Dispatches from Planet Albany

Lobbyist and consultant Patrick Jenkins joins the show to discuss his work and reflect on life in Planet Albany. The Queens power broker talks about lobbying against single-use plastic restrictions, navigating ethical boundaries, and the direction of the Assembly next year.  And if you enjoy Dispatches from Planet Albany , please leave a rating and consider becoming a  recurring contributor  to su...

Retirements and progressive wins in the Democratic primaries are poised to shakeup the Assembly in 2027. To assess the impact of the incoming members and consider who might fill major leadership posts in the chamber, we check in with Miguelina Camilo, the former counsel for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. As part of the conversation, host David Lombardo gets feedback on his list of contenders to fi...

Assemblymember Amy Paulin is one of the most active lawmakers at the Capitol and 2026 was no exception, with the Westchester County Democrat leading her colleagues in bills approved by both chambers. We checked in with the veteran legislator to understand what separates her from the pack and she shared some of her secrets, including finding the right legislative partners, preparing well in advance...

New York Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs discusses the primaries in New York City, tapping into the enthusiasm of the state's progressives, and crafting a winning narrative for November. The Long Island Democrat also reflects on his future leadership role and offers career advice for the Erie County Democratic Party chair. And if you enjoy  Dispatches from Planet Albany , please leave a rating a...

The story from the Democratic primary results in the Big Apple appears to be the ascendency in the party of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America. We're joined by City & State NY Editor-in-Chief Jeff Coltin to talk about the enthusiasm edge for DSA candidates, the fall of incumbent state lawmakers and what's in store for the Brooklyn Democratic leadership.  And if you enjoy Dispatches...

Campaign mail is still a critical tool for candidates, but only if it's done strategically and with the right messaging. To discuss what effective campaign mail looks like in 2026, host David Lombardo checked in with political consultant Trip Yang. He talked about the goals of campaign mail, who to target, the photos that get under the skin of opposing candidates and how he's using artificial inte...

Politico New York Albany Bureau Chief Nick Reisman joins host David Lombardo to discuss insights and observations he gained from an extended one-on-one interview with Gov. Kathy Hochul. They discuss how to prepare for this type of conversation, the governor's relationship with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Hochul's approach to negotiating immigration reforms that made it into the state b...

Capitol Confidential author Dan Clark, Bloomberg Government reporter Raga Justin and host David Lombardo hand out superlative awards for the 2026 legislative session. Tune in to find out who won class couple, least popular, most memorable and other major recognitions for their work in Planet Albany.  And if you enjoy Dispatches from Planet Albany , please leave us a rating and consider becoming a ...

Tusk Strategies Partner Shontell Plummer joins host David Lombardo to reflect on the final days of the legislative session, including what the Democratic majorities prioritized and how the calendar got squeezed by the late budget. They discuss surveillance pricing protections, grade the session "vibes," and reflect on the right-wing kerfuffle over the "gestating parent" legislation.  And if you en...

Sometimes you record a 52-minute podcast and you end up cutting it down by 60 percent. That's what happened in this lean episode with Assemblymember Josh Jensen and Bloomberg Government's Raga Justin, which touches on the governor's LCA Show rebuttal and fallout from the "cool kids" discussion earlier this year.  What got cut out? Who can say.  And if you enjoy  Dispatches from Planet Albany , ple...

With primary elections less than a month away, trailing candidates have limited means of shaking up their races. But what if they had a magic wand that could deliver a coveted endorsement, a key issue to run on, or the support of an important voting bloc?  We play out this hypothetical experiment for some of the state and federal candidates with uphill battles between now and June 23. Our guests a...

While state lawmakers are expected to be bogged down with hundreds of bills during the final days of the legislative session, state senators will likely also have to contend with dozens of confirmations from Gov. Kathy Hochul. It's not clear whether the process will look any different than past years, given the lateness of the budget, but the safe bet in Planet Albany is that history will repeat i...

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is looking to make waves outside of Western New York. The Buffalo Democrat launched a political action committee this year to support candidates running for local offices around the country, which he believes is key to rebuilding the Democratic bench for higher offices in the future.  He joins the show to talk about his influence in local elections outside of N...

We're diving back into the world of New York's liberal third party. New York Working Families Party Director Jasmine Gripper joins the show to explain why they're sitting out the Democratic primary for state comptroller, highlights efforts to reshape the state senate in June, and reflects on potential next deputies for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. And if you enjoy  Dispatches fro...

With the 124th Legislative Correspondents' Association Show fast approaching, host David Lombardo and recovering journalist Liz Benjamin discusss whether the event should exist, review highlights from past performances and talk about the key to good jokes. They touch on Liz's famous cameo in a video from then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, reflect on the past use of drag, and reveal how little practice goes i...

New York politics is littered with marriages of convenience. Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani have enjoyed an unlikely - but mutually beneficial - alliance for nearly a year, despite their ideological and stylistic differences. And those types of collaborations, which might not seem obvious at first glance, are critical to successfully wielding power in Planet Albany. We di...

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a general agreement on the budget on Thursday morning, but Democratic state lawmakers are calling foul, arguing that major questions still need to be resolved. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie went so far as to tell reporters that he's never approaching the budget process like this again. For more on the legislature's grievances, we checked in with Assemblymember Emily Gal...

The intentions of organizations and individuals looking to influence state government could become clearer in the future. Pending legislation would require interests that are lobbying state policymakers to declare whether they support something, oppose it, or their support is contingent on changes. The current rules just require a disclosure that you're lobbying on a specific bill or regulation. D...

Finalizing a state budget requires varying degrees of compromise from the governor and legislature. But knowing when and where you have to give and when your negotiating partners will give a little more or won't budget another inch, is a key aspect of executing this annual dance in Planet Albany. To understand the budget choreography, host David Lombardo spoke with two veterans of the state budget...

The state budget is three weeks late and a deal does not appear imminent. Eventually all the pieces for a final budget will fall into place - seemingly all at once - but we wanted to explore how Gov. Kathy Hochul is approaching that point, as she utilizes one of her favorite tactics and one new one. To analyze these machinations we spoke with Nick Reisman, the Albany bureau chief for Politico New...

The race for an open Assembly seat in Trump Country is getting an unusual amount of coverage because Republican Marc Molinaro has chosen to mount his political comeback in the district. But Democrat Thomas Boomhower is hoping to disrupt the script and is running a longshot campaign, which will first require a primary win in June. He visited the studio to talk about the components of a potential up...

Now that campaign signatures have been collected and submitted for ballot access, we're entering the phase of the election calendar in New York when candidates wait to see if they'll withstand any administrative or legal challenges to their petitions. To learn about this process we talked with Adam Fusco, one of the small cadre of election lawyers in the state, who explained how he looks for defec...

The general consensus is tha state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is the prohibitive favorite to be the Democratic nominee in November, when he seeks a fifth full term in office. But we wanted to explore the variables and conditions that could lead to a Democratic outsider pulling off the biggest statewide upset in more than three decades, so we're checking in with Alex Elmasri, vice president of operat...

Tusk Strategies Partner Shontell Plummer responds to last week's Planet Albany Power Ranking discussion by explaining the ebb and flow of power at the Capitol and identifies who was underrated and overrated on the lists.  She also takes a victory lap for her prediction of a budget that would be at least four weeks late. And if you enjoy Dispatches from Planet Albany , please leave us a rating and...

Who are the five most powerful people in Planet Albany? That's the question for this episode, as host David Lombardo, Bloomberg Government Capitol reporter Raga Justin and Assemblymember Josh Jensen, a Rochester-area Republican, share their personal lists. The only rules are they can't include Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. Also,...