New York Capital Brief:

Greetings from Albany, NY  

In this edition, we provide an update on primary election results, committee chairs and leadership changes, Medicaid news, and other important announcements.

Primary Election Results- Updates 

We’re still keeping an eye out for official results on a few of the close primary challenges. Thus far, one more race has been called. Assemblymember William Magnarelli (D, AD-129) lost the primary election to Democratic Socialist of America candidate Maurice “Mo” Brown. Assemblyman Magnarelli was elected to the Syracuse Common Council in 1995 and officially took office as an Assemblymember in 1999.

Mo Brown was born in 1992 and became interested in politics in 2015 after learning about Bernie Sanders and his presidential campaign. He gained experience in grassroots organizing and currently serves as the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee of the Onondaga County Legislature, playing a key role in budget oversight and financial decision-making.

Leadership Changes on the Horizon 

The 2026 primary elections will result in several changes to committee leadership next session, following the defeat of incumbent committee chairs. Senator Jessica Ramos, Chair of the Senate Labor Committee, Assemblymember Erik Dilan, Chair of the Assembly Correction Committee, and Assemblymember William Magnarelli, Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, all lost their Democratic primaries.

Additionally, there are several members who did not run for re-election or ran for another position in the alternate house or for Congress, leaving their leadership positions and committee chair posts vacant. These vacancies will result in new members heading up these positions in the 2027-28 legislative session, which could influence the chamber’s priorities.

These include:

Assemblymembers (by district)

  • Jarett Gandolfo – Assistant Minority Leader Pro Tempore
  • David McDonough – Joint Conference Committee Chair
  • Stacey Pheffer Amato – Governmental Employees Committee Chair
  • Vivian Cook – Assistant Speaker
  • Jessica González- Rojas – Women’s Issues Committee Chair
  • Grace Lee – Asian Pacific American Task Force Co-Chair
  • Deborah Glick – Environmental Conservation Committee Chair
  • Nader Sayegh – Minority Steering Committee Chair
  • Ken Blankenbush – Deputy Minority Leader
  • Robert Smullen – Majority Conference Chair
  • Marienne Buttenschon – Small Businesses Committee Chair
  • William Barclay – Minority Leader
  • Donna Lupardo – Agriculture Committee Chair
  • Brian Manktelow – Minority Conference Secretary
  • Crystal Peoples-Stokes – Majority Leader
  • Angelo Morinello – Assistant Minority Leader
  • Jonathan Rivera – Administrative Regulations Review Committee Chair

Senators (by district)

  • Alexis Weik – Minority Conference Secretary
  • Michael Gianaris – Deputy Majority Leader
  • Brian Kavanagh – Housing, Construction, and Community Development Committee Chair

Potential Term Limits 

Under the current Senate rules, the Temporary President and committee chairs are subject to an eight-year consecutive service limit. If those rules remain unchanged and are adopted again, several leadership and committee chairs would be affected beginning with the 2027 legislative session.

These include Senators:

  • Andrea Stewart-Cousins – Temporary President / Majority Leader/ Rules Committee Chair
  • Joseph Addabbo – Racing, Gaming & Wagering Committee Chair
  • Liz Krueger – Finance Committee Chair
  • John Liu – New York City Education Committee Chair
  • Shelley Mayer – Education Committee Chair
  • Roxanne Persaud – Social Services Committee Chair
  • Gustavo Rivera – Health Committee Chair
  • James Skoufis – Investigations & Government Operations Committee Chair
  • Toby Ann Stavisky – Higher Education Committee Chair

When asked about potential leadership or committee changes, Stewart-Cousins stated, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Because these limits are contained in the Senate’s internal operations rules and rather than state law, they can be amended and adopted at the start of the 2027-28 legislative session. While the 2027-28 Senate rules will be adopted when they convene in early January, decisions regarding leadership positions and committee assignments would likely be discussed and negotiated privately by the democratic conference following the 2026 general election.

 

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