Tag Archives: Dean Skelos

The New York Daily News reports: Former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was released from from an upstate prison Tuesday into home confinement after contracting coronavirus. A federal prosecutor and Skelos’s defense team confirmed the crooked Nassau County pol walked out of FCI Otisville. Ten staff and two inmates at the facility have tested positive for the virus, according …

The New York Times reports: Dean G. Skelos, once one of the most powerful political figures in New York State, was found guilty of bribery, extortion and conspiracy on Tuesday, marking the fourth time in five months that a major federal case targeting corruption in Albany has ended in a conviction. The jury in Federal District Court in Manhattan deliberated …

Openly gay New York Sen. Brad Hoylman today thanked pop star Miley Cyrus for helping win millions of dollars in state funding for homeless youth shelters. Via DNA Info: The 2015 New York State Budget now has $4.5 million in funding for homeless youth shelters, the first significant increase in seven years — thanks to Miley Cyrus. State Sen. Brad …

As I noted yesterday, newly-elected Democratic state Sen. Simcha Felder has announced that he will caucus with the GOP, imperiling the chance of Democratic control of the chamber for the first time in many years, not to mention jeopardizing the long overdue Gender Non-Discrimination Act, which has languished for a decade. Now the Democrats say they are exploring how to …

Or tomorrow. More vagueness from New York Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. Skelos also hinted that his conference and Cuomo are close on amendments to the same-sex marriage bill that would further clarify protections for religious organizations. “My colleagues and [the governor’s] counsel’s office are looking very closely at religious protections and I think they will conclude that. Once we …

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that he will ask the state legislature to take up the issue of same-sex marriage before its current session ends this June. His pledge was greeted warmly by gay-rights activists, who have waited with some uncertainty to see whether Mr. Cuomo, faced with a daunting battle over the budget, would make a charged social …

Curiouser and curiouser. The New York Times is now reporting that openly gay NY Sen. Thomas Duane may be joining the ranks of Democrats defecting to support new Majority Leader Dean Skelos. Duane is the sponsor of the Senate’s marriage equality bill. One of the senators who is believed to be considering breaking ranks with the Senate Democratic conference, Thomas …

One day after he was installed as Senate Majority Leader in a coup that Democrats attempted to end by turning off the lights in the Senate room, Sen. Dean Skelos is telling the press that he will bring marriage equality to a vote before the current session ends in less than ten days. New Senate President Pedro Espada agrees and …

And here, my friends, is where I fear New York’s quest for marriage equality may have ended for 2009. New York’s state Senators today convened an emergency meeting to name GOP Sen. Dean Skelos (left) as the new majority leader as “Gang Of Four” members and Democratic Senators Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserratte have crossed party lines in a 32-30 …

An editorial in today’s New York Times strongly rebukes the state Senate and Majority Leader Malcolm Smith for dragging their feet on a vote on marriage equality and calls on them to immediately approve marriage equality. Six states have now made it legal for same-sex couples to marry. New York is not one of them. Gov. David Paterson wants the …

The infighting continues among Democrats over the selection of a new Majority Leader, the critical step to bringing marriage equality to a vote in New York. Things have gotten so bad that state GOP leader Sen. Dean Skelos (left) has declared that they will end up retaining the majority. In some of his most detailed remarks since the Republican Party’s …

New York Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), who is poised to take over the majority leadership role if Democrats take control of the state Senate in November, yesterday waffled when asked if he would vigorously pursue marriage equality when the day comes. Although he reiterated his personal support of gay marriage (a position that was in question back when …