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Gov. Kathy Hochul reportedly authorized payment of nearly $2 million in taxpayer money for outside ghostwriters to help draft her State of the State speeches. Most of the money was paid to Deloitte Consulting and the Boston Consulting Group to help the state’s first female governor shape her vision, according to the New York Times. Hochul’s office shelled out $871,000 on three outside firms to help prepare this year’s speech – with Boston Consulting Group racking up the largest amount of $838,000 for what it listed in records as “SOS support.” Representatives for three of Hochul’s predecessors — fellow Democrats...

Former New York Gov. George Pataki (R) on Sunday said former President Trump is “tearing apart the Republican party” after the GOP failed to win control of the Senate and underperformed in races across the country. “The problem is Donald Trump. The sooner he goes away, the quicker we will have the new Republican Party,” Pataki told Eric Shawn on Fox News. “He’s had his time and now he is tearing apart the Republican Party since the election.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s surging national profile has inspired a trio of Republican opponents from her home district — along with a multimillionaire mystery donor who could help close the gap in her foes’ long-shot race against her. Just three months after taking office, the Democratic socialist congresswoman’s challengers include an Egyptian American journalist, who has already tossed her hat in the ring, and an NYPD cop-turned-high-school-civics teacher and conservative talk-radio producer, both of whom are seriously exploring a run against her. And the fledgling challengers could get help from a wealthy New Yorker committed to backing an Ocasio-Cortez opponent, a GOP...

A group of anti-cop dissenters burned an American flag outside a Staten Island police station house in protest of the NYPD’s investigation into the death of a black teenage boy who police said suffered a fatal asthma attack after a gang-related street fight last month, video shows. In a video posted to YouTube, demonstrators can be seen gathered outside of the 121st Precinct station house for the staged flag burning on Saturday. “We light fire for the ancestors who have gone before us who were lynched,” a woman can be hearing saying in the video as another person attempts to...

ALBANY – Hours after his office received a subpoena as part of a criminal probe of the Buffalo Billion program, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday ordered a review of his own signature economic development program, which is anchored by the massive SolarCity project along the Buffalo River. The governor’s counsel, Alphonso David, said Friday that the investigation begun last year by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has “recently raised questions of improper lobbying and undisclosed conflicts of interest by some individuals” that may involve cases in which the state was “defrauded.” The revelation by Cuomo comes after months in which...

Former Gov Pataki endorses... John Kasich? Going all in for a contested convention apparently. Greta mentioned that he has only won one state. The Guv dodged the question and droned on about how Kasich is what America needs, blah blah...

Former New York Gov. George Pataki is throwing his support behind Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. "I am proud to endorse Marco Rubio," Pataki said today in an interview with Fox News, adding that he believes Rubio is the right person to unite the Republican Party. "Donald Trump is dividing us," Pataki said. "Marco Rubio is going to bring us together." Pataki's support comes on the heels of the Des Moines Register announcing its endorsement of the Florida senator. Pataki dropped his long-shot 2016 presidential bid last month after low support in polls...

Former GOP presidential candidate George Pataki is predicting that Democrat Hillary Clinton's "legal issues" will force an outside candidate to jump into the 2016 White House race as a white knight. "People talk about the problems in the Republican Party, but I think Democrats have a bigger problem," the former New York governor told host John Catsimatidis on "The Cats Roundtable" on New York's AM-970 on Sunday. "Hillary Clinton is cratering, the scandals just keep coming. She has grave legal issues that could totally prevent her from continuing her campaign, and the alternative is a self-avowed socialist who has never...

Any suggestion @tedcruz was referring to 9/11 is absurd- he was obviously referring to the liberal values of NY politicians such as... 1:14 PM - 18 Jan 2016

NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio has submitted a resolution to the city's police pension fund, urging it to consider exiting investments in companies that manufacture assault weapons for civilians, the mayor's office said on Thursday.

New York is reaping the whirlwind of sky-high cigarette taxes with a wave of smuggling decimating the state’s revenue. New York raised taxes on cigarettes to $4.35 in 2010 from $2.75. In total, cigarette taxes have increased by 190 percent since 2006. The sharp rise has resulted in a raft of unintended consequences which are dealing a significant blow to the state’s finances. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli reports New York’s revenue from cigarette taxes has plunged by $400 million over the past five years.

After the British victory at the Battle of the Second El Alamein in November of 1942, Winston Churchill spoke to the British people. Churchill eloquently stated, “Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Perhaps, the same can be said of the opening salvos of the 2016 Presidential Election. We have watched numerous debates on both sides, filled with candidates grandiose and not very grandiose. Gradually, the field is being thinned and on February 1, 2016, the games truly begin at the Iowa Caucuses....

As with most things in political news these days, I learned about this one on Twitter last night shortly after arriving home. Yes, the makeup of the 2016 GOP primary race has changed yet again. Former New York Governor George Pataki has bowed out. While tonight I suspend my campaign for president, I am confident we can elect the right person. https://t.co/mr4UunWASs— George E. Pataki (@GovernorPataki) December 30, 2015 The media quickly jumped all over the story, possibly because it was almost New Years Eve and nobody was watching anyway. (Bloomberg) George Pataki, the three-term governor who led New York...

Just like it's past time for Jeb Bush and Rand Paul to get out, and it's past time for Rick Santorum and George Pataki to get out. That's obvious, but it's made more obvious now that Huckabee is resorting to off-base and stupidly dishonest ads attempting to trash candidates who have taken his votes away. Here's a PAC ad Huckabee's camp is running in Iowa... (VIDEO-AT-LINK) The same consulting firm also put out similar attacks on Cruz in Iowa on his opposition to ethanol subsidies and accusing Cruz of being bankrolled by the oil industry....

Former New York Gov. George Pataki (R) is calling his supporters in New Hampshire to tell him he intends to drop out of the 2016 presidential race, The Boston Globe's James Pindell reported via Twitter. Since entering the race, Pataki, who is 70, has remained in the lower tier of the polls. The moderate Republican was New York governor for three terms after being elected in 1994. Before embarking on his 2016 campaign, there was speculation he would run in previous presidential cycles. His reported decision to drop out comes weeks before Feb. 1's Iowa caucus and Feb. 9's New...

It's Spitz-ville: Disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer and his girlfriend, 33, break up - two years after affair ended his marriage It was an affair said to have cost Eliot Spitzer his marriage and his girlfriend her political spin job. But after two years together it appears that the disgraced former New York governor and partner Lis Smith have gone their separate ways, NY Daily News reports. Smith had just joined Bill de Blasio's team and was widely considered to be the likely candidate for the mayor's press secretary when pictures of emerged of then-married Spitzer sneaking into...

NEW YORK - A "credible threat" has been lodged against New York City, days ahead of Christmas and during an especially busy time of the year when tourists flock to the Big Apple, law enforcement sources told PIX11 News Tuesday. Top NYPD brass including Commissioner William Bratton held an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss the threat and their response to it, sources said. Few details were released about the nature of the threat. A federal law enforcement source said the threat is not specific and could take place in several major U.S. cities. All New York City police officers received...

Donald Trump may have eased some Republican fears Tuesday night when he declared his intention to stay inside the party. But if their angst has been temporarily eased at the prospect of what he would do if he loses, they still face a far more troubling, and increasingly plausible, question. What happens to the party if he wins? Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/12/donald-trump-2016-third-party-bid-213449#ixzz3uunF2pRX

Full title: Trump Lead Grows Nationally; 41% of His Voters Want to Bomb Country From Aladdin; Clinton Maintains Big Lead PPP's newest national Republican primary poll finds Donald Trump holding his largest lead yet in the wake of Tuesday night's debate. He's at 34% to 18% for Ted Cruz, 13% for Marco Rubio, 7% for Jeb Bush, 6% for Ben Carson, 5% for Chris Christie, 4% each for Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee, 2% each for John Kasich and Rand Paul, 1% each for Lindsey Graham and Rick Santorum, and less than 1% each for Jim Gilmore and George Pataki...

[Full title] Trump Edges Cruz in Iowa; His Supporters Think Japanese Internment Was Good; Clinton Still Well Ahead of Sanders In State PPP’s newest Iowa poll finds Donald Trump and Ted Cruz at the top of the heap with 28% and 25% respectively. Marco Rubio at 14% and Ben Carson at 10% are also in double digits with Jeb Bush at 7% the only other candidate who clears even 3%. Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, and Mike Huckabee all hit that level with John Kasich and Rand Paul each getting 2%, Lindsey Graham and Rick Santorum each getting 1%, and Jim...