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Skype the State Senate

Senate Republicans are now available for "face-to-face, from anywhere in the state, or indeed, the world" because, their press office says they are now using Skype.

I just tested it, and it seems to work. So, who should I Skype with and what should I ask?

Parker to be Sentenced on Monday

Brooklyn State Senator Kevin Parker is slated to be sentenced at the Brooklyn Supreme Court on Monday.

Parker was found guilty of two misdemeanors in December for assaulting a photographer from the New York Post.

He faces up to a year in jail, but if he is sentenced to prison time he is expected to appeal. Read More

Fidler, Oberman Emerge As Top Names for Kruger Seat

Brooklyn State Senator Carl Kruger surrendered to authorities only this morning, but already the talk in political circles is over who will replace him.

In several conversations with Brooklyn pols and political insiders the names that emerge most frequently are City Council member Lew Fidler and Igor Oberman, an administrative law judge who works part time Read More

Political Courage in Albany

As Governor Andrew Cuomo is about to find out, it takes guts to break the mold in Albany. That's why a recent move by four Democratic state senators deserves admiration and congratulations.

Last week state senators Jeffrey D. Klein of the Bronx, Diane Savino of Staten Island, David Carlucci of Rockland County and David Valesky Read More

Federal Election Monitors Coming To The Bronx?

Gustavo Rivera, the former Gillibrand aide who is trying to take out coup-instigating state Senator Pedro Espada up in the Bronx has sent a letter to the Civil Rights division at the Department of Justice calling on them to send federal election observers to the Bronx on Primary Day next week.

Writes Rivera: "My request Read More

Anna Lewis Makes Gay Marriage Push in Wash Heights State Sen. Race

Anna Lewis, an attorney with the Health Department who is battling for the state Senate seat that attorney general candidate Eric Schneiderman is vacating, is making a major push to make the race about gay marriage.

Her campaign is just out with a release on the matter, and her latest mailer (designed by Michael Oliva) says Read More

Kruger Challenger: I’ll Be Back

Igor Oberman, who failed to submit signatures in his race against powerful state Senator Carl Kruger, said today that the political world has not heard the last of him.

Oberman said that he thought that the decennial reapportionment could mean new opportunities for Russian-American pols.

"There is redistricting coming up, hopefully in a couple of years there Read More

Big Real Estate Warms to Senate Dems

For many years in Albany, a town with many an uncertainty, there was one constant: Joe Bruno was the majority leader in the Senate, and the New York City real estate world was a loyal benefactor. The industry was a steadfast supporter of that Republican majority, and poured campaign contributions into Republican coffers (and not, Read More

Skelos on Monserrate: ‘The Vote Will Be Expulsion’

ALBANY—Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos said that he expects any vote in the chamber regarding Hiram Monserrate, the Queens Democrat who was convicted last year of recklessly injuring his girlfriend, to be for expulsion.

"I think if it came to the floor for a vote, the vote will be expulsion," Skelos told Fred Dicker Read More

Schneiderman Raises, With DiNapoli

ALBANY—State Senator Eric Schneiderman will kick off the start of the legislative session with a fund-raiser at the house of Meredith Kane, his law school classmate.

The event will take place on January 7, the day after David Paterson delivers his State of the State address. Democratic Senate Leader John Sampson is also launching Read More

Sampson Envisions New Look, Same Leaders

ALBANY—John Sampson thinks, not unreasonably, that the State Senate needs a new look.

"We need to come out of the box in January and start to really pass some progressive and positive legislation because people have one characterization of us," Sampson, the leader of the chamber's Democratic conference, told reporters during an informal chat in Read More

‘Cocktails and Conversation’ With John Sampson, For $5,000

ALBANY—The day after David Paterson gives his State of the State address, Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson will be in Manhattan for "cocktails and conversation" at a $5,000-a-head event.

That's a pretty high dollar figure; for context, David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo each asked for $1,000 a head at their December events and Read More

Lots of Electeds At Cuomo’s Fund-Raiser

There were 1,000 people in attendance at Andrew Cuomo's birthday fund-raiser last night--even David Paterson, a prospective political adversary, dropped in--mingling with the attorney general and enjoying a dinner of cucumber salad, beef and vegetables.

Like David Paterson's holiday fund-raiser last week, the stalwarts of Albany's lobbying community showed up--Paul Tokasz, Brian Meara, Read More

Skelos: Let’s Not Rush Into Anything

ALBANY—Dean Skelos, the Republican leader in the State Senate, is putting the brakes on a Democratic proposal to give members of his conference committee chairmanships.

"Senator [John] Sampson's proposal to appoint new chairs should be considered along with these other recommendations, by the bipartisan committee, before any action is taken," Skelos said in a Read More

Poll: People Don’t Like the Legislature. Really.

ALBANY—Quinnipiac University just released a poll with blistering results for the state legislature: 72 percent of voters surveyed disapprove of the job its doing, 76 percent said their government is dysfunctional, 46 percent says their state senator should be voted out of office and 60 percent say the offenses for which former Senate Read More