Veteran State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer of Mamaroneck has announced that she will not run for re-election for the New York State Senate seat she has held for 28 years.

Oppenheimer, 77 years old, disclosed that she was facing major shoulder replacement surgery in 2012 which would preclude...

Not much needs to be said about the wisdom of voting for Andrew Cuomo for Governor. Carl Paladino probably never had much of a shot in the general election - but made things a lot worse for himself by continuously creating a negative personal presence in the news ever since...

One of the dilemmas we will face in the voting booth (or voting table, as the case is this year with new voting machines) on November 2, will be who or whether to vote for for those obscure, down-ballot races for judge. For the life of me I cannot fathom...

In these times when it's clear to all that our state government in Albany is wildly and hopelessly dysfunctional -- and no political aspirant for any job seems to be up to the task of governing -- or even capable of talking about the task of governing, I may have...

I just returned from voting in the primary election -- for the first time using the new, federally mandated, three-step paper ballot optical scanner vote counting device. And I'm not sure how well this will work in the long run. I went to my polling location and signed into the...

This past week the New York State Education Department released the scores of proficiency tests in math and English given to all 3rd through 8th graders in New York public schools last spring. For months prior to the release of the scores, the State Education Commissioner, David Steiner dithered about...

Governor-in-Waiting Andrew Cuomo loves how lame duck Governor David Paterson has grown a set of balls and has rammed through nearly half the state budget through the piecemeal passage of budget extenders -- daring any legislator who votes no to be accused of voting to shut down state government.

The New York State Democratic Convention began in earnest this morning -- and the only news of import being the presumptive gubernatorial candidate, Andrew Cuomo, tapping Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy as his choice for Lt. Goverrnor.

Reporter extraordinaire, Liz Benjamin, on her superb State of Politics Blog, reports:

While all of New York waits with baited breath for Andrew Cuomo to formally announce his gubernatorial candidacy (now rumored to occur on May 25th) there is an election this week with profound implications for public education in New York State. On Tuesday, most public school districts in New York...

In one of the races that will determine whether or not the GOP retakes control of the New York State Senate this November, Scarsdale resident Bob Cohen, 55, has been chosen by the GOP to challenge 25 year Democratic veteran State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer to represent the 37th district. On...

The cacophony over what to do about public school education and when to do it and how to do it... is deafening. The disconnects have run absolutely wild.

In Washington, President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan propose changes to No Child Left behind, some good some bad; National educational...

With the political implosion of Governor Paterson; with New York economy reeling; with a State budget deficit of $8.2 billion; with a State where no one has confidence in our government's ability to get anything done or get anything done right, it's time to call for a time out.

In Tuesday's 4 special elections to fill vacant NYS Assembly seats, Republicans won 3 of the 4 races - and garnered a net gain of 2 seats. While this is not enough to affect the overwhelming Democratic majority in the Assembly, this will have an impact on the political landscape...

At the start of 2010 there was a minor exodus of members from the State Assembly. Some were dropping out to take jobs that in some cases were a step up from the Assembly, and some exits seemed less like a step up than an opportunity to just get the...

The immediate political beneficiaries in New York of the Scott Brown romp over Martha Coakley are Rick Lazio and Harold Ford Jr.

Last fall we in New York saw precursors to the Brown win over Coakley in Massachusetts: incumbent Democratic county executives (arguably doing a decent job)...

Just before New Year's Day last week the hills and valleys of Westchester County were invaded by an online hyperlocal news and information franchise run by AOL, Patch.com. Patch landings took place in Rye, Harrison, Larchmont, Bedford. Katonah, Chappaqua -- and one will be coming soon to Scarsdale.

Joe Lieberman's maneuverings on the Health reform bill are politically brilliant -- in ways that will be seen down the road.

Lieberman's demands have provided cover for Lincoln, McCaskill, Nelson -- and perhaps other 2010 endangered Senate Dems who do not want to be blamed for killing the bill...

Harrison is about a 35 minute drive north of New York City. Harrison is considered by the New York educational powers-that-be a "low need" school district -- in that there is no abject poverty. But unlike other Westchester turbo towns like Scarsdale, Bronxville, Armonk, Rye and Chappaqua, Harrison is economically...

Just two weeks ago I wrote that Liz Feld was one of the winners coming out of the Rob Astorino defeat of Andy Spano in Westchester: 

But I thought this would lead Feld to a rematch against 25 year incumbent Suzi Oppenheimer. In 2010 there will be no Obama...