New York State Senate

A longtime New York State Senate Democrat is facing a rematch this fall against his 2016 Republican opponent.

Democrat Aaron Gladd is running for New York’s 43rd State Senate District that includes portions of Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Washington Counties and all of Columbia County.  This November, Gladd, an army veteran and former aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo, is running against Republican Daphne Jordan for the seat held for the last six years by retiring GOP Senator Kathy Marchione.

The Republican candidate in the race for New York’s 43rd State Senate District officially kicked off her campaign Thursday. As WAMC’s Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports, she got a boost from a fellow officer-seeker.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has begun a statewide tour to promote a bill to give teachers and school administrators the power to go to court and ask a judge to confiscate the guns of a student and their family, if they suspect the student might try to harm themselves or others.

The fight for a control of the New York state Senate will be intense this year and Democrats are hoping to pick up seats. Republicans, who are currently in the majority, say they intend to remain in control of the chamber. 

The business of the evenly divided New York State Senate remains stalled, as advocacy groups press for their bills to be acted on before the session ends in two weeks.

The newly reunited New York state Senate Democrats held their first press conference, where they focused on what they said was their number one priority, a package of bills making it easier to vote.

The New York state Senate met for the first time Wednesday since two Democrats won special elections held Tuesday. Though the Senate now has 32 Democrats, the number required to form a majority, it was back to business as usual with the GOP in charge.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to call for special elections on April 24 for two empty state Senate seats, according to a state official who confirmed the date. The news is fueling hopes among Senate Democrats that they can gain control of the chamber before the end of the session.

2018 might finally be the year that Democrats regain control of the New York state Senate. But they face a number of obstacles, and Republicans aren’t ready to give up any time soon.

There’s growing pressure on a group of breakaway Democrats in the New York state Senate to reunite with the mainstream Democrats and form a majority to rule the Senate.

Members of the New York state Senate met with community leaders in the Mohawk Valley region Wednesday to get more information on the battle against heroin and opioid addiction.

There are reports that New York state Senators who received payments for chairing committees that they in fact did not lead are now under a probe by the State Attorney General and at least one U.S Attorney.

Democrats in the New York state Senate remain hopeful that they will regain the numerical majority and control of the chamber after a special election is held later this month. But Governor Andrew Cuomo dampened those expectations, in remarks made in New York City today.

Governor Cuomo and New York State lawmakers missed the budget deadline. With the midnight deadline just over two hours away, they had so far failed to solidify deals on state spending and taxation, as well as some unrelated items like permitting ride hailing services outside of New York City.

Another sitting state legislator, Rob Ortt, has been indicted, along with the person who held the Western New York Senate seat before him, George Maziarz – on corruption charges. The indictments come as ethics reform proposals in the state budget are faltering.

The leader of the State Senate says indicted GOP member Rob Ortt is staying on for now to help work on the upcoming state budget vote and other issues.

Tensions between opposing groups of Democrats in the New York state Senate reached a flash point this week- over whose   faction would be allowed to present their budget priorities for a floor debate, in an exchange that included some racially-charged name calling.

The smallest faction in the divided New York state Senate, the Independent Democratic Conference, has been permitted by the ruling party Republicans to issue their own alternate spending plan. That has angered the rest of the Democrats.

If the numbers hold, Republicans are poised to remain in control of the New York State Senate, and even pick up a seat. The news has reassured business groups but dismayed reform advocates.

Democrats had hoped to make inroads into the New York State Senate- but preliminary results show the Republicans gaining one seat to hold a razor thin 32-seat majority.

On Tuesday, Democrats could win back the Senate from the Republicans, who have dominated the leadership there for much of the past century.

If the New York State Senate is controlled by Democrats after the election, there could be some differences over taxing and spending policies.  Many Democrats favor extending an income tax surcharge on millionaires when it expires next spring.

There’s a greater chance than ever that the New York State Senate could be dominated by Democrats after the November 8th election. Many issues stalled in the Republican-led Senate for years would now have a possibility of passing.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has offered only lukewarm support in  the past for his fellow Democrats in their quest to take over the State Senate, this week said he would back Democratic candidates in Senate races.  Cuomo also somewhat reluctantly offered support to his former primary rival, Zephyr Teachout, who is now running for Congress.

In January, New York state Senator Betty Little outlined her agenda and goals for the legislative session.  Now that the session has adjourned, the Republican from the 45th district tells WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley she was successful at passing a number of bills, but frustrated with the lack of substantive movement on issues such as ethics reform. She believes one of the session’s successes was finally ending the education funding Gap Elimination Adjustment.