A redder shade of blue in New York
Dispatches from Planet Albany
The 2024 elections were a mixed bag for New York Democrats, who reversed the 2022 gains Republicans made in the state’s congressional delegation, but also saw their traditional electorate shrink. To make sense of the results, as well as the polls leading up to Election Day and where Democrats in the Empire State go from here, we spoke with Loren Amor, a senior vice president with BerlinRosen.
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Democrats (and Hochul) look to get their groove back in New York
Dispatches from Planet Albany
The big election questions for New York in 2024 are the balance of the state's congressional delegation and whether a statewide referendum adding anti-discrimination language to the state constitution will pass. We try to answer these questions and discuss state legislative power with Loren Amor, a campaign veteran, who is now a senior vice president with BerlinRosen. After listening, use the knowledge you've gained to enter our
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So what if Governor Hochul has bad poll numbers?
Dispatches from Planet Albany
Gov. Kathy Hochul reached historic lows for her job performance and favorability ratings in a recent , but does it matter? We explore how the low popularity levels could impact the exercising of gubernatorial powers, consider why the numbers are as bad as they are, and do our best to ignore the 2026 campaign noise (because that stuff is just noise). Our guests are Morgan Hook, managing director for SKDK, and Shontell Smith, partner and head of the New York practice for Tusk Strategies.
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Legislating 101: A Senate Democrat’s freshman experience
Dispatches from Planet Albany
State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, a Queens Democrat, reflects on his first two legislative sessions in Albany. We discuss the process of moving bills at the Capitol, living out of a suitcase for half the year, and taking over a newly carved up district.
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New York's boring primary results
Dispatches from Planet Albany
The primary campaigns for state legislative races in New York may have been exciting, but the results of the elections were not. We explore why the status quo was so powerful in Democratic primaries this year and consider what the outcomes mean for governing in Albany for the next two years. Our guests are Jasmine Gripper, co-director of the New York Working Families Part, and Loren Amor, a senior vice president with BerlinRosen.
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Legislating 101: The end-of-session sausage making
Dispatches from Planet Albany
Two bills - one imposing a controversial waste reduction mandate and the other a broadly supported employee benefit update - successfully made it through the state Senate in the waning days of the legislative session in June, but didn't end up coming up for a vote in the Assembly. Both of these measures were expected to make it to the governor's desk, so we explored what happened. Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Pete Harckham, a Westchester County Democrat, talks about the effort to curb plastic packaging waste and Assembly Labor Committee Chair Harry Bronson, a...
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Legislating 101: A Manhattan Democrat's freshman experience
Dispatches from Planet Albany
Assemblyman Alex Bores, a Manhattan Democrat, reflects on his first two legislative sessions in Albany. We discuss the end of session crunch, working with central staff, and navigating the budget process. We also have special theme music courtesy of Anthony Mazzanti.
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Legislating 101: Social media regulations for minors
Dispatches from Planet Albany
Despite passing with overwhelming bipartisan support, legislation to curtail the most addictive features of social media was never a sure thing at the state Capitol in 2024. To learn how the measure went from an idea in 2022 to passing both houses in Albany, we talked with the bill's Senate sponsor, Brooklyn Democrat Andrew Gounardes. We discussed the role of the state attorney general's office, amending the bill at the end of session, and keeping the legislation on the mind of state lawmakers.
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Making cents of New York's financial plan
Dispatches from Planet Albany
The updated financial plan from the Hochul administration sheds new light on how much the state is going to spend in the current fiscal year ($2 billion more than advertised) and what's going to happen with leftover funds from last year. We break down these revelations and much more with Patrick Orecki, director of state studies for the Citzens Budget Commission.
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LIVE from Planet Albany 3.0
Dispatches from Planet Albany
We’re back with another recording in front of a raucous audience at the Bull Moose Club down the hill from the Capitol, with Jasmine Gripper, co-director of the New York Working Families Party, and Shontell Smith, head of the New York practice for Tusk Strategies. We discuss overrated and underrated political stories and get an update on the wedding event of the year.
info_outlineThe budget season officially kicked off this week with Gov. Kathy Hochul revealing her $233 billion spending plan for New York, which includes her commitment to address an influx of asylum seekers, slower growth in school aid, and a lot of Medicaid money.
We talk about the underrated and overrated aspects of the proposal, as well as the potential stumbling blocks with the state legislature, with Freeman Klopott, a vice president with Marino, and Patrick Orecki, director of state studies for the Citizens Budget Commission.