Capitol Confidential

Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, the Republican nominee for governor, joined host David Lombardo on a park bench outside the Capitol for this episode of the Capitol Confidential podcast.

The interview touched on Molinaro's political ideology, reality television, a West Wing reunion, dialing for dollars, working in a deli and a lot more.

It's a freewheeling conversation designed to solicit unguarded, human answers from a potential governor.

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The next round of redistricting is still four years away, but every election is shaped by the last time the legislative boundaries were drawn.

For four rounds of redistricting, Jeff Wice was a player in New York's redistricting process. He got to experience both sides of the process, as he worked for the Assembly majority and the Senate minority.

The conversation with Wice touched on on the first use of computers in the Assembly to draw lines, the role gerrymandering has played in helping Republicans maintain a majority in the state Senate, different legal challenges to New York’s legislative boundaries and the significance of a potential question on the U.S. census in 2020.

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The first annual Capitol Confidential awards recognized the winners, losers and best plot twists of the 2018 legislative session.

It was a fierce competition for the top awards, as the past six months in Albany had everything. There was betrayal, overdue reunions, celebrities, a changing of the guard and melodrama.

This year's presentation was hosted by David Lombardo, with Casey Seiler filling in as co-host, analyst and style guru.

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In 2002, largely behind the scenes, the Democratic leader of the state Senate was toppled and the rise of David Paterson began. The change in power was aided by a relative newcomer to the chamber, Neil Breslin, who joined the podcast to reflect on the last successful coup in the Capitol. He revealed the secret conversations to recruit support for Paterson, explained how the failed challenge to Sheldon Silver informed their efforts and reflected on why there was a desire in the conference to replace Marty Connor.

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Saratoga County Republican operative Nick Willock joins the podcast to explain the campaign petition process, which is how candidates for elected office secure their spots on the ballot. The conversation explores the infrastructure needed to collect signatures, legal complications that can arise and Cynthia Nixon's effort to get on the Democratic primary ballot.

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Associated Press reporter David Klepper talks about the shenanigans that have dominated the narrowly divided state Senate in recent weeks. The episode explores the cause of the chaos, explains the AP's approach to covering the melodrama and examines what it all means for this fall's elections to control the chamber.

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Citizens Budget Commission Director of State Studies David Friedfel joined the podcast to talk about fuzzy budget math, future state deficits, the failing New York Mets and economic development projects.

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Dr. Don Levy, of the Siena Research Institute, talks about the new Associated Press guidelines for reporting on a poll.

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Jonathan Trichter joined the Capitol Confidential podcast to talk about his long shot bid to be the next state comptroller. Trichter, a Democrat, is pursuing the Republican nomination and believes he is the right candidate to exercise the "super powers" of the office.

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