Tag: Letitia James

Today in America, you are more likely to die from an opioid overdose than in a car crash. Stephanie Ruhle and Ali Velshi are joined by New York Attorney General Letitia James to break down how some drug companies and…

New York Attorney General Letitia James joins MSNBC Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber to discuss why she’s fighting Trump in the Supreme Court to protect immigrants, challenging the administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. »…

Andrew M. Cuomo has long supported closing the so-called L.L.C. The donations were made possible by a loophole in New York’s campaign finance law that, for more than 20 years, has allowed corporations to create limited liability companies for the sole purpose of giving virtually unlimited amounts of money to candidates. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, has been by far the greatest beneficiary of the state loophole in recent years, raising more than $17.5 million from L.L.C.s since taking office in 2011. The Senate Republicans’ campaign committee raised more than $3.4 million from L.L.C.s in that time, compared with $1 million for the Democrats. The Democrat-dominated Assembly has voted to close the loophole for years. For years, he has professed support for closing the loophole; for years, he blamed Republicans for the effort’s downfall. “You’ve got a bunch of lawmakers that might or might not care about abstract campaign finance or good government rules,” Mr. Kink said, “but they understand that taking care of tenants is really important to their political survival.” The push coincides with a surge in attention nationwide to the once-humdrum issue of money in politics. In the past, real estate groups used L.L.C.s to deluge upstate Republicans, knowing that their constituents would be less likely to care about the industry’s long shadow, according to Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a government reform group. loophole. “Without more, it’s not going to mean much in terms of changing the role of big money in New York State politics.”

We're just over two months away from those votes, with especially interesting Democratic races for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and a number of state legislative seats, especially in the state Senate, most notably the primary challenges to the senators who until April made up the Independent Democratic Conference. While Governor Andrew Cuomo, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and party designee for Attorney General Letitia James were all guaranteed ballot spots becaue of the party convention vote, candidates including Cynthia Nixon, Jumaane Williams, Zephyr Teachout, Leecia Eve, Sean Patrick Maloney, and others had to collect signatures to get their names on the ballot. ***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: bmax@gothamgazette.com*** The run of the week in detail: Monday This week’s Max & Murphy podcast from Gotham Gazette and City Limits will be recorded and published Monday and will feature Democratic Attorney General candidate Zephyr Teachout. Mayor de Blasio will make his usual weekly appearance on NY1's Inside City Hall Monday in the 7 and 11 p.m. hours. "During a busy campaign season for the governor and state legislature, the city's leading transportation advocacy organizations will unveil for the first time a comprehensive state policy agenda. At noon on Tuesday, before the Inwood rezoning vote, "Upper Manhattan tenants, faith leaders, workers and small business owners will hold a rally outside City Hall as the New York City Council prepares to hold a hearing on the proposed Inwood NYC neighborhood rezoning. The rezoning has received considerable opposition from the community and local elected officials, with both Manhattan Community Board 12 and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer voting against the proposal at earlier stages in the land use process." At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the New York City Board of Correction will hold a public meeting at 125 Worth Street in Manhattan. E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: bmax@gothamgazette.com (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).