Power & Politics

Following the testimony of Democratic Governors at the U.S. Capitol this week regarding immigration policy, Lauren DesRosiers, Director of the Immigration Law Clinic at Albany Law School, broke down the issues of Sanctuary Status, due process and constitutional rights.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eva Bass, founder of Bridge Tha Gap Resource and Outreach, and a prominent community voice in the City of Albany, joined Power & Politics on Thursday. Bass and her organization sent out press release on Wednesday, saying they were "saddened" by Albany City Officials and Police recently touting a statistical decrease in crime. "Of course, some of the numbers went down," she said. "So I'm not callin...

NYRA CEO David O'Rourke joined Power & Politics at Saratoga Racecourse on Thursday evening, discussing the Belmont Festival, the potential for Belmont at Saratoga in 2026 and the future of the Saratoga meet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang highlights the IG's office role in investigating the Clinton Correctional Facility prison escape on June 6th, 2015. Their investigation revealed systemic failures, she discusses how they were addressed, and what's changed 10 years later Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. Senate is currently debating the provisions outlined in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", of which was passed last week in the Republican-led House of Representatives. As a part of the reconciliation package, Congressional Republicans have proposed to cut SNAP benefits by nearly $300 billion dollars. The cut would shift more of the administration costs to the States starting in 2028 while...

NYIC President and CEO Murad Awawdeh joined Power & Politics on Thursday to discuss the Cohoes incident, along with the other issues impacting immigrants right now in New York, along with what they're calling on the State to do in the final days of the legislative session. Last week, two immigrants were arrested by ICE agents at a law enforcement check point in the City of Cohoes. Officials say bo...

New York's Reparations Commission is nearly one year into its work in examining the legacy of slavery and discrimination in New York, and what potential compensation could come from that. Over the course of the last few months, New Yorkers have shared their thoughts, their family's history and the impacts of enslavement, redlining and wealth gaps with the New York State Community Commission on Rep...

Steven Greenberg, pollster with the Siena College research institute, joined Power & Politics on Thursday, discussing their latest poll. He discussed a variety of issues where voters weighed in. Governor Hochul's favorability remained at her highest levels in more than a year, right around 44-46 percent, which Greenberg said was "disappointing", in a blue state like New York. At the same time, he...

New York State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, the Chair of the Senate Internet & Technology Committee, penned a letter signed on by more than 50 NYS Democrats, calling on House Republicans to remove the AI legislation Moratorium in the proposed federal reconciliation bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin defended proposed budget cuts to the agency at a House Appropriations subcommittee Thursday morning, and New York environmental advocates are responding. Rob Hayes, Director of Clean Water at Environmental Advocates, joined Power & Politics to discuss the impact of those federal grant cuts, where the FY2026 State Budget has filled the...

Moments after his speech on the Senate floor, James Skoufis explained his critique of Governor Hochul's handling of the State Budget process. Skoufis explained why he thinks the Governor wields too much power, calling her an "authoritarian" and "dictator" in the process. He also responded to questions on why he still voted in favor of the budget, his mask restriction legislation holding up the bud...

Schenectady — Three candidates on the ballot in June's Albany Chief City Auditor Democratic Primary took the debate stage at CBS6 in Schenectady on Tuesday evening. Albany County Legislator Sam Fein, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan's Chief of Staff David Galin and former Albany Common Councilor John Rosenzweig discussed their vision for the future of Albany, and the role they'd play if elected to the C...

On the heels of rallying on Wall Street for the reinstatement of the stock transfer tax, Assemblymember Phil Steck (D-Colonie), joined Power & Politics on Thursday. His bill, which he's pushed throughout his time as a State lawmaker, would tax each sale of stock worth over $20 at 5 cents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four Democratic candidates are set to square off in the June primary, eyeing the party's nomination for Albany Mayor. Dorcey Applyrs, Dan Cerutti, Corey Ellis, Carolyn McLaughlin took the CBS6 stage for a full 45 minutes of a debate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a wide-ranging conversation about his career, advocacy, criminal justice reform and the current narratives regarding federal judges, former Saratoga County Judge and District Attorney James Murphy joined Power & Politics this week. Murphy now provides advice and analysis for Behan Communications, a Capital Region PR firm. "It's been a long career," Murphy says. "It's been 37 years between Distr...

Lee Kindlon, Albany County District Attorney, joined Power & Politics this week to take a deep dive into the State's Discovery laws, and their role in the ongoing budget debate at the State Capitol. Alongside Governor Kathy Hochul and the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, Kindlon has been stumping for changes to the Discovery laws, which were reformed in 2019. Hochul has bee...

As part of the wide-ranging conversation, Horner discussed the impact of late budgets on public perception, the role of policy initiatives in the budget and how Governor Hochul's budget approach is shaping New York's legislative process. They also discussed some of the initiatives Horner has advocated over the years, including the impact of Donald Trump's Executive Order on the Climate Change Supe...

Since the 2025 legislative session began, New York's top lawmakers have often had a common theme when discussing budgeting, and that's calling on New York's Republican Congressional delegation to "protect New Yorkers" from federal budget cuts. Mike Lawler addresses those officials, and those issues, here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elise Stefanik's nomination as the United States United Nations Ambassador was pulled on Thursday, but NY-21 hopeful on the Democratic side Blake Gendebien says he's committed to the long haul. While the Republican side hadn't chosen a candidate for the potential special election, Democrats chose Gendebien as their candidate in early February. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

North Country farmer Blake Gendebien joins Power & Politics to discuss a variety of issues, including the conversation around a date for the special election in replacing Elise Stefanik, the impact of tariffs on farmers, immigration, keeping the government open, and more Note: This interview was conducted prior to the withdrawal of Stefanik's U.N. Ambassador nomination Learn more about your ad cho...

Lee M. Miringoff, Director at Marist University Institute for Public Opinion discusses the withdrawal of Elise Stefanik's nomination as U.N. Ambassador for the United States Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rennie Glasgow discusses the impact of social security employees taking the federal government's retirement offer, responding to Elon Musk's comments, including Musk saying Social Security is the "Biggest Ponzi scheme of all time". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A roundtable discussion, hosted by CBS6's Briana Supardi and Tom Eschen, with a variety of perspectives on the current state of New York's prison system. Guests: Patrick Stevens, Center for Community Alternatives, formerly incarcerated individual   Melanie Bishop, Mother of a currently incarcerated individual  Nate Yando, a CO who recently resigned Bernadette Singer, Wife of a CO Asm. Scott Gray o...

A fierce debate over the One-House Budget proposals took place at the NYS Capitol this week, as the Senate and Assembly passed their budgets, setting up negotiations with Governor Kathy Hochul ahead of the April 1st final Budget Agreement deadline. Jake Ashby provided some of the Senate Minority's perspective on the issues, including rebate checks, NY Heat Act, prison closures, affordability and t...

Deshanna Wiggins, CEO of the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce joined Power & Politics on Thursday, discussed several topics, including the work the organization does to build minority-owned businesses and beyond in the City of Albany. Wiggins talked about the challenges facing business owners in Albany, and the work they do to overcome them, saying collaboration is key. The discussion also include...