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 2024 Election Contest!

Gov. Kathy Hochul reached historic lows for her job performance and favorability ratings in a recent Siena College Research Institute poll, 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.

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.

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.

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 Rochester-area Democrat, discusses the legislation increasing short-term paid medical leave.

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.

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.

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.

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.

After years of complaints with the state's rollout of the marijuana marketplace, Gov. Kathy Hochul waded into this quagmire in the spring and directed OGS Commissioner Jeanette Moy to examine the operations at the Office of Cannabis Management.

We talk with Commissioner Moy about some of the findings in her assessment, including staffing levels and future steps, and we also explored the limitations of this review.

And don't miss our free, live recording of the podcast on the morning of May 20 at the Bull Moose Club with Tusk Strategies Partner Shontell Smith and NY Working Families Party co-Director Jasmine Gripper. Reserve your spot today!