Dispatches from Planet Albany

WCNY
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Dispatches from Planet Albany

Dispatches from Planet Albany is brought to you by David Lombardo, host of WCNY's The Capitol Pressroom. The weekly conversations are a smart and funny encapsulation of the discussions reporters and sources have off the microphone at the Capitol in Albany. This inside baseball is for listeners who know the acronym ELFA, anxiously await the legislative calendar drop each December, or fondly recall the Poozer Politics podcast.

  1. NOV 7 · BONUS

    A redder shade of blue in New York

    The 2024 elections were a mixed bag for New York Democrats, who reversed the 2022 gains Republicans made in the state’s congressional delegation, but also saw their traditional electorate shrink. To make sense of the results, as well as the polls leading up to Election Day and where Democrats in the Empire State go from here, we spoke with Loren Amor, a senior vice president with BerlinRosen.

    27 min

  2. OCT 31 · BONUS

    Democrats (and Hochul) look to get their groove back in New York

    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!

    35 min

  3. OCT 11 · BONUS

    So what if Governor Hochul has bad poll numbers?

    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.

    29 min

  4. JUL 12

    Legislating 101: A Senate Democrat’s freshman experience

    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.

    28 min

  5. JUL 3

    New York's boring primary results

    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.

    25 min

  6. JUN 28

    Legislating 101: The end-of-session sausage making

    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.

    30 min

  7. JUN 21

    Legislating 101: A Manhattan Democrat's freshman experience

    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.

    27 min

  8. JUN 14

    Legislating 101: Social media regulations for minors

    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.

    31 min
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Dispatches from Planet Albany is brought to you by David Lombardo, host of WCNY's The Capitol Pressroom. The weekly conversations are a smart and funny encapsulation of the discussions reporters and sources have off the microphone at the Capitol in Albany. This inside baseball is for listeners who know the acronym ELFA, anxiously await the legislative calendar drop each December, or fondly recall the Poozer Politics podcast.

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