Some thoughts on Crain’s list of ‘Most Powerful Women’ in NY State

By Richard Lee

Crain’s New York Business published its list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in New York this week.

Letitia James

Attorney General Letitia James is tops on the list, one slot ahead of Gov. Kathy Hochul. Crain’s criteria for “powerful” helps explain why the state’s first female governor is No. 2 on the list.

“To compile the 2021 version of the list, Crain’s editors picked the women making the biggest waves in their respective fields,” the business news site wrote in its introduction to the list.

Radio: Infrastructure Week

It’s finally Infrastructure Week so songs about highways, trains and bridges comprised the content for Jandoli Institute Executive Director Richard Lee’s Nov. 11. radio show on WSBU-FM (88.3). Lee’s show streams live on Thursdays at 3 p.m. on the WSBU livestream site.

Deja Vu in New Jersey

By Richard Lee

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s narrow victory over Republican Jack Ciattarelli in Tuesday’s New Jersey governor’s election is reminiscent of Christie Whitman’s 1990 campaign for U.S. Senate.

At the time, Whitman, a Republican, was a county freeholder who was given little chance to unseat popular Democrat Bill Bradley. But voters were angry that Democrat Jim Florio and the Democratic legislature had enacted a massive tax increase. Florio wasn’t on the ballot, so Bradley felt the wrath of New Jersey voters and just barely defeated Whitman.