Alex Gault
alexbgault.bsky.social
Alex Gault
@alexbgault.bsky.social
Albany reporter for the Watertown Daily Times and Johnson Newspapers
If you haven’t been keeping up: there will be no special election for #NY21 this year. Trump asked Rep. Elise Stefanik to stay in her seat in light of a tight GOP majority.
www.nny360.com/news/stlawre...
Trump asks Stefanik to stay in Congress; White House pulls her U.N. nomination
Rep. Elise M. Stefanik will not be the next ambassador to the United Nations after President Donald J. Trump said Thursday that he asked her to remain in Congress.
www.nny360.com
March 28, 2025 at 2:36 AM
The association that represents NY county sheriffs thinks local jails should be allowed to hire the 2k state corrections officers who were fired this week for not returning to work after a 3-week strike.
The Gov. blocked them from any NY gov job Monday.
www.nny360.com/news/jeffers...
Sheriffs want to hire COs fired from state prisons after strike
The organization representing New York state’s county sheriffs is hoping Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul will relax her wholesale ban on any state or local government from hiring any of the
www.nny360.com
March 15, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Maybe you’ve heard about a plan in Albany to move the states special election schedule around, a plan that could’ve left #NY21 open for months?
That seems to have been abandoned, at least for now.
My latest:

www.nny360.com/top_stories/...
Albany abandons plan to change special elections timeline, for now
Albany lawmakers at least temporarily abandoned their attempt to change New York’s special election timeline on Monday — and sources familiar with discussions say it’s all to do with congestion
www.nny360.com
February 10, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Blake Gendebien was announced as the #NY21 special election Dem nominee on Tuesday. Within minutes, the GOP had trotted out a 12-year-old interview he gave where he had some critical things to say about local workers, CO’s, and kids.
I got his side of things here:
www.nny360.com/news/stlawre...
Republicans criticize NY-21 candidate Gendebien’s comments from 2013
Republicans are blasting the newly-announced Democratic nominee for NY-21, Blake Gendebien, over statements he made in an interview in 2013 speaking poorly of local schoolkids, local farm laborers and...
www.nny360.com
February 6, 2025 at 1:43 PM
The Democrats and Republicans in the north country are working to find their nominees for the looming special election in #NY21, but there’s a schism in the Republican Party over who the nominee should be, and where they should come from.
www.nny360.com/news/stlawre...
Republicans not aligned on NY-21 nominee yet, Democrats considering four names
The Republican and Democratic committees are still considering their candidates for the planned special election in New York’s 21st Congressional District, but both parties have a set of apparent fron...
www.nny360.com
January 22, 2025 at 10:06 PM
NY Gov Kathy Hochul laid out at $252 billion spending plan in Albany on Tuesday - including tax cuts, stimulus checks and an incremental change to the state's school funding formula.

www.nny360.com/communitynew...
Hochul lays out $252 billion spending plan with incremental school funding changes, billions of state dollars back to taxpayers
Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul laid out a $252 billion spending plan for the state’s next fiscal year — proposing cuts to taxes on the middle class, broad affordability-focused programs meant
www.nny360.com
January 22, 2025 at 1:49 AM
There's trouble brewing between the U.S. and its northern neighbor, as Trump threatens tariffs and the Canadians plan countermoves that could strain the close economic partnership the two countries have shared for a half-century.
www.nny360.com/communitynew...
Canada and U.S. brace for trade war
“I don’t think there’s been a crisis like this since the War of 1818”
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January 18, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Governor Kathy Hochul laid out her broad agenda for 2025 yesterday - here's the topline.

www.nny360.com/communitynew...
Hochul keeps focus on affordability with State of the State address, calls for tax cuts on middle-income earners
Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul outlined a broad plan to make New York more affordable, safer and future-focused in her State of the State address in Albany on Tuesday.
www.nny360.com
January 15, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Inbox: Kirsten Gillibrand will be the next chair of the DSCC, in charge of running the national campaign for Senate Democrats and getting the majority back in ‘26.
January 6, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Billy Jones, the north country’s only elected Democrat in the legislature, announced today he doesn’t want to leave Albany yet and won’t be seeking the Dem. nomination for the #NY21 special election.

www.nny360.com/top_stories/...
Jones says no to Congress; North country Democrat says he doesn’t want party nod in NY-21 special election
Assemblyman D. Billy Jones, D-Chateaugay, will not seek the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 21st District special election that is expected soon. On Friday, Jones said he enjoys his
www.nny360.com
January 3, 2025 at 8:50 PM
The ongoing Canada Post strike means delays and expensive private couriers for many Canadians - but many living near the US border are using U.S.-based parcel services to get their mail and packages instead.
www.nny360.com/communitynew...
Four-week Canada Post strike means more business for north country parcel services
More than 55,000 Canada Post workers have been striking for about four weeks, leading to a near-total freeze of mail and packages — but in the north country that means
www.nny360.com
December 12, 2024 at 3:53 AM
North Country/CNY state Senator Mark Walczyk is home after an 11-month deployment to Kuwait with the U.S. Army Reserves.
He made the announcement on Twitter earlier today.
December 3, 2024 at 10:57 PM
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and two other New Yorkers picked for Trump's incoming admin were targeted in a wave of bomb threats and "swattings" yesterday.
Reports of who was targeted are still coming in, but it appears all the threats were unfounded.
www.nny360.com/top_stories/...
Bomb threat leveled at Stefanik’s home, two other N.Y. Trump admin picks threatened
Congresswoman Elise M. Stefanik was targeted by a bomb threat on Wednesday morning, a part of a wider swath of incidents targeting people President-Elect Donald J. Trump has picked for
www.nny360.com
November 28, 2024 at 5:48 PM
Story by me
One in five kids in New York live in poverty, with half in extreme “deep poverty,” one of the highest rates in the U.S., and officials hope to cut that number in half by 2031. A state council dedicated to that task issued its first draft of policy proposals on Tuesday

www.nny360.com/top_stories/...
$8.97 billion plan aims to cut New York's rate of child poverty by more than half
One in five kids in New York live in poverty, with half in extreme “deep poverty,” one of the highest rates in the U.S., and officials hope to cut that
www.nny360.com
November 22, 2024 at 8:53 PM
Yesterday I met Anthony Constantino, one of the people vying for the Republican nomination for the upcoming special election in NY-21.

www.nny360.com/top_stories/...
Anthony Constantino, running for Congress in NY-21 special election, puts Trump as the topline in his campaign
A special election still hasn’t been formally called for New York’s 21st Congressional District, but that isn’t stopping Amsterdam businessman Anthony T. Constantino from starting his campaign for the...
www.nny360.com
November 22, 2024 at 2:17 PM
Why are the only posts I see on Bluesky about Bluesky itself?
November 22, 2024 at 4:56 AM
Congress still has two major pieces of legislation to consider before the end of the year: the National Defense Authorization Act and the Farm Bill.
But Sen. Gillibrand said only one is likely to get passed this year - the NDAA.

www.nny360.com/news/fortdru...
Gillibrand says Congress unlikely to pass Farm Bill this year, NDAA vote coming in December
Congress has two important pieces of legislation left to complete before the session ends at the end of the year — the Farm Bill and the National Defense Authorization Act,
www.nny360.com
November 22, 2024 at 1:32 AM
Northern NYers are going to have a do-over election for their Congressional Representative early next year. What does a “special election” actually mean? Let me tell you! 🔗 www.nny360.com/news/stlawre...
Special election ahead for New York’s 21st Congressional District: What does that mean?
There will be a special election in northern New York early next year, when voters will select someone to represent the 21st Congressional District in the House, as the current
www.nny360.com
November 13, 2024 at 8:05 PM