Poozer Politics

Paid-family leave was adopted in New York last year with all the fanfare (and details) of a 2020 presidential launch, but now we’re in the nitty-gritty implementation phase and there are a lot of questions. Frank Kerbein, a member of the legislative affairs team for the Business Council of New York State, joined Poozer Politics … Continue reading "No Such Thing as Free Paid-Family Leave"

It takes some research, a prepared word document and an unwavering attention span to live-tweet the state senate session in Albany. But that’s all in a day’s work for Tom Reale, the director of new media for the senate and the man behind @NYSenate. He joined Poozer Politics to talk about the mission of the … Continue reading "Getting to Know @NYSenate"

It was an extraordinary first session for Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou. Niou joined Poozer Politics to reflect on her first year as a member of the Assembly and talked about the personal toll of the late budget, her approach to the legislative process and accomplishments for her constituents. She also explored the challenge of delegating power … Continue reading "School’s Out for Freshman Legislator"

Capitol Pressroom host Susan Arbetter took a break from asking questions to answer some for the Poozer Politics podcast. She shared insights into her interview process, including how she prepares for pivots and filibustering by politicians, and contrasted public and commercial radio. Susan also reflected on the challenge of questioning Gov. Andrew Cuomo and highlighted … Continue reading "Reflections from the Plywood Hut"

Welcome to a crash course on extraordinary sessions in Albany. StateWatch Guru Mike Poulopoulos, who has more than a decade of experience at the Capitol, explains how the governor calls these sessions, outlines possible responses from the legislature, and forecasts the potential agenda for the extraordinary session in 2017. He also shares horror stories from … Continue reading "EXTRA EXTRA: Extraordinary Sessions 101 with Professor Poulopoulos"

Living through legislative sessions in Albany can dull you to the experience. But what is it like for someone coming to the Capitol with fresh eyes? Courteney Kerin, a StateWatch intern for the 2017 session, answered that question and more on Poozer Politics. She offered tips for surviving marathon public hearings, shed new light on … Continue reading "Semester at the Capitol"

Poozer Politics is going green this week with a recycled episode. Since the state legislature is on repeat – glossing over ethics, fighting over mayoral control and feverishly working late nights to finish on time – the podcast is following their lead and sharing clips from past episodes (but with a new introduction). The episode … Continue reading "So It’s Come to This: A Poozer Politics Clip Show"

Blink and you might have missed her in the Capitol. Anna Gronewold parachuted into the AP’s Albany Bureau as a legislative relief reporter for the start of this year’s legislative session and will soon depart for her next mission. She came on the podcast to talk about her experiences in the Nebraska and North Carolina … Continue reading "The Itinerant AP Reporter"

After nearly a decade manning the Times Union Capital Bureau Northern District, Casey Seiler’s tour of duty is over. The long-time state editor came on Poozer Politics to talk about his transition back to the mother ship in Colonie, where he will serve as a senior editor for news. The conversation touched on a fateful … Continue reading "And Now His Watch is Ended"

A harbinger of future Democratic victories or an electoral anomaly? Those are the two conflicting viewpoints following a surprise win by a Bernie Sanders supporting candidate in a special election this week for an Assembly seat that went overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in 2016 and has traditionally been easily held by Republicans. Republican strategist Jessica … Continue reading "Not so Special Election"

Calls for additional oversight in Albany aren’t new, but there is a new twist to the ongoing story. The latest scandal involves the Senate Majority Coalition’s practice of misidentifying the titles of certain senators in order to give them extra pay. Senate Democrats are alleging the actions are illegal and law enforcement has begun to … Continue reading "Watchdogs on High Alert Over Senate Stipends"

“Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye.” After the vote to adopt the American Health Care Act, Congressional Democrats taunted their colleagues with that chant on the assumption that many of the Republican supporters had just jeopardized their jobs. But did they really risk re-election? “It’s too early to tell. … Continue reading "What’s Voting Got to Do with It?"

Greg Floyd is not always a welcome sight in the Capitol. His presence, with microphone in hand, can cause the most seasoned political veterans to head the other way – especially if they’re guilty of misusing taxpayer money or violating the public trust. These (almost) encounters are a hallmark of Greg’s “You Paid for It” … Continue reading "Local News Crusader"

The state budget was bittersweet for New York families and children this year. “Raise the Age” was one of the sweetest parts and cuts to child care subsidies were a bitter pill to swallow, according to Dede Hill, the director of policy for the Schuyler Center. She came on the podcast to talk about both … Continue reading "What about the Children"

Wielding the gavel during senate session in Albany can take a light touch or a firm hand. That balance is usually maintained by Senator Joe Griffo, who regularly serves as acting-president of the state senate. In this role on the dais it falls on him to keep the peace, crack the occasional joke, offer some … Continue reading "Rock Me On the Dais"

Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft will become legal in upstate New York this summer, but what will this actually mean for consumers? Andrew Hawkins, a transportation writer for The Verge, talked about some possible outcomes and explained how the 90-day rulemaking period will be critical in determining what takes shape north of the five … Continue reading "Lane Changer for Upstate"

There are many stories about passing the budget – this episode features some of the stories from 12 hours during one of those days. This show includes updates by reporters and members of the Assembly from Sunday, April 2, as the legislature worked to reach a budget agreement before the governor’s “grace period” ended. Their … Continue reading "A Day in the Life"

Mike Durant has been around the (budget) block before. As the state director of NFIB and a veteran of the Pataki administration, he understands how the games are played in Albany and offered some of his insights to Poozer Politics. Mike explained the budget process from A to Z and everything in between, including late … Continue reading "How to Win Friends and Influence the Budget"

David Friedfel is the director of state studies for the Citizens Budget Commission and a returning guest to Poozer Politics. He talked about what’s going on behind the scenes of the legislature’s joint budget committees, explained a controversial proposal from Governor Cuomo to take more control over the budget process and outlined his organization’s blueprint … Continue reading "Art of the Budget Deal"

Bill Hammond thought he was out, but he got pulled back into Poozer Politics. For this emergency episode, Hammond provided analysis of a proposed amendment to the American Health Care Act (AHCA) that would shift the Medicaid burden in New York. He shed light on a  version of this proposal from former-Gov. Mario Cuomo, provided … Continue reading "EXTRA EXTRA: Medicaid Monte in New York"