Good Morning from the Buffalo Labor Day Parade (where Governor Kathy Hochul is expected to sign important pro-worker legislation):
The last few weeks have been, to say the least, eventful. Next week, the Monday Morning Memo will return from our brief respite with plenty to say about the Hochul Administration and what’s next in Albany (perhaps a return to normalcy?) and Washington (more chaos and confusion).
The new year will bring mid-term Congressional races, legislative and statewide elections in New York (gubernatorial primary anyone?), and Redistricting. Also, for the first time in a decade, we will have a budget process with a new governor and her team.
Until then, take a breath and a break.
Thank you for being a loyal reader, a client, and a friend.
Finally, from the entire OD&A team, we wish you a safe and happy Labor Day and send a special shout out to our friends in organized labor whose advocacy and sacrifices have made so much possible for the rest of us.
-Jack O’Donnell
Quick Albany Update:
- Governor Hochul selected Harlem State Senator Brian Benjamin to be her Lieutenant Governor. He will be
sworn in on Thursday.
- Additionally, Hochul has appointed the some Senior Members of her Administration and continues to rebuild the Executive Chamber amidst a 45-Day Review of Cuomo’s appointees.
- Karen Persichilli Keogh as Secretary to the Governor;
- Elizabeth Fine as Counsel to the Governor;
- Kathryn Garcia as Director of Operations;
- Neysa Alsina as Special Advisor for Pandemic Relief.
- Last week, Governor Hochul and the Legislature addressed the long-awaited nominations for Executive Director of the Office of Cannabis Management and the Chair of the Cannabis Control Board.
- The Senate confirmed Chris Alexander—who most recently served in Government Relations for the Canadian cannabis company Vill, Inc. and was a long time Senate Central Staff lead on the MRTA—as Executive Director of the Office of Cannabis Management, and Tremaine Wright—a former Democratic Assembly Member from Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn—to be Chair of the Cannabis Control Board.
- Important to note that Governor Hochul’s pick to lead the Department of Financial Services, Adrienne Harris, was announced but not confirmed.
Your regularly scheduled Monday Morning Memo will return next week.
As you prepare for the weeks ahead, please let us know if you have any questions. As always, thank you for being a part of the OD&A team!
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