Articles By Dan Rivoli
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With PAC in place, politics picks up
2009-04-27 12:57:00
These days, there are more greenbacks backing the green agenda in New York. After more than 20 years advocating for environmental causes, the League of Conservation Voters has pumped up its PAC to expand its political operation. “It’s a sea change in how we see ourselves in an organization,” said Marcia Bystryn, the group’s executive director.Originally ...
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From Loss to Boss
2008-12-15 17:45:00
In 2006, Dan Maffei came extremely close to toppling his Republican predecessor, retiring Rep. James Walsh (R-Onondaga/Wayne/Monroe). But with Walsh choosing retirement this year, the second race was the charm for the young Democrat. Running for the open seat, Maffei scored a decisive victory against a former Onondaga County lawmaker.Maffei entered Congress as one of four new ...
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Sizing up the actual impact of more cuts and lower revenue stream
2008-11-13 13:05:00
The collapse of Wall Street not only devastated the nation’s economy, but widened the yawning budget deficit New York State faces. The state’s tax revenue was gutted when financial institutions collapsed. Gov. David Paterson’s (D) remedy has been to slash the budgets of state agencies to help close this year’s $1.5 billion deficit.Since these August ...
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With a robust Democratic presence in Congress, predictions of benefits under Obama
2008-11-13 13:01:00
Days before Sen. Barack Obama’s landslide presidential victory, Gov. David Paterson (D) was on Capitol Hill testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee on including federal aid to states in a new stimulus package. New York’s economy has been devastated by the Wall Street collapse, and the governor warned of dark times ahead “Unless states receive ...
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Southern Tier race attracts money and interest from across the country
2008-09-12 15:49:00
Congress went out of session Aug. 1, but Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-Cattargus/Allegany/Steuben), along with most of his Republican House colleagues, spent seven days on Capitol Hill throughout August, arguing for a Republican-favored energy plan that includes offshore drilling.Even while Eric Massa continued campaigning full-time against him in this high- profile rematch of the 2006 ...
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Not any of the GOP State Senate hopefuls-at least openly
2008-09-12 15:19:00
WHEN LARCHMONT MAYOR Liz Feld (R) campaigns against State Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Westchester), Feld cites her reform credentials and record of bipartisanship.Though Feld, who was elected mayor on a coalition ticket with two Democrats, is running as a Republican, her criticism of Albany's dysfunction hits both parties."I've said many times that one party did not get into the ...
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To some, larger spotlight made her stronger at home, to others, more vulnerable
2008-06-13 15:50:00
Sen. Hillary Clinton’s quest to become president is over. Her quest for a third term in the Senate, however, may only just be beginning.When she returns to her regular workday on Capitol Hill, Clinton will hardly be the only senator nursing the wounds of scuttled presidential ambitions. But after two lopsided wins for a Senate seat that was largely seen as a ...
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No challengers emerge for freshman Republican in contested year
2008-05-12 16:53:00
If State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) keeps facing general elections like the one scheduled for this fall, he may be set for a career like that of his rarely challenged predecessor, John Marchi (R), who retired after 50 years in 2006. Without Lanza in the race, however, the seat could be in competition—which helps explain why Republicans in Staten Island seem to ...
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Paterson plans a less active and extensive role in her husband’s administration
2008-04-14 16:09:00
New York did not just lose a governor when Eliot Spitzer resigned. The state lost a first lady, too. Like her husband, Silda Wall Spitzer came into Albany as a strong-minded reformer. She did not have another job, intent instead on transforming the first lady’s office to enhance its responsibility beyond the kind of advocacy work her predecessors had done. Two of Wall ...
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A former Special Ed teacher with an autistic son, Weisenberg works to make himself a resource for colleagues
2008-04-14 16:02:00
Last October, at an extravagant ballroom in the affluent south Long Island town of Atlantic Beach, Assembly Member Harvey Weisenberg (D-Nassau) was commemorated for his 31 years of public service. But the guests—some 40 children with developmental disabilities—were the focal point of the night. The children performed songs for the crowd, showcasing the talents that ...
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The Spitzer Legacy: Silda Wall Spitzer’s Effects and Michelle Paige Paterson’s Prospects
