James at a 2007 press conference announcing a lawsuit challenging the environmental review of Atlantic Yards - she was not a plaintiff or attorney in the case (photo ©Jonathan Barkey)

A May Politico profile of New York City Public Advocate Letitia (Tish) James, the front-runner in the upcoming election for state Attorney General, noted that “she has occasionally shown a

Mark-Viverito & Nixon (photo: @CynthiaNixon)

Two of the most compelling storylines of the contentious primaries playing out this election season in New York are which Democrats decide to back Cynthia Nixon in her challenge to two-term incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo and to what extent an alliance with Cuomo is to the benefit of Letitia James as she seeks to win an open, four-way primary for Attorney General.

Loyalty and litmus tests are being taken daily by elected officials, political club members, labor leaders, and others as the September 13 primary vote approaches. As the

Democratic AG candidates debate (photo: MNN)

The four Democratic candidates for New York Attorney General met Tuesday for the first televised debate of their race, agreeing that the next chief legal officer of the state must continue to be a check on President Donald Trump, while also addressing corruption in state government and other areas of reform they would pursue in the role.

Each of the four candidates -- New York City Public Advocate Letitia James; U.S. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney; Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout; and Leecia Eve, a

Public Advocate Letitia James (photo: @TishJames)

With a month to go before the September 13 primary for statewide elected offices, the four candidates running for the Democratic nomination for attorney general filed their latest campaign finance disclosures on Tuesday, covering the period between July 17 and August 13. The filings, along with a Siena College poll from June, suggest that the race remains competitive as the candidates each seek to

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

New York City Public Advocate Letitia James is performing a balancing act as she runs for state Attorney General, at once cross-endorsing with Governor Andrew Cuomo, a fellow Democrat seeking a third term, and accepting his fundraising support, while also attempting to convince skeptical voters that she would be sufficiently independent if both are victorious this fall.

After the shocking resignation of Eric Schneiderman amid domestic abuse allegations and James’ decision to run for attorney general,

Letitia James (photo: @TishJames)

While initial polls show that many voters are too unfamiliar with their choices in the Democratic primary for Attorney General to have a preference, Public Advocate Letitia James has led the polling among those who do make a choice. The latest poll from Siena College, of Democratic voters likely to cast a ballot on September 13, has James at 25 percent, with U.S.

Gov. Cuomo in 2013 (photo: The Governor's Office)

As part of the #MeToo movement, a group of women who experienced sexual harassment or abuse while working in New York state government have for months been advocating for public hearings on the culture that enables that misconduct in government, especially the state capital, and in the private sector. Their calls have intensified -- and been echoed by prominent women running for state elected offices this year -- after Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders passed new anti-harassment

Cynthia Nixon (left), Alessandra Biaggi (top right), Bill Lipton & Jumaane Williams (bottom)

The Working Families Party celebrated its 20th anniversary last month at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg, with its rank-and-file cheering on a line up of politicians that have served as standard bearers, past and present. But it’s the future of the party that is especially uncertain as the upstart liberal organization lays it all on the line in backing insurgent candidates in state elections this year.

In doing so,

Letitia James at City Hall (photo: Gotham Gazette)

In the four-way contest for the Democratic nomination for attorney general, Public Advocate Letitia James is leading the pack but more than 40 percent of likely primary voters have yet to decide who they will support, according to the latest Siena College poll released Tuesday.

The poll, conducted from July 22 to 26, sampled hundreds of

Zephyr Teachout (photo: zephyrforny.com)

Zephyr Teachout is set to cast aside a key question surrounding her candidacy for New York Attorney General. After filing the appropriate paperwork, reviewing the required “orientation” course online, and sitting for the necessary interview, Teachout will be sworn into the New York Bar on August 22.

Teachout, running in a four-way Democratic primary, is seeking to become the state’s top legal officer. She has been licensed to practice law in North Carolina, where she did legal work early in her career, and has been teaching at

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (photo: @RepSeanMaloney)

The race for state Attorney General appears to be the most wide open in the 2018 New York election cycle, at least among statewide races. In the wake of former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s shocking resignation, four Democrats have jumped into a competitive primary that will be decided on September 13, with the winner automatically seen as the frontrunner to win the general election against Republican nominee Keith Wofford and Green Party nominee Michael Sussman.

Recently released campaign finance filings

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

On 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

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

Corey Johnson endorses IDC challengers (photo: Gotham Gazette)

As progressives aggressively attempt to wrest control of the Democratic Party from the hands of those they call centrists and establishment politicians, elected Democrats across New York find themselves in an unenviable position. Abiding by their self-professed progressive values to support insurgent Democratic primary challengers could mean bucking the state party establishment and its leader, Governor Andrew Cuomo, while, on the

(Sofie Hecht/Gotham Gazette)

The New York City Council’s commission to review the city charter -- a separate effort from an existing commission created by Mayor Bill de Blasio -- has been fully appointed and is set to begin its work next Monday, July 16.

The City Council passed a bill in April, spearheaded by Public Advocate Letitia James, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and Council Speaker Corey Johnson, to create a commission to analyze the city’s governing document and recommend potentially significant

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

Zephyr Teachout at her campaign launch (photo: Ben Brachfeld)

Zephyr Teachout, Fordham Law professor and 2014 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, officially launched her campaign for New York State Attorney General on Tuesday near Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, promising to take a hard line on the “unconstitutional” policies of President Donald Trump while also taking on corruption in Albany and on Wall Street.

The announcement capped off nearly a month of exploration and initial campaigning by Teachout after the post was

James, Cuomo, Hochul, DiNapoli (photo: @andrewcuomo)

Governor Andrew Cuomo emerged triumphant and emboldened from the State Democratic Party’s nominating convention on Long Island, with the party’s designation in hand and embraced by top national Democrats and elected party representatives from across the state. The governor basked in the support of centrist establishment figures like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Joe Biden, while they and much of the rest of the convention sought to frame Cuomo as a

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

Cuomo, Hochul & the WEP bus (photo: Andrew Cuomo/Facebook)

As he sought a second term in 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo created the Women’s Equality Party amid a primary challenge from his left by Zephyr Teachout and as he sought to undermine the Working Families Party, which had begrudgingly endorsed him after he begrudgingly made a set of policy and political promises.

Cuomo said it was time for a political party dedicated to women and traveled around on a bus highlighted with pink streaks to underscore his point.

Cynthia Nixon at the WFP convention (photo: Make The Road Action)

It’s political party convention season as this state and federal election year heats up in New York, with federal primaries on June 26, state primaries September 13, and the general election November 6.

Over the weekend, the Working Families Party and Green Party held their nominating conventions on Saturday and the Reform Party held its on Sunday. This week the Democratic and Republican state parties will hold their conventions, nominating candidates for the

Public Advocate Letitia James (photo: Mayor's Office)

Eric Schneiderman’s resignation has triggered what could be a domino effect in New York politics, potentially creating vacancies in local offices and perhaps leading to New York City’s first citywide special election.  

When Schneiderman stepped down from the post of attorney general, it kicked off a mad dash of people interested in becoming the next top legal officer of New York State. Even as the state Legislature moves through a process to choose an interim appointee, others have

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

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

Tuesday's press conference (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)

Several prominent Democratic elected officials and voting reform advocates on Tuesday assembled outside City Hall to call for instant runoff voting in citywide primary elections. Specifically, they said that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Charter Revision Commission, which just began a series of public hearings across the city, should include it among the proposals it puts before voters on the ballot this November.

Instant runoff voting, also known as ranked-choice voting, allows voters to rank primary