March 15, 2021
City & State New York
3
EDITOR’S NOTE
RALPH R. ORTEGA Editor-in-chief
HERE AT CITY & STATE, our editorial team picked up on how Attorney General Letitia James is in the same position Andrew Cuomo was 13 years ago when he held the office and investigated then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s fall from grace. Now that Cuomo’s the one being investigated for alleged sexual misconduct in an independent probe overseen by James, we wondered if history will repeat itself. Will James follow the same path to the governor’s office? Some political experts say it’s a likely possibility, even though she hasn’t officially indicated any interest in running to be New York state’s top executive, writes Amanda Luz Henning Santiago in this week’s cover story. Meanwhile, others who have worked with James have insisted that she’s not trying to parlay the AG’s office into a run for governor, but just trying to do her job. Being attorney general does put James in charge of the biggest investigations in the state. Oftentimes, women of color, especially Black women, are seen as being criticized by the media for being ambitious, and that’s a major concern within the diverse communities City & State covers. Henning Santiago’s story illustrates that ambition is a core aspect of New York politics, and the ambition of white male politicians is sometimes viewed in a more positive light. We recognize that James has her work cut out for her at the moment with this investigation. The future will tell if City & State’s wonderings were right.
CONTENTS FIRST READ … 4 The week that was
RISE OF THE AG … 8
Letitia James takes on the Cuomo allegations
BUDGET TALKS … 12
Will Cuomo’s scandals lead to progressive wins?
LAW POWER 100 … 18
RALPH R. ORTEGA; RON ADAR/SHUTTERSTOCK
The most politically influential legal professionals
SCHOOL FUNDING … 48 How federal support was gobbled up by the state TEACHER ATTRITION … 50 New York used federal aid to supplant school budgets, rather than supplement them.
The pandemic made teaching so much more difficult
WINNERS & LOSERS … 62 Who was up and who was down last week
