Sen. O’Mara Discusses Campaign Finance Hearing
May 8th - 8:52 pm
Senate Republicans who held a hearing to look into abuses of the New York City campaign finance system found themselves on the defensive yesterday. The hearing was held because of all the talk about creating a statewide public campaign finance system using New York City as a model. That something Republicans oppose, because they say it’s not a good use of taxpayer dollars. But the idea does have plenty of supporters. And they say there were barred from testifying or evening attending yesterday’s event.The chair of the Senate Elections Committee, Senator Tom O’Mara explains why the hearing was held, and why only certain people were invited to testify.
Tom O’Mara Interview>> (TWC ID required)
ESD’s Adams Discusses Tourism Summit
May 8th - 8:50 pm
The governor’s office hosted the first ever New York State tourism summit today. The state does see millions of visitors every year from across the country and overseas.
But the majority only go to the New York City area. So Wednesday, officials and industry members go together to look at ways to bring more people to upstate. Empire State Development CEO Ken Adams discusses the event.
Ken Adams Interview>> (TWC ID required)
The Insiders
May 7th - 8:56 pm
Dave Catalfamo and Bruce Gyory discuss the legal troubles of John Sampson and Shirley Huntley and why ethics reform is such a tricky subject for the legislature to deal with.
The Insiders>> (TWC ID required)
NYPIRG’s Mahoney on Campaign Filing Violations
May 7th - 8:54 pm
Sticking with the theme of campaign finance reform, NYPIRG put out a report today detailing the campaign finance violations over the past 2 years. And the total is more than 100 thousand. NYPIRG’s Bill Mahoney explains what kinds of issues the report found, and why he’s concerned that this is a symptom of even bigger problems.
Bill Mahoney Interview>> (TWC ID required)
Former Cuomo Aide Cohen on Getting Anti-Corruption Measures Passed
May 7th - 8:52 pm
Fighting corruption has jumped to the top of Governor Cuomo’s post-budget to-do list thanks to accusations against several legislators. His plan includes election reforms- and empowering district attorneys to investigate lawbreaking. But it’s not clear yet if the legislature will be on board with the proposals. Former Secretary to the Governor Steve Cohen explains what Cuomo will need to do to get anything passed.
Steve Cohen Interview>> (TWC ID required)
Advocates Discuss Campaign Financing Hearing and the NYC System
May 7th - 8:50 pm
The Senate hearing on the New York City campaign finance system was invite-only. And it focuses on abuses of the system. But supporters say that’s not the whole picture- and they would have liked a chance to discuss public financing of elections at Tuesday’s event. Lawrence Norden from the Brennan Center and David Donnelly from the Public Campaign Action Fund give their opinion of how things have working in NYC, and whether a similar system could work on at the state level.
Norden and Donnelly Interview>> (TWC ID required)
Byrne Discusses National School Boards Assoc. Job
May 6th - 8:56 pm
Last month the National School Boards Association voted to elect a New Yorker as their next President. Anne Byrne is the current president of the Nanuet School Board in Rockland County, and also a former president of the New York State School Boards Association. She discusses what her new role entails.
Anne Byrne Interview>> (TWC ID required)
Citizens Union’s Dadey and Camarda on Political Clubs in NY
May 6th - 8:54 pm
Last year, New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook was convicted of corruption. Among the infractions he was charged with was laundering money through a political club he founded way back in 1986 and using that money for personal expenses. That case prompted the good government group Citizens Union to look into the activity of political clubs across the state. And it found that more than 200 clubs did not disclosed campaign activity- which breaks down to literally millions of dollars that are unaccounted for. Dick Dadey and Alex Camarda discuss the report.
Citizens Union Interview>> (TWC ID required)
Sen. Valesky Discusses Bill to Separate Consulting and Lobbying
May 6th - 8:52 pm
Following the arrests of several state lawmakers, there’s been a lot of talk about ethics reform in Albany. And amid all the debate about campaign finance reform and revoking pensions, the Daily News reported that more than two dozen consulting firms used by political candidates are also registered to lobby in New York State. That means the very same people who help a legislator get elected can end up trying to sway that legislators vote on big issues. Senator Dave Valesky is sponsoring a bill to create a “firewall” against this situation. He explains how it would work.
Dave Valesky Interview>> (TWC ID required)
Senate Democratic Leader Stewart Cousins on Accusations Against Sampson
May 6th - 8:50 pm
John Sampson was expelled from the Democratic conference today after news broke that he was in federal custody. This comes just a few months after he was lost his post as conference leader. The woman who replaced him, Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins, explains why he is no longer part of the conference and what this means for his fellow Democrats.
Andrea Stewart Cousins Interview>> (TWC ID required)
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