Rob Astorino

A new year brings new leadership in many area communities. Here's a roundup of the swearing-ins in the Capital Region and beyond...

Republican Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino lost his bid for a third term in November. He hands over the keys in White Plains to Democrat George Latimer, who is leaving the state Senate to run the county. Astorino had won the previous two terms handily, in a county where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans 2-to-1.  Astorino spoke with WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne about his time in office, his run for governor in 2014 and more.

New York Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia says the state has made major changes to the Common Core English and math assessments since last year when 1 in 5 students refused to take them. Despite the changes, the children of a county executive in the Hudson Valley are opting out once again.

Before he became Westchester County Executive and the Republican candidate for governor of New York last year, Rob Astorino was director of the Sirius-XM satellite radio Catholic Channel. We spoke with Astorino about Pope Francis and his visit to America, and why the pope is attracting so much attention from the media, the faithful, and non-Catholics as well.

  Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Republican rival in last fall’s elections is offering his take on political dynamics at the Capitol. And it is not a positive viewpoint .

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino was at the Capitol to lobby, along with the statewide counties’ association, for items in the new state budget, including more mandate relief . The former unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor, says its Cuomo now who is losing political power and friends,  calling the governor Cuomo a “bully”.

It will probably go down as the biggest decision of the year in New York State – a ban on fracking. Wednesday’s news came the same day casino license recommendations were announced. Supporters of a fracking ban are celebrating the long-awaited decision while opponents say they are disappointed and the Southern Tier, where fracking would have taken place, is doomed.

After losing the New York governor’s race, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino returns full throttle to his county post. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne has a look at how his gubernatorial campaign may impact his county role.

Full audio from the WBFO/WNED gubernatorial debate between New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, Green Party candidate and Libertarian Michael McDermott  last night:

Four of the candidates running for governor of New York will be participating in a debate shown on public television and heard on WAMC Wednesday night.

Governor Andrew Cuomo says he plans to visit Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic before Election Day.

Cuomo, speaking after marching in the Columbus Day parade, says he wants to make a trip to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in the next couple of weeks.

“I’d like to get there before Election Day,” Cuomo said. “As a sign of respect to those two communities that I’ve worked with for a very long time.”

Governor Cuomo, his democratic running mate Kathy Hochul and other women’s rights advocates spoke to a cheering crowd of union members and local elected officials, as part of a three city upstate bus tour to promote a 10 point women’s rights plan.

New York Governor Cuomo has accepted two debate offers from media outlets, but neither format includes a one-on-one televised contest between the incumbent Democrat and his Republican opponent. GOP candidate Rob Astorino is objecting.

A salsa legend is endorsing Republican Rob Astorino for New York governor.

The Republican candidate for governor of New York, Rob Astorino, is far behind in the polls and in fundraising compared to incumbent governor Andrew Cuomo. But Astorino is making the most of his campaign, quick to improvise or bend a situation to his advantage. And he maintains that he expects to win.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the incumbent governor with a $35 million war chest who is well ahead in the polls, is employing a classic Rose Garden strategy. He seldom holds an overtly political event, and his limited public schedule often includes a carefully stage managed  economic development announcement.

The Republican candidate for governor of New York temporarily upstaged incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo, when Rob Astorino appeared unexpectedly at the Business Council’s annual meeting, and attempted to talk to the governor.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, the Republican candidate for governor of New York, was in Plattsburgh this morning to meet with local business leaders.

This election season seems to feature more than the usual amount of negative ads in New York, with television spots painting opponents in a dark light. But an ad that criticized a candidate’s choice of a football team may have backfired when controversy arose over a picture that was altered to cut out his son.

The primaries are over in New York and the focus now shifts to the general elections, which are a little over seven weeks away. Incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo faces Republican challenger Rob Astorino.

A Quinnipiac University poll shows the race for New York governor virtually unchanged since the spring, with incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo far ahead of his Republican and Democratic challengers.  The favorable ratings for Cuomo come after weeks of negative news stories about the governor’s alleged interference in an ethics panel, and an ongoing federal investigation.

Details about alleged interference in an ethics probe by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s aides are leaking out daily, and most newspapers have run critical editorials. But it remains to be seen how deeply the controversy will affect the race for governor, where Cuomo is still the front-runner by a wide margin.  

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s opponents in the November races are stepping up accusations over the ethics commission scandal, and citing sections of state law that they say might have been broken by the governor’s aides.

Lieutenant Governor candidate Tim Wu, who along with Zephyr Teachout is challenging Cuomo and Kathy Hochul in the state Democratic primary, teaches New York State criminal law at Columbia University.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in his first public appearance since potentially damaging news came out about his staff’s tampering with an ethics probe, tried to change the subject by talking about economic development.  But the story continues to dog the governor.

One of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’ s political opponents is calling on Governor Cuomo to hold an explanatory press conference, and  another is demanding that Cuomo to resign after an in depth account in The New York Times reports that the governor’s top staff repeatedly interfered in an ethics commission investigation.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy is taking issue with state Republicans aligning politically with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Christie was in Greenwich Monday where the Republican promised to return to help defeat Malloy.

A poll conducted fifteen weeks before Election Day  shows incumbent New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is maintaining a wide lead over his nearest challenger.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is already ahead of his Republican challenger in name recognition, now, according to required campaign disclosure filings with the State Board of Elections, Cuomo is far ahead in fundraising as well.

Cuomo, who already had over $33 million dollars in his campaign war chest, took in an additional $8.4 million dollars during the first six months of the year, and spent around $6 and a half million dollars, leaving him with a balance of  $35,037,071.40.

GOP candidate for Governor Rob Astorino faces an uphill battle against the incumbent governor.

The Republican candidate for Governor is petitioning to run on a new ballot line that capitalizes on public opposition to the new Common Core learning standards.