Liz Benjamin
Capital New York
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Past articles by Liz:
Bharara takes over, unofficially, on ethics
Lawmakers now look first to US attorney for behavioral boundaries → Read More
Senate Dems look for a bright spot on Long Island
'The lie about the vaunted Republican machine has been put to rest' → Read More
The fading of the real estate-Senate Republican alliance
Industry provided crucial backing for GOP, wonders what it got for its troubles → Read More
After impassioned Cuomo comments on guns, advocates hope for local action
Shaken by the tragic shooting death of his aide, Carey Gabay, last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo renewed his focus on gun control, insisting that action at the federal level is the “only way to deal” with random acts of violence. In a series of interviews, the governor repeatedly said he had passed the country’s strongest gun control law – the SAFE Act – in the wake of the 2012 Newtown, Conn.… → Read More
What would it take for Cuomo to push for a Democratic Senate in 2016?
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s slow and steady left turn in recent months, culminating with his call last week for a statewide $15-an-hour minimum wage, has seemingly given his fellow Democrats and their allies reason to hope. Could it be that the infamously pragmatic, transactional and centrist Cuomo is finally ready to throw his full weight behind a Democratic takeover of the State Senate to ensure the… → Read More
Under new leadership, an old guard hangs on
'The speaker has been very good — he hasn’t touched a person' → Read More
Despite outreach, Flanagan's right-flank threat persists
Faces unrest with gun-rights conservatives upstate → Read More
Heastie on surviving his first session, and what comes next
Speaker will have a new set of challenges next year → Read More
What can these men in a room get done?
Cuomo, under pressure, no longer has Skelos and Silver to deal with → Read More
What Albany can still do in 2015
Even before Dean Skelos’ arrest on federal corruption charges and the State Senate leadership battle that followed, the end of the 2015 legislative session was shaping up to be both challenging and anti-climactic, from a policy perspective. Most of the ambitious proposals included by Governor Andrew Cuomo in his executive budget unveiled in January did not make it into the final spending plan… → Read More
Senate majority now just hanging on
Heading into the post-budget session, the Senate Republicans were in an excellent position. They didn’t get everything they wanted in the final budget deal, but then again, no one did. The Republicans did, however, manage to dodge some significant bullets, like a minimum wage hike opposed by their business allies, and the Dream Act against which their freshmen members had successfully campaigned… → Read More
Budget deal follows familiar Cuomo cycle
Governor reaches agreement that falls short of threatening rhetoric → Read More
Cuomo's plan to tilt Albany's balance of power
Leaves only ugly options for the Legislature, other than acceptance → Read More
Beware the wounded Assembly speaker
Would-be successors to Sheldon Silver won't have an easy time of it → Read More
The first signal of Cuomo's second-term approach
Looking for signs of attitude in the governor's speech → Read More
Same Cuomo, different challenges
Some things will get harder for the governor in 2015 → Read More
A guide to what the big Cuomo donors want in 2015
No one in New York has raised more campaign cash than Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has a knack for advocating campaign finance reform while exploiting the current, loophole-riddled finance system to the max. As my colleague Bill Mahoney reported last week, Cuomo raised closed to $47 million over the past four years, which is more than any other governor in state history. And he has done so by relying… → Read More
When the governor has no heir
Confirmed fact: Andrew Cuomo has been re-elected. Yet to be determined: how long he'll stick around and, given the lack of anything like an heir apparent, who might come next. For three elections now, the Democrats have been certain from early on who their standard bearer would be. Eliot Spitzer had massive name-recognition and structural advantages heading into 2006, as did Cuomo, who embodied… → Read More
Spending on Senate races sets up Albany battles in 2015
Outside giving in this year’s fight for control of the State Senate is setting the stage for two major battles in the upcoming 2015 legislative session: mayoral control of the New York City school system and the rent laws, both of which are set to expire next June. Though it appears the Republicans have a good shot at taking back the majority in tomorrow’s elections, they’ll be living on… → Read More
Rob Astorino's anti-strategy
Westchester county executive ensures few allies in run against Cuomo → Read More