andrea stewart-cousins

Supporters are making a final push to pass paid family leave legislation in New York state as state lawmakers enter their final weeks of work.

The bill passed the state Assembly in March. Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins joined advocates of the measure Monday to call on her colleagues to pass the bill before adjourning June 19th. 

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says any end to the Democratic schism in the state Senate isn't going to happen until next year.

The Senate is now controlled by a coalition of Republicans and a faction of independent Democrats who left their party’s main conference.

Cuomo’s vowed to return Senate control to the Democrats, he’ll heal the split –or- work to defeat Republicans and independent Democrats in the fall election.

The leader of the New York State Senate Democrats says if Governor Andrew Cuomo is successful in helping retake the chamber for Democrats in the fall elections, she expects the Senate to be much more functional than it was the last time the Democrats were in power.

The fallout from Governor Cuomo’s new alliance with the progressive Working Families Party continues at the Capitol, with those who say they represent upstate interests dismayed at the development.

New York State Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says she’s talked to Governor Andrew Cuomo about his pledge to help Democrats retake the State Senate.

New York Democrats pressing for bills to reform the state’s campaign finance system, say the US Attorney’s investigations into a panel controlled by Governor Andrew Cuomo might help spur action on their measures.

Host Alan Chartock is joined by is New York State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Yonkers Democrat who is the new Leader of the Democratic Conference. Leader Stewart-Cousins, who has served in the Senate since 2007, is the first woman to head a legislative conference in Albany. They discuss the Senate’s unusual configuration, the minimum wage, and mandate relief.