Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Eric Schneiderman

Eric Schneiderman

  • 2010 Change to How New York Prisoners are Counted is Part of Upcoming Census and Redistricting Puzzle

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    (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    As focus on the 2020 Census intensifies, one key aspect of the discussion is how the population count will impact legislative representation and redistricting. Along with new congressional districts -- New York stands to lose at least one if not two seats in the House of Representatives -- ...

  • The 2018 Elections in New York

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    Gov. Cuomo votes (photo via The Governor's Office)


    In 2018, New York will be home to elections for statewide seats including Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Comptroller, as well as one of its two United States Senate seats. In all five positions but Attorney General, incumbent Democrats are seeking reelection. In three -- Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General -- there are competitive primaries that will be decided Thursday September 13.

    New York is also home this year to elections for all of its 27 seats

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Letitia James & the Attorney General Primary

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    July 18, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Letitia James & the Attorney General Primary

    ag candidate letitia jamesOn Wednesday, July 18, the Max & Murphy podcast moved to the airwaves of WBAI radio, 99.5FM and wbai.org, where the hosts will weekly interview guests, discuss key issues, and take calls from

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  • Statewide Candidates File July Fundraising Numbers

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    Gov. Cuomo at a funding event (photo: The Governor's Office)


    With less than two months till the September 13 primary election, candidates running for state office filed campaign financial disclosure reports with the New York State Board of Elections by the Monday deadline, showing fundraising and expenditures from a six-month period between January 16 and July 16.

    Governor Andrew Cuomo, the two-term incumbent Democrat who is running for reelection, continues to maintain an overwhelming funding advantage with more than $31 million in his campaign coffers. Cuomo

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  • Democratic Candidates for Attorney General Plant Campaign Flags

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    Tish James, Sean Patrick Maloney, Leecia Eve & Zephyr Teachout (l-r)


    The race for attorney general has quickly become one of the most competitive and intriguing of the 2018 election cycle in New York. After Democrat Eric Schneiderman resigned in May following revelations that he had physically and emotionally abused intimate partners, the question immediately arose of who would replace him. With a regularly-scheduled election -- that Schneiderman was expected to win handily -- just months away, potential candidates had a short

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  • Three Themes to Watch at State Democratic Convention

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    New York Democrats at the 2016 DNC (photo: New York Democratic Party)


    This year’s statewide election campaigns are in full swing, with the Democrats and Republicans hosting their nominating conventions this week. While Republicans are set to back a unified slate of candidates to avoid contested primaries, the Democratic Party finds itself in a degree of turmoil with multiple incumbents facing primary challenges from the left and a progressive base increasingly disillusioned with the state party machinery.

    As the September primary and

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  • Letitia James Launches Campaign for Attorney General

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    Public Advocate Letitia James at her AG campaign kickoff (photo: @saritamanhattan)


    New York City Public Advocate Letitia James officially launched her campaign for attorney general on Wednesday, seeking to make history as the first woman of color to serve as the state’s top legal officer.

    James, who is serving her second and final term as public advocate, and is the first woman of color elected to a citywide position, is running in the Democratic primary to replace former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who

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  • Exploring Attorney General Run, Zephyr Teachout Pursues Working Families Nomination, Democratic Ballot Line

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    Zephyr Teachout at an anti-IDC rally (photo: Ben Max)


    The recent resignation of former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent shockwaves through the New York political world, and with just six months until New Yorkers elect a new attorney general in November, it sent potential candidates scrambling. Political party nominations are being decided, ballot spots must be secured, and party primaries are September 13.

    Soon after Schneiderman’s departure amid accusations that he was physically abusive of four women he had been

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  • Vance Fallout Echoes Other Controversies that Led to Reforms

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    Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (@NYSComptroller)


    As the office and campaign of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance reexamine internal policies regarding the acceptance of campaign contributions, they may want to reference the guidebook of the office of the State Comptroller or Attorney General, both of which have implemented their own donor-vetting systems and guidelines in the wake of controversies involving fundraising practices. These checks far exceed what is required by ...

  • New York's Top Democrats Rally Against Obamacare Repeal Bill

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    Governor Cuomo at Monday's healthcare rally (photo: Governor's Office)


    At a packed auditorium at Mount Sinai Hospital Monday afternoon, four of the state’s top elected Democrats united in a show of force to rally against a common enemy: the Republican-led U.S. Senate’s bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare.

    Governor Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio banded together on Monday, pledging to take legal action should the

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  • Focused on Fighting Trump, is Schneiderman Looking Away from Albany Reform?

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    AG Eric Schneiderman (photo: @Schneiderman)


    New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has quickly become one of President Donald Trump’s leading opponents, using the levers of his office to litigate against Trump’s policies, and has put New York at the forefront of efforts to resist the new Republican administration’s agenda.

    Speaking at a Tuesday breakfast event hosted by the Association For A Better New York (ABNY), Schneiderman, a second-term Democrat, discussed his role in the Trump era, which has made his focus

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  • New York Votes Act Doesn’t Go Far Enough

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     (photo via @AGSchneiderman)

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  • The Evolving Powers of the New York Attorney General

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    Cuomo & Schneiderman (photo: The Governor's Office)


    The office of New York Attorney General has recently become one of the most high-profile law enforcement jobs in the country, and a springboard to the Governor’s Mansion, with its own heightened powers and prestige. Both Eliot Spitzer and Andrew Cuomo jumped from Attorney General to Governor of New York after tenures marked by major prosecutorial victories, and there is plenty of talk that current A.G. Eric Schneiderman -- one of the leading national opponents of President Donald

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  • Will Latest Indictment Give New Life to Ethics Reform in Albany? Don’t Bet On It

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    State Sen. Rob Ortt (photo: @SenatorOrtt)


    Corruption charges brought against a member of the state Senate Republican majority Wednesday have provided an opportunity for Democrats to jumpstart the seemingly dormant conversation on government ethics as state budget negotiations enter their final week.

    Senator Rob Ortt, of Niagara County, pleaded not guilty in Albany County Court Thursday morning, following his indictment on three felony counts of filing a false instrument, ...

  • How Cuomo's Special Prosecutor Order Is Playing Out, 19 Months Later

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    Cuomo, Schneiderman, and family members, July 2015 (photo: The Governor's Office)


    About 19 months ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order that was hailed by many advocates and elected officials as a bold and unprecedented step towards police accountability.

    Cuomo made Attorney General Eric Schneiderman a special prosecutor in certain cases of civilian deaths involving police officers. At the time, much of the country was focused on several high-profile examples of police killings of unarmed people,

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  • Schneiderman: ‘Not one single substantiated claim of voter fraud in New York last year’

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    AG Eric Schneiderman voting


    New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman responded to a congressional inquiry Wednesday, making clear that there was “not one single substantiated claim of voter fraud in New York last year.”

    In a letter, addressed to Reps. Elijah Cummings, Robert Brady, and James Clyburn, Schneiderman emphasized the real voting challenges in New York are those that disenfranchise potential voters, rather than the “imaginary problem of voter fraud.”

    “New York’s voting system faces many challenges,” Schneiderman wrote, with restrictive

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  • AG Schneiderman Should Improve Our Democracy by Supporting Open Primaries

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    Attorney General Schneiderman (photo: @AGSchneiderman)


    Last week, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman stood before a crowd of New Yorkers gathered at Federal Hall and announced the introduction of a comprehensive reform bill aimed at expanding voting rights in New York. I applaud his leadership on this issue but he misses a critical point.

    New York has some of the worst elections laws in the country. Among other backwards anti-voting provisions, New York has no early voting (unlike 37 states), a partisan board of elections, excuse-only absentee balloting,

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  • Attorney General Unveils Sweeping Voting Reform Package

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    Attorney General Schneiderman with voting reform advocates outside Federal Hall (photo: @AGSchneiderman)


    New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman unveiled an extensive voting reform package Wednesday that aims to streamline New York’s voter registration system, boost voter participation and increase voter turnout.

    Standing with elected officials, good government groups, union members, and voting reform advocates outside Federal Hall in Manhattan, Schneiderman released the legislation, called the ...

  • With Trump in Office, New York Democrats Show Urgency, and Infighting, on Women's Rights

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    Cuomo in 2013, via The Governor's Office on flickr


    With President Donald Trump taking office and Congressional Republicans chipping away at the Affordable Care Act, including a provision that guarantees cost-free birth control, New York’s Democratic lawmakers are scrambling to fortify protections for women on the state level.

    Citing the threat of Trump’s administration, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday that he has instructed the Department of Financial Services -- which regulates insurance companies -- to require commercial insurance

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  • Cuomo Embraces Voting Reform Agenda, But Implementation Poses Challenges

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    Gov. Cuomo voting (photo: The Governor's Office on flickr)


    During his State of the State tour early this month, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a trio of major reforms hailed as important steps toward modernizing New York’s antiquated electoral system and increasing the state’s paltry voter turnout. While they are long-called for proposals that many are pleased to see Cuomo promote, implementing these goals could be more complicated than it may seem.

    Two of the three reforms, early voting and automatic voter registration, were outlined in Cuomo’s 2016

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  • Massive Bank Settlements Fueled Spending Spree by Electeds

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    Gov. Cuomo (photo: The Governor's Office on flickr)


    In the wake of the financial collapse and the Great Recession, New York City and State officials began to rake in enormous sums of money from settlements with major banking institutions.

    Because New York is the major financial industry hub of the world, local officials have jurisdiction over these institutions, and thus related fines, forfeitures, and restitutions. In deals made outside of the budgetary process, New York officials like the Attorney General, and Manhattan District

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  • Recommendations Near, State Pay Commission Constitutionality Questioned

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    Heastie, Cuomo, Flanagan (photo via Governor's Office)


    Recommendations on potential salary increases for Governor Cuomo and members of the state Legislature are due Tuesday, but constitutional questions hang over the effort to increase legislative and executive chamber pay.

    The New York State Commission on Legislative, Judicial, & Executive Compensation is at the center of the issue and an ongoing legal battle over the validity of the process it was put in charge of through 2015 legislation. Created as

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  • For Review, Cuomo Chooses Outside Agent Over Existing State Investigators

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    Scheiderman, left, & Cuomo, center (photo via The Governor's Office on Flickr)


    More than a month after Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that Bart Schwartz, a former federal prosecutor, would head an “independent investigation” into the Buffalo Billion economic development program, it remains unclear whether Schwartz has begun his

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  • End of Session Menu Previews Next ‘Big Ugly’ in Albany

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    Heastie, Cuomo, Flanagan June 2015 (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    Last week, the Senate came to standstill as the star of popular beer commercials came to the Capitol as a guest of Senate Republicans. Legislators of both parties fawned and snapped pictures with Jonathan Goldsmith, of Dos Equis fame. Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan’s office proudly posted a picture of the two men together on Twitter; Democratic legislators quoted catchphrases of “the most interesting man in the world” on the Senate floor. While it's fairly

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  • Decision Opens New York to Widespread Online Voter Registration

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    AG Schneiderman (photo via AG's office on flickr)


    The office of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued an opinion on Tuesday concluding that online voter registration is permitted by state law.

    The opinion comes as a response to a request sent from Suffolk County to the Attorney General’s office in February for advice on whether implementing online registration, including the use of electronically handwritten signatures, would be allowed under state election law.

    Schneiderman’s go-ahead to

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