a result, Dede has tendered, and I accepted, her resignation as our Conference's Leader Pro Tempore. Over the coming weeks, I will be assessing who will serve as our Conference's next Leader...

Kolb: Special Session a 'Question Mark'

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:05:43 -0500

ALBANY—Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb isn't so sure there will be a special session next week.

"I spoke with the governor yesterday," Kolb said, hanging out in the LCA room before appearing on The Capitol Pressroom. "He said he wants us to come in for a joint session on Monday. I asked him about a session on Tuesday, and, well, it's a question mark."

Paterson has not formally proclaimed the session yet. Kolb said...

Kolb: There Will Be 'Frank Discussions' About Dede's Endorsement

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:46:26 -0500

ALBANY—Prominent Republicans are saying that Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava betrayed the party when she endorsed Bill Owens, the Democratic Party's pick to replace John McHugh in Congress, and there's a possibility Scozzafava will be dressed down in her legislative conference.

"After the campaign's over with we'll be sitting down with Dede and having some very frank discussions about the impact of her endorsement of Bill Owens," Assemblyman Brian Kolb, the minority leader, told me Sunday...

The Local Argument for Scozzafava

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:39:16 -0400

ALBANY—As much as the fight in the 23rd Congressional district is ideological, it's also becoming a local-versus-national fight, with support for Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party's nominee, coming from beyond the 11-county district and local Republicans generally standing by Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava.

Newt Gingrich touched on this earlier this week, when he said on Fox News and WAMC that "we ought to be a little cautious about trying to impose our national genes on...

Paterson: Our New Target is $3.2 Billion

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:42:01 -0400

ALBANY—The mid-year budget deficit has now grown to $3.2 billion, and an estimated $6.8 billion next year, David Paterson said at a leaders meeting.

"We now have a $10 billion budget deficit. The plan that I issued just two weeks ago reduces that deficit by half," Paterson said. "In this period of time, I recognize the need for deliberation and also the legislative prerogative hold hearings to exact public input. And I have tried...

Paterson Thinks Deficit Will Grow Beyond $2.1 Billion; Sampson Disagrees

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:23:08 -0400

ALBANY—David Paterson just said at a leaders meeting that he expects the budget gap to grow to $3 billion, and called on legislative leaders to a special session to deal with the problem, post haste. Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson disagreed.

"We fear that the encumbrance could be as much as an additional billion dollars," Paterson, who sat next to Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch, said. That would be on top of an already...

Cox Begins His 'Listening Tour'

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:10:47 -0400

CLIFTON PARK—Ed Cox will swing through the Finger Lakes and central New York in coming weeks as part of a "listening tour" in advance of a possible run for state Republican chairman.

He will attend a mini-summit arranged by Jay Dutcher, the Ontario County party chairman, including Cox and other chairs and activists from the Finger Lakes, greater Rochester and the Southern Tier. Also present will be Brian Kolb, the Assembly minority leader....