The State "Legislative Task Force On Demographic Research And Reappointment" unveiled its proposed maps for redrawn State Senate and Assembly districts this week, and people are pissed. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to veto it, calling it "hyperpartisan," and a chorus of minority groups have slammed the Gerrymandering, which would redraw district lines along absurd, circuitous routes to exclude voters who might oppose the incumbent. In Rochester, for instance, blacks make up 42 percent of the population, but predominantly black communities would be split among three Senate districts, making it unlikely for a black candidate to win in any of them. Minority leaders across the state are incensed. more ›

Brooklyn Democrat State Assemblyman William Boyland, Jr. just can't catch a break. Not only has he been indicted (along with State Senator Carl Kruger) on bribery and corruption charges, which he denies, but it now turns out that he has the worst attendance record in the assembly (he was absent for 20 of the Assembly's 60 sessions this year). And worse? When he was doing his job it appears that he was more interested in playing CityVille on Facebook. more ›

Governor "Things Will Be Cleaner This Time Baby, I Promise" Cuomo is preparing to sign an ethics bill into law, which in part will require elected officials who practice law to disclose the names of their clients that they represent with regard to state business. Cuomo claims that provisions like these will "help clean up state government and give New Yorkers confidence in their elected officials." But today's Times reports on what the bill doesn't do: require lawmakers to to report clients represented by their colleagues at their firms. This has been a very common practice over the last five years, when the state has awarded contracts totaling $7.4 billion to the clients of their firms. more ›

The internet is a dark, cruel place, filled with trolls and idiots trying to bombard you with their conspiracy theories or trying to one-up each other with racist jokes. But Assemblyman Micah Kellner wants to change all of that. In a new bill, Kellner would not only want to make identity theft a crime, but cyberbullying as well. "Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in a more personal kind of impersonation: the use of Internet anonymity to harass individuals," the bill states. Presumably to prove Kellner's point, one Daily News commenter demonstrated the role of a typical cyberbully: "The Politicians can't handle the thought of Blogger's and Post's, from people without their identity exposed. Orwellian at it's best." more ›

The State Assembly blocked a bill introduced by Sen. John Flanagan that would require teacher layoffs based on merit and not on tenure yesterday, and Bloomberg says that could lead to a devastating number of layoffs. Governor Cuomo reportedly announced his own bill to reform the policy, but Bloomberg says it isn't enough: “I have not seen the details, but I think the bottom line is we need legislation that allows us to lay off teachers this year using merit, and that’s the legislation the governor should put in the budget, and anything else just doesn’t help us right now." more ›

With news that the state could be losing two House seats due to a population shift, the once-every-ten-years focus on gerrymandering (drawing district lines to include who you want) has returned yet again. Dick Dadey of the group Citizens Union told NY1 the problem is "partisan gerrymandering essentially allows the legislators to choose their voters before the voters actually elect them to office." The process is controlled by the Assembly speaker and the leader of the State Senate, and Senate President Pro Tempore Malcolm Smith previously told Democrats, "We are going to draw the lines so that Republicans will be in oblivion in the State of New York for the next 20 years." Does that plan involve the prisoners? more ›

Yesterday, State Assembly candidate Edward Gibbs talked about his past as an ex-offender, and its impact on his current political campaign. Gibbs spent 5-1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the shooting of Otis Frasier. Despite this, Gibbs maintained that his criminal record wasn't a detriment to his political ambitions, and that voters would sympathize with his rehabilitation narrative. The family of Frasier disagrees though; Frasier's sister, Janice Murrell of the Bronx, told the Daily News, "It's not a badge of honor. You killed someone." Frasier's 71-year-old mother, Ola Williams, said it hurt to see Gibbs in her building tacking up campaign posters. "He used to eat at my table. He stayed overnight. He would call me Ma. But he never apologized." Gibbs told the News that he has tried to tell Williams that he was sorry. "I'm hurtin' like she's hurtin,'" he said. more ›

Community organizer Edward Gibbs is one of many effervescent candidates running to replace Adam Clayton Powell IV for NY State Assembly. Unlike his fellow candidates though, Gibbs claims that if he is elected he can truly make history: "I would be the first ex-offender to serve in the New York State Assembly," said Gibbs. A convicted criminal in NY politics?! Where is the Victorian fainting couch? more ›

The New Jersey Assembly wants an answer for who is responsible for the misreading of a Race to the Top application that cost the state $400 million in education funding, cost Education Commissioner Bret Schundler his job, and called into question President Obama's Google skills. The Assembly wants nearly everyone who might have had a hand in the failed application to testify at a hearing today. The former Commish, however, won't be there. more ›

Former State Senator Hiram Monserrate is not stopping at boxing to remake his image, but rather is looking to be a contender of a different kind—for a seat in the State Assembly. After month-long rumors of an attempted run, The Times confirms Monserrate filed nominating petitions on Tuesday to be placed on the Democratic primary ballot. The move is notwithstanding a busy schedule of career-ruining antics that include heading a crippling coup in Albanyin June of 2009, and the coup de grâce, some domestic violence perpetrated against girlfriend Karla Giraldo in December of 2008, which led to Monserrate's removal from the State Senate. more ›

Last night, the State Assembly and Senate voted to approve a budget that would restore hundreds of millions to education and health care, but then hours later, Governor Paterson said he'd veto every single one of the over 6,900 items. According to the Times Union, "The governor will have to initial every rejected item personally -- with no mechanical help. At the rate of one line-item veto every five seconds, that means the governor will have to spend almost 10 hours straight on the project -- and that's without bathroom or meal breaks. Paterson has 10 days to complete the project." Paterson's spokesman was able to joke, "We'll set up a webcam," while the governor himself said, "If I start now, I figure I should be finished before I leave office." more ›

When Governor Paterson called for a special Sunday session to discuss the long overdue state budget (it was due on April 1), lawmakers did head back to Albany. But this is what happened, according to the Times Union: "The Senate and Assembly gaveled in and out in "extraordinary" sessions that, added together, totaled less than 10 minutes," and "ignored every item on the governor's to-do list... Paterson had asked them to address plans to revamp SUNY's tuition schedule and set up a contingency fund for a potential $1 billion federal shortfall in Medicaid funding." more ›

After laying off 1,300 workers and wracking gamblers' nerves, the Off-Track Betting Corp. may actually get the state bailout they were hoping for. The OTB has said they would have to shut down by Sunday without a lifeline from the State Assembly, and the Assembly is working on a plan to help them out. According to the Daily News, state lawmakers are developing a plan that would thin out OTB management and cut the OTB's payments to the state's racing industry by about 10%. Assemblyman Gary Pretlow said, "We have to do something before the middle of next week, otherwise OTB goes out of business totally." more ›

The legislature’s resident ethics panel has decided that it’s alright for Albany lawmakers to accept food and drink at lobbyist-sponsored events, nay it’s one of their “responsibilities.” In 2007 a law forbade officials from accepting gifts of more than “nominal value,” so some outside watchdog organizations are outraged by the apparent exception. "Legislators should be meeting with their constituents, but the issue is whether it has to be over complimentary shrimp and scotch," Public Integrity Commission Executive Director Barry Ginsberg told the Daily News. more ›

With Albany crippled by ethics scandals and general political inaction, former Mayor Ed Koch told the Times it's his duty to shake things up. "Everybody I talked to over the past year has been saying, 'Ugh, it's so awful,'" said Koch. "I finally said to myself, somebody's got to do something ... And if no one else does anything, notwithstanding the fact I'm 85 years old, I'm going to throw myself into it." more ›

Members of the state Assembly called the MTA "disgusting and immoral" for planning to eliminate free student MetroCards as part of a package of transit cuts intended to plug a major budget shortfall. "Simply stated, we ask that you immediately withdraw the threat to student fares," wrote Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester) and 18 other politicians in a letter sent to the MTA board. more ›

The State Assembly passed a $2.8 billion deficit reduction plan last night and, according to the Times Union, "The Senate is expected to pass the bills with bipartisan support in a session scheduled for 10 a.m. today." Of course, this is not the $3.2 billion in reductions that Governor Paterson has repeatedly said the state needs, but he said he'd take it anyway, "I would not describe it as a 'deal' because a deal means that all parties accept the agreement... It does give us about $600 million in cuts or other actions that require legislative approval, so we would not cut off our nose to spite our face." more ›

The State Senate and Assembly have reportedly come up with $2.9 billion in cuts to the state budget, but the Times Union reports, Governor "Paterson, however, immediately claimed that wouldn't go far enough, and said he would move to unilaterally cut aid to localities." As in not pay social service agencies and public schools—Paterson said, "Unfortunately, the Legislature’s last best offer does not take sufficient action to restore New York State’s long-term fiscal stability." more ›

With his proposed $3 billion budget and other issues to contend with, Governor Paterson has called a special session of the State Legislature next month—plus he wants a "leaders meeting" in NYC this Thursday, which seems like it would include State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. among the leaders, since he is the Senate Majority leader. more ›

In Manhattan federal court yesterday, a judge sentenced former Queens Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin to ten years in prison for taking in over $3 million in embezzlement, bribes from taxpayers and other illegal means. McLaughlin even stole $95,000 from a Queens Little League, promising voters that their donations meant that "A Child in Sports Stays Out of the Courts." Judge Richard Sullivan said that McLaughlin harkened back to the era of Boss Tweed and accused the former president of the nation’s largest municipal labor council of validating “the harshest critics of organized labor who accuse the leadership of corruption, and point to you as an example of that corruption.” Prosecutors had asked the judge for leniency, in part because of McLaughlin's cooperation in the recent indictment of another pol, Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio. At the sentencing, McLaughlin, who has entered into Alcoholics Anonymous in recent years, said, "I'd like to say I make no excuses for it. But over the past three, 3-1/2 years I've had the opportunity to live the way I'd like to live my life." more ›

A new Quinnipiac poll reveals that New York State is split 46% to 46% when it comes to allowing same-sex marriage. Quinnipiac also says, "Black voters opposed 57 - 35 percent while white voters tip narrowly in favor of gay marriage 47 - 45 percent." But there's more support for civil unions: Overall, voters support civil unions 65-27 "with 67 - 24 percent support from white voters and 52 - 39 percent support from black voters." more ›

Last night, the State Assembly voted to approve the gay marriage bill. PolitickerNY reports the vote occurred "after four hours of debate and a technical problem that crashed the chamber's electronic voting mechanisms." Previously, in 2007, the Assembly passed a similar bill 85-61; this year, three Democrats switched their votes from no to yes as did two Republicans. One, Assemblyman Fred Thiele (R-Hamptons), explained, "There’s that little voice inside of you that tells you when you’ve done something right, and when you’ve done something wrong. That vote just never felt right to me. That little voice kept gnawing away at me." Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell (pictured), a vocal supporter of the bill, said during the debate, "I am seeking a piece of paper that is issued by my government that all of you have had. Some of you have had it two or three times, some of you are running for governor managed to marry their cousin and all that's ok. But I don't get one. So it's not about anybody's religion. This is about 'by the power vested in me by the State of New York.'" more ›

The State Assembly is voting on the same-sex marriage bill today. The Assembly passed the bill 85-61 in 2007, and it's expected today's vote will have an even bigger showing of support. The NY Times reports that Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell (D-Manhattan), who is also the older brother of Rosie O'Donnell, "helped gather nearly 90 votes in the 150-member Assembly" and "is also using the Assembly vote as a way to pressure members of the Senate, where the legislation’s fate will be decided, and demonstrate to wary senators that there is support in their districts for the bill." He explains, "If you want to run for attorney general or for governor or lieutenant governor or senator or congressperson, and you’re not in favor of my equality, then I’m not interesting in helping you. And I’ve made that clear." O'Donnell is throwing an engagement party for himself and partner John Banta after the vote; he did tell colleague Greg Ball (D-Patterson) that he was "the best looking guy in the Assembly" and that Ball wouldn't be invited if he voted no. Of course, the passage of same-sex marriage in NY State hinges on the State Senate. more ›

The State Senate and Assembly passed the $2.26 billion plan to bail out the MTA by way of a big payroll tax, a series of fare hikes spread over a few years (think of it as doomsday spread between 2009 and 2013) and numerous other surcharges, including a 50-cent taxi dropoff fee and increased costs for a driver's license. There will be no major service cuts; capital projects are only partially funded in the plan. Governor Paterson is expected to sign the plan; Paterson said, "[Commuters] have suffered, feeling that there would be dramatic increases in fares and service cuts that would actually, in the catchment area in which some lived, would almost prohibit them from getting to work." more ›

Yesterday the State Assembly passed legislation that would scale back increases on rent-regulated apartments statewide, returning to regulation tens of thousands of units that were converted to market rate in recent years. According to the Times, the bill would also lower to 10 percent, from 20 percent, the amount a landlord can raise the rent after an apartment's been vacated; limit the owner's ability to recover a rent-regulated apartment for personal use; and increase fines for landlords who harass their tenants to try and drive them away. more ›

In order for one of the most controversial suggestions of Thursday's Ravitch Commission report--tolls at all of the now-free East River crossings--to become a reality, it appears right there may be too many political tolls for them to become a reality. more ›

Some new details about the relationship Assemblyman Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo) had with a former Legislative intern. The Post now reports the intern, Lori Gladwell, was 24 and "wrapping up a six-month internship with another legislator" when the affair with the married Hoyt started in May 2003. Her lawyer said, "This is a personal matter that concluded three years ago...My client has moved on with her life, and she hopes that all parties do the same." Hoyt, who says he did nothing wrong, is currently under investigation by the Ethics Committee, because there's a strict no-fraternization rule between interns and lawmakers (the law wasn't put in place until 2004, after another lawmaker slept at an intern's hotel room because he was too drunk to drive). The Buffalo News has an interesting article about the controversy--Hoyt's lawyer think the attacks are coming from his primary challenger, Barbara Kavanaugh. more ›