Rochester Beacon (https://rochesterbeacon.com/category/government-politics/)
Kendra Evans helped organize the 2016 Unity Walk against racism in Pittsford and co-founded PittsForward, a nonpartisan, grassroots initiative. Now she is running on the Democratic line against incumbent Supervisor Bill Smith, a Republican. Evans says she wants to spur “meaningful movement forward,” but can she win over those who believe efforts like PittsForward polarize the town?
New York should fix the problematic effects stemming from current laws—including the disparate effects of arrests on minority communities—by effectively decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of pot and expunging old convictions.
Reducing the large disparity in tax rates among cities, towns and villages with high property taxes and those with lower tax rates should be a priority for reform of the state’s Aid and Incentives for Municipalities revenue-sharing program.
Local attorney and musician Paul Nunes disdains the politics of Devin Nunes, the California Republican who is one of Donald Trump’s strongest allies on Capitol Hill. What truly rankles him, though, is how the congressman pronounces their shared patronymic.
The reinvigorated Democratic Lawyers Committee is targeting the 2019 election in a bid to increase racial and gender diversity on the bench and push for criminal justice reform.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says it’s time for New York to legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana. Making it happen, though, will require dealing with some thorny issues.
If he challenges incumbent Republican Cheryl Dinolfo, will County Clerk Adam Bello succeed in becoming the first Democratic Monroe County executive in decades? Democratic insiders believe the math is on their side, but it’s only one factor.
In the past, state Senate redistricting in Upstate New York favored the Republican Party. Now, the loss of GOP control in the Senate will significantly reduce upstate’s influence.
As a student in the Rochester city schools, Rachel Barnhart saw firsthand the “incredible waste of human potential” that resulted from poverty, crime and educational inequality. The journalist and political activist spoke with Beacon publisher Alex Zapesochny about journalism, politics and her motivation to hold government accountable. Listen to their conversation.
Since you and I soon will be shelling out for $130,000 annual legislative salaries, we should take a good look at New York lawmakers’ record. It’s not a pretty sight.
Albany is controlled by New York City and Long Island interests, and with Senate control flipping to the Democrats in January, their dominance could increase. For upstate to counter the accumulation of downstate power, it must stand together.
