The New York Observer » Joe Addabbo

State Senate Democrats Push for a Debate on Ethics Package

State Senate Democrats unveiled a comprehensive ethics package today and called on it to pass quickly in order to reinsure voters that an election season promise is being honored.

Minority leader John Sampson said that the Democrats' six-part bill that will cover a variety of ethically-dubious areas including client disclosure requirements, proper use of campaign Read More

What if His Name Were Zaddabbo?

ALBANY—Add another one to the list of reasons a bill legalizing same-sex marriage failed in the State Senate: alphabetical coincidence.

Republicans called for a rare slow roll-call vote, which meant that senators in alphabetical order were called on to say yea or nay. Here's an alphabetical list of the senators: three of the Read More

The Thousand Fathers of Marriage Inequality

ALBANY—What went wrong?

Despite the spin, most everyone pushing for a bill legalizing same-sex marriage privately acknowledges that the 24-38 loss in the State Senate was a whopper, and while theories abound, there's no clear explaination for how the bill was so soundly defeated.

Senator Eric Schneiderman started by blaming Republicans.

"If you look Read More

On Eve of Same-Sex Marriage Vote, Many Mum

ALBANY—Some pre-same-sex marriage Senate tea leaves:

Christine Quinn, the openly gay speaker of the New York City Council, is here. I snapped this photo of her near the Senate chamber, where she told me "I'm up here hopeful there will be a vote on marriage equality and that it will move the issue forward." Read More

Ulrich: Bloomberg on Republican Line Would Be ‘Helpful’

Here’s Eric Ulrich, the newly elected Republican City Councilman from Queens, at City Hall this morning, after he brought a government official from Palermo, Italy to meet Bloomberg. Bloomberg is also going to officiate at his swearing-in ceremony this weekend, Ulrich told me. When I asked Ulrich if he’d like to see Bloomberg run in Read More

Ulrich: Bloomberg on Republican Line Would Be ‘Helpful’

Here’s Eric Ulrich, the newly elected Republican City Councilman from Queens, at City Hall this morning, after he brought a government official from Palermo, Italy to meet Bloomberg.

Bloomberg is also going to officiate at his swearing-in ceremony this weekend, Ulrich told me. When I asked Ulrich if he’d like to see Bloomberg run Read More

Albany’s Term-Limits Bill Passes Committee Without a Republican Vote

ALBANY—With fireworks not normally seen in committee hearings, the Senate Elections Committee just voted along strictly partisan lines to approve a bill that would require a voter referendum on the repeal of term limits. It was expected to pass the committee, but is not necessarily expected to get much further. Republican State Senators Tom Morahan, Read More

Albany’s Term-Limits Bill Passes Committee Without a Republican Vote

ALBANY—With fireworks not normally seen in committee hearings, the Senate Elections Committee just voted along strictly partisan lines to approve a

Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler told me earlier that this issue is "not on [his] agenda."

The bill will now go to the Senate Finance Committee. It is currently also sitting in the Assembly Read More

In Defense of Political Hardball in a Howard Beach Council Race

Getting your opponent knocked off the ballot has its practical benefits, but it won't necessarily make you popular, as City Council candidate Geraldine Chappey found out during a debate last night at the Saint Barnabas Church in Howard Beach.

Chappey filed a challenge and succeeded in knocking off the leading candidate in the race, Read More

Senate Democrats Celebrate ‘Bigger Voice

BUFFALO—With wins against two incumbent Republican State Senators—Caesar Trunzo and Serf Maltese—Democrats have taken control of the State Senate, and will convene in Albany later today to hash out their agenda.

It is the first time Democrats have controlled the State Senate in 40 years. (The winner of the race between Democrat Jim Read More

Maltese Says Goodbye

From intern Adam Rose:

In the end, there was pizza, pasta and, rumor has it, a cake with a picture of Serf Maltese’s face on it.
But no one was happy at the Maltese victory party at the Friends of Serf Maltese headquarters on Myrtle Avenue in Glendale.
Swamped by an Obama-inspired Democratic tidal wave, Maltese, and quite Read More

Knife’s Edge: The Fight for Control of the State Senate

The score stands at 31-29.

That's the tally oin the State Senate, with Republicans holding a one-seat lead, a razor-thin hold on the chamber that the party has controlled for almost all of the last 70 years.

In past election cycles, the overall contest has come down to a few competitive districts. This year, a Read More

Siena Poll: Stachowski Rallies, Maltese Hangs On

A new poll from Siena College [PDF] of six key State Senate races show Democrats on the verge of ousting an incumbent on Long Island, and successfully defending a seat in Erie County, but losing in Buffalo--and possibly even in Queens.

If the results of the Siena poll hold on Election Day, Democrats will Read More

But Seriously, Folks: Bloomberg Stumps for Maltese

Michael Bloomberg says he’s gotten past whatever differences he may have had with Republican State Senator Serf Maltese of Queens, and even wants to help him get re-elected. (The better do give Bloomberg's Senate Republican allies a chance of clinging to the majority.)Maltese says he and the mayor have “kissed and made up.”But when Read More

Billionaires for Maltese

Serf Maltese, the Republican State Senator facing a tough re-election race against Democratic City Councilman Joe Addabbo, is getting help from two billionaires today.

First, Michael Bloomberg will campaign with Maltese in his Western Queens district this afternoon.