Big names, a party-switching candidate and overlapping platforms in the race for the 46th district state Senate seat (Metroland – October 21, 2004) ‘I’m loyal to my oath of office, not to any party loyalties or party ties,” said Albany County Comptroller and longtime Democrat Michael Conners, who recently became a Republican in order to [...]

In which a despondent Metroland staff writer considers seriously what everyone’s been joking about (Metroland – November 11, 2004) I’ve never been the patient type. In fact, some have gone so far as to describe me as “impulsive” or “reckless,” and that’s just what my friends call me to my face. The thing is, I’ve [...]

When a newspaper agressively handicaps a race, does it end up handicapping its own coverage opportunities as well? (Metroland – November 3, 2005) Over the last month, local media have been buzzing about Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings’ style of communication—or, more accurately, his lack thereof—with the press. Where it was difficult before the Sept. 13 [...]

Suspicions in Albany’s Third Ward race are fueled by aggressive interpretation of a single “s” in poll-watcher credentialing rules (Metroland – September 29, 2005) It took a day in court, election-day calls to local police and more than a week after the Sept. 13 primary to sort out who was elected as Albany’s Third Ward [...]

New York may lose millions of federal dollars because it can’t agree on voting standards (Metroland – March 17, 2005) Two hundred and fifty million dollars may be a lot of money. Ensuring that every citizen’s vote is counted may be a central principal of democracy. But New York state lawmakers don’t appear willing to [...]