A map of New York City's State Senate districts.

It's Election Day in New York next Thursday! But instead of a titanic battle between ideologies--your Mitt Romneys vs. Barack Obamas, if you will--the options on the ballot will be little-noticed state legislative contests between candidates of the same party, often with few policy differences.

However, that doesn't mean that there aren't some exciting races happening. From "Who Gets Arrested for Raping a Grandmother?" to “Assemblywoman Caught Up in Sex Scandal with Two Young Men,” there's been no shortage of nasty drama and mud slinging as voters head to the polls.

Here's a breakdown of who's running and why it might matter who wins. The list below focuses on Democratic races because the few Republican primaries in this staunchly blue city tend to have clear favorites or are taking place in such Democratic territory that the victor is reasonably likely to be irrelevant.

So, without further ado...

Category #1: The End of the Rainbow

Four Republicans crossed the aisle to help pass gay marriage in New York last year, and three of them are running for re-election this year, Senators Mark Grisanti, Steve Saland and Roy McDonald, are all facing primary challengers that have come out on the opposite side of the marriage issue.

Advocates on both sides of the debate have invested heavily in these races, and regardless of the outcome, the results are sure to help set a national narrative about what happens to Republicans who support gay marriage. Can otherwise conservative lawmakers survive the backlash, or will their unorthodoxies topple their political careers? As state legislatures across this country consider passing gay marriage themselves, these three races could impact the discussion.

And with campaign literature like this, these races won't be short on fireworks.

Category #2: Indictment Excitement

There are a number of elected officials running for re-election with various criminal allegations hanging over their heads. If the more ethically challenged ones win and are eventually convicted of abusing their offices, the results of these races might send a depressing message about the state of the electorate. (They have all maintained their innocence.)

State Senator Shirley Huntley, who was arrested a couple weeks ago on charges that she used member items to line the pockets of her friends and family, is facing a very strong primary challenge from Councilman James Sanders. Even before Ms. Huntley's legal troubles, Mr. Sanders was mounting a credible primary challenge, as his base in Far Rockaway was drawn into her southeastern Queens district in this year's redistricting process. Mr. Sanders has also picked up support from a number of unions and the influential Rev. Floyd Flake, making this race seem like it's his to lose at this point.

Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. currently stands accused of one of the more hilarious acts of alleged official impropriety in recent memory -- taking bribes to pay for his legal bills he ran up in a separate bribery case. It's not clear if Mr. Boyland intends to fight the federal charges again or accept a plea deal, but the indictment--with wiretap evidence--seems pretty damning. Damning enough that he'd have a much harder re-election bid ahead of him if it weren't for the fact that he's facing eight (!) challengers who will split the anti-Boyland vote. With such a large field, it's difficult to get a clear read on this Brownsville and Ocean Hill-based district, but activist Tony Herbert and campaign operative Anthony Jones seems to be running some of the stronger non-Boyland campaigns.

Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera is being investigated by a small army of agencies on whether she may have illegally provided jobs to her boyfriends and used a nonprofit's funds for personal and political purposes. She faces a field of three opponents, but businessman Mark Gjonaj is running the most serious campaign of the bunch, with over $200,000 in his war chest and substantial investments in advertising and field operations. Ms. Rivera won't go down without a fight, however, and the Bronx Democratic establishment is pulling out all the stops to ensure she pulls out a victory. Will she be able to survive the barrage of bad headlines that have dogged her for the last few weeks and make it through Election Day?

Category #3: Rage Against the Machine

While Ms. Rivera's race features a classic establishment vs. insurgent dynamic, it's hardly the only one. Candidates across every borough except Staten Island are running against the folks who are currently in charge. Nowhere is this dynamic more pronounced than Brooklyn, where scandal-scarred Kings County Democratic boss Vito Lopez is still ostensibly in control and has yet to formally relinquish power. If anti-County candidates succeed, it will weaken the organizations' ability to convince mayoral contenders and other candidates they are still top dogs in this city.

District Leader Lincoln Restler is considered a rising star in Democratic politics, but before he can continue rising, he's going to have to win a tough reelection battle. Mr. Restler, a prominent critic of Mr. Lopez, would be cruising to reelection but for the fact his opponent, Chris Olechowski, is destined to receive the majority of the ballots in vote-heavy Hasidic Williamsburg. It seems like all the winds are blowing in Mr. Restler's favor, but given the bloc of votes against him, this will be a race that plenty of political observers will be following Thursday night.

Senator Martin Dilan may or may not be vulnerable, but given his close alliance with Mr. Lopez and the fact that his senate district overlaps with Mr. Lopez's assembly seat, his reelection race will serve as a test for the machine in Brooklyn's new political world. While Mr. Dilan would appear to have the edge, attorney Jason Otaño is mounting a vigorous campaign. If Mr. Otaño can make a strong showing, he could be a strong candidate in the future, at the very least.

Open Seat to replace outgoing Assemblywoman Grace Meng: A crowded field of candidates is vying to replace Ms. Meng--who left the her diverse seat based in Asian-majority Flushing to pursue a congressional campaign. The County's Democratic Party has backed Ron Kim, a former government aide and political operative, but his electoral prospects are far from clear. Ms. Meng has stayed out of the race and a number of other hopefuls, notably former City Council candidate Yen Chou, are in Mr. Kim's way. The other entrants in this unpredictable race are; Ethel Chen, Myungsuk Lee and Martha Flores-Vasquez.

Open seat to replace outgoing Assemblyman Rory Lancman: Mr. Lancman lost to Ms. Meng in her congressional race's Democratic primary and isn't pursuing reelection. His seat, like Ms. Meng's, is an Asian-majority district in northeastern Queens, but the field couldn't be more different as it features just two non-Asian candidates: community board chairman Jerry Iannece and former assembly chief of staff Nily Rozic. Queens Democrats are pushing hard for Mr. Iannece, and he would seem to be favored as a result. However, Ms. Rozic has picked up a number of notable endorsements, including The New York Times and various unions, creating a genuine horse race between the two.

State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, who's also running for reelection in a Queens district that has been reconfigured to be Asian-majority, shouldn't really be that vulnerable without any major blunders in office and a reliably Democratic voting record. However, she only won 45 percent of the vote  in 2010 against two challengers. With a district that now includes new areas, she's facing a rematch against one of her 2010 foes, John Messer. Mr. Messer, a businessman and attorney, has his placed his personal wealth in the campaign too, to the tune of $500,000. Ms. Stavisky, with close ties to her senate colleagues and Queens County, has been doing plenty of her own fundraising and running an aggressive campaign, however.

Open seat to replace outgoing Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries: Mr. Jeffries is on his way to become Brooklyn's next congressman and he's leaving a vacant Fort Greene and Clinton Hill-based district behind him. Three contenders are hoping to replace him; Walter Mosley, Ola Alabi and Martine Guerrier. Mr. Mosley has the support of Mr. Jeffries, who has a strong base in the district, but Ms. Alabi has been racking up endorsements and doesn't appear to be someone who can be easily counted out. Ms. Guerrier recently earned the endorsement of The Times and could potentially make an electoral mark of her own come Election Day.

Open seat: Pretty much everyone and their mother has endorsed community board chairman Brad Hoylman to replace retiring Senator Tom Duane in his Midtown-based district, but businessman Tommy Greco is hoping he can make a dent with the help of the storied McManus Club. It wold be a pretty surprising upset for Mr. Greco to pull off a victory, however.
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Category #4: Demographic Pressures

Like it or not, voting patterns often correspond with with ethnicity and political candidates often seek to take advantage of this fact. Some incumbents hold on year after year in districts that don't exactly look like them, while others have seen their districts change beneath their feet since they were first elected. Sometimes it all comes down to the political talents of the incumbents, while in other cases, there just might not be a path to victory anymore.

Assemblyman Steve Cymbrowitz is facing a challenge from Ben Akselrod in a race that could demonstrate electoral power of southeastern Brooklyn's Russian-speaking community. Mr. Akselrod, who started off with a strong campaign, stumbled a bit lately when he release a campaign mailer that referred to crime going up in the "negrohood," a mistake that generated local and national coverage. Whoever wins will be one of the more vulnerable Democratic candidates in the city, as the district's Russian and Orthodox Jews communities are increasingly trending conservative at the ballot box.

In a race that will test demographic realities to their very limit, veteran Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs is hoping she can be successfully reelected again in a district that is only 15% white. She is facing a serious challenge from District Leader Rodneyse Bichotte, who is of Caribbean descent. Ms. Jacobs, a high-ranking member of the State Assembly, is hoping for high turnout in the district's observant Jewish community.

Assemblyman Mike Miller is running for reelection in a district that contains Woodhaven and is plurality Latino. He faces off against Etienne David Adorno, who seems to be mounting a spirited campaign. If Mr. Miller's fundraising were just a tad stronger, this might not be a race to watch, but his campaign war chest is fairly weak for an incumbent.
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Category #5: Odds & Ends

There are some races to keep your thumb on that might not fit into an overarching narrative, but could still be well-worth watching for various reasons. More details below.

State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who narrowly lost a campaign against veteran Rep. Charlie Rangel earlier this year, is now running for reelection and facing a Rangel-backed challenger in Guillermo Linares. Mr. Linares, who's been endorsed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and The New York Times, hasn't been holding his own in fundraising, but Mr. Espaillat has been spending lots of money and would appear to have the edge in this Washington Heights and West Side-based district. Mr. Espaillat is a leading contender for Mr. Rangel's seat in 2014, but his political career could be nipped in the bud if Mr. Linares is able to pull off an upset.

Open seat: With Mr. Linares' challenge to Mr. Espaillat, there's a new vacant Assembly district on the northern tip of Manhattan, and several contenders, including Mr. Linares' daughter Mayra Linares, are hoping to replace him. The other candidates include Assembly aide Gabriela Rosa and former candidate Ruben Vargas. Ms. Rosa, who is backed by Mr. Espaillat, and Ms. Linares, who is obviously being supported by her father, would appear to be the frontrunners. How much Mr. Espaillat and Mr. Linares can impact this race is unknown, however, as both may be focused on their own rivalry.

Councilman Charles Barron has made headlines in recent years with provocative campaigns for governor and congress, both of which he lost badly. However, Mr. Barron is not ready to exit stage right just yet. Insiders believe Mr, Barron and his wife, Assemblywoman Inez Barron, may intend to switch offices  and keep their respective seats in the family when he is term-limited in 2013. First, Ms. Barron will have to succeed in her own re-election bid against Chris Banks.

Moshe and Avraham Tischler, brothers who are 20 and 21 years old respectively, are challenging incumbent Assemblyman Dov Hikind and frontrunner State Senate candidate Simcha Felder for two overlapping Brooklyn seats. While neither is especially likely to win, should they post strong showings, it could be taken as a sign of weakness for the two establishment pols they're opposing, as well as the Orthodox Jewish political establishment at-large. Mr. Hikind doesn't have a GOP opponent but Mr. Felder is running against incumbent Republican Senator David Storobin, and he'll need Democrats on his side in the general election.

Assemblywoman Barbara Clark's ethical issues aren't quite enough to land her in the "Indictment Excitement" category, but attorney Clyde Vanel is running an active campaign and is hoping that voter dissatisfaction could lead to an upset in her eastern Queens district.
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Veteran Assemblyman Nick Perry shouldn't necessarily be vulnerable, but his opponent, attorney and community board chairman Terry Hinds, has a relatively strong profile.
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Well, there you have it. For those who really want to get into the weeds, there are also a number of competitive court races across the city. Otherwise, this list should be more than enough to keep you busy on Election Day. Politicker, of course, will be up late into the night following the results.

(Photo: Hoylman campaign)

Brad Holyman, a community board chair and candidate for retiring Manhattan State Senator Tom Duane's seat this year, has not only received the backing of Mr. Duane, but today announced the support of multiple influential council members inside and outside of the district: Christine Quinn, Dan Garodnick, Margaret Chin, Rosie Mendez, Jessica Lappin, Danny Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer.

“Brad is the kind of progressive reformer our City needs in Albany,” Ms. Quinn declared in a statement released this morning. “He has a proven record on the issues that matter most to this City and is a true fighter on the issues that matter most to New Yorkers.”

A number of the council members endorsing Mr. Hoylman today are, like him, openly gay, which the two councilmen from Queens in the list highlighted with their own statements, calling him "a fighter on issues of importance to LGBT New Yorkers," for example.

Mr. Hoylman potentially faces multiple challenges in the Democratic primary this year, but the most notable one seems to be Tommy Greco, the owner of The Ritz bar in Hells Kitchen and a plugged-in member of local Democratic circles. But it seems that almost all of the elected officials in the district are circling their wagons around Mr. Hoylman's candidacy.

Tom Duane (Photo: Wikimedia)

Developments have continued to roll in for the race to replace retiring State Senator Tom Duane this week.

First, Corey Johnson, a Manhattan community board chair who was previously considering campaigning for the seat, announced that will forgo a campaign and instead endorse the establishment favorite Brad Hoylman, the chair of a neighboring community board.

"I'm proud to join the growing list of community leaders and elected officials who are endorsing Brad's candidacy for State Senate," Mr. Johnson said in a statement this afternoon. "Tom Duane leaves big shoes to fill -- he has served our neighborhoods on the West Side for over 20 years. Tom been an exemplary leader in fighting on behalf of tenants, for more affordable health care and making marriage equality the law of the land in New York."

"Brad has been a colleague as Chair of Community Board 2 with a sterling record of service on behalf of the neighborhoods he's represented," he continued. "I'm proud to support his campaign. He will be an leading voice of reform in Albany and an outstanding State Senator."

Additionally, several knowledgeable politicos in the district have said the owner of The Ritz bar in Hells Kitchen, Tommy Greco, is planning a campaign for the seat himself. Mr. Greco, the fundraising chair for the influential Jim Owles club and the executive vice president of the McManus Midtown Democratic Club, likely would be able to raise a solid amount of money for his electoral efforts.

If he pulls the trigger on a campaign, he might join Martha Speranza, who just filed a campaign committee for the seat today. The district number on the registration was Mr. Duane's old district, which was renumbered under redistricting, but as her address is listed smack in the middle of Mr. Duane's district, she may very well be a candidate for this seat. More details on Ms. Speranza's potential candidacy were not immediately available.

A fourth candidate, Tanika Inlaw, is also apparently in the race.

Update: Andrew Moesel, a spokesman for Mr. Greco's campaign, confirmed that they're taking off the ground.

"We are certaily planning on running, we are collecting petitions and attending local political club meetings," he explained. "We want to give people a real choice here. We think democracy should never be a coronation and he's making sure that it's not. Too often the insiders are controlling things."

*This post was updated with additional information on Ms. Speranza's filing. 

Brad Hoylman (Photo: Facebook)

It's no surprise, but Brad Hoylman, the Chairperson of Community Board 2 in Greenwich Village, is formally a candidate for the State Senate district that Tom Duane is vacating this year.

"It’s official: I am running to be the next state senator," Mr. Hoylman wrote in an email to supporters today.

"Tom will truly be a hard act to follow, but I'm confident that I have the qualifications, experience and drive necessary to continue his tradition of progressive, activist representation," he continued. "I am pleased to report that others agree. In the past week, I have received the support of dozens of elected officials and community leaders from across the district."

With petitioning to get onto the ballot having already begun, there's not a lot of time for other contenders to leap in.

A lesser-known candidate, Tanika Inlaw, has announced, but with Mr. Duane all-but--assured to endorse him, Mr. Hoylman definitively starts out as the frontrunner in the race.

Read Mr. Holyman's full email below:

Dear Friend:

In the week since Tom Duane announced that he is not running for re-election this year, I have received overwhelming encouragement to run for his State Senate seat. As Tom will leave big shoes to fill, I have given this incredible opportunity deep consideration and have made my decision.

It’s official: I am running to be the next state senator to represent Greenwich Village, Chelsea and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen, as well as parts of SoHo, NoHo, the Upper West Side, Midtown, the East Village, Alphabet City, and East Side neighborhoods including Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, Waterside Plaza and Phipps Plaza.

Tom will truly be a hard act to follow, but I'm confident that I have the qualifications, experience and drive necessary to continue his tradition of progressive, activist representation. I am pleased to report that others agree. In the past week, I have received the support of dozens of elected officials and community leaders from across the district.

Nothing would make me prouder than to continue Tom’s legacy of being a champion for our community and for those who normally don’t have a voice in the halls of government. I hope I can count on your support in my quest.

While you’ll be hearing a lot more about my candidacy in the coming months, here are three things you should know about me:

I have strong local roots and a history of public service.
I have been a Democratic grassroots activist in Manhattan for more than twenty years. I am currently the Chair of Manhattan Community Board 2 covering Greenwich Village, SoHo, NoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown -- a position to which I have been unanimously elected three times. I am a Trustee of the Community Services Society of New York, the city’s leading anti-poverty organization, and am a former board member of the Empire State Pride Agenda, Tenants & Neighbors, Class Size Matters and Citizen Action. I’m a parent, too, and live in the Village with my longtime partner David and our 18-month-old daughter Silvia.

I have a proven record of progressive results.
As Chair of CB2 and a Democratic District Leader, I have helped secure two new public schools; won concessions from developers to scale back and mitigate inappropriate proposals; advanced landmarking and rezoning efforts that preserved historic buildings and neighborhoods; created an innovative legal defense fund for rent stabilized tenants; and brokered a deal that allowed for the long-stalled renovation of Washington Square Park.

I will be a reformer in Albany.
I will bring to Albany the same reform-minded approach that I have demonstrated in our community. Some of my top priorities are reforming campaign finance laws to provide public financing and spending limits; fighting for New York City’s fair share of education dollars and increasing parental involvement in school governance decisions; strengthening laws to protect rent regulated tenants; providing greater services to seniors; making the state tax system more progressive and eliminating real estate development loopholes; winning passage of the Gender Equality Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) so that our civil rights law finally protects transgender New Yorkers; providing greater support for homeless youth; and keeping transit fares low while improving maintenance and operations on the subways.

I promise you that if I am elected, I will serve the neighborhoods of the 27th State Senate District with the same passion for sound, progressive policies and community self-determination that were hallmarks of Senator Tom Duane’s tenure.

In order to do so, however, I need your help. I need to collect a minimum of 1,000 signatures on my nominating petitions from registered Democrats in the 27th State Senate District in the next four weeks to qualify to be on the ballot.

Please email hoylmanforsenate@gmail.com to volunteer your time or to make a financial pledge to help see me through to victory.

Look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail!

Sincerely,

Brad Hoylman

Brad Hoylman (Photo: Facebook)

It look likes retiring State Senator Tom Duane's pick to replace him is definitely getting into the race. Brad Hoylman, the Chairperson of Community Board 2 in Manhattan, has formally registered a campaign committee for the seat.

"One of my closest friends is Brad Hoylman and I've made no secret at all of my fondness for him," Mr. Duane said in an interview on Capital Tonight yesterday. "I haven't officially made an endorsement but I would be very proud to have Brad Hoylman represent me in the district that I have been representing and I think he would share my values and fight as hard as I have been fighting."

The move hardly comes as a surprise, Mr. Hoylman was already fully expected to run, but the fast developments are tribute to the fact that petitioning to get onto the ballot begins today and candidates for the the State Legislature have to push the gas pedal on their campaigns -- even if they haven't officially begun campaigning yet.

There is also a very limited time for other candidates to enter the race for that very reason. Various contenders for the seat have been mentioned in political circles -- including Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh -- but only one candidate, Corey Johnson, who chairs a neighboring community board, has openly declared that he is considering the race.

Like Mr. Hoylman, Mr. Johnson had previously been preparing to run for Council Speaker Christine Quinn's seat in 2013.

"In the less-than-24 hours since this news broke, a number of people have inquired about my potential interest in this seat. As many of you know, I have been preparing for a campaign for the City Council seat currently held by Speaker Quinn," he said in a statement yesterday. "I will be weighing this decision very carefully in the coming days, and will make an announcement in due course."

Regardless, other candidates will need to be making their announcements in a hurry, as otherwise they'll be sacrificing precious time to get enough signatures to place their names on the ballot.

Senator Tom Duane (Photo: TomDuane.com)

Movie star Mark Ruffalo isn't State Senator Thomas Duane's type.

The Observer overheard Senator Duane explaining why Mr. Ruffalo isn't on his celebrity crush list outside today's hydrofracking hearing at BMCC where both men spoke against the controversial natural gas drilling procedure. 

The Senator gave his assessment of Mr. Ruffalo while talking to a group of people in a courtyard outside the hearing. Senator Duane, who is the only openly gay member of the New York State Senate, said he's not attracted to Mr. Ruffalo because the actor bats for the other team.

"I like him as a person, but no," Senator Duane

"Not your type?" a woman in the group asked.

"He's not gay," Senator Duane answered. "I've developed very good gay-dar, very good bi-dar over the years. He's not gay."

Senator Duane's assessment of Mr. Ruffalo's sexuality seems to be correct. Mr. Ruffalo has been married to actress Sunrise Coigney since 2000.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer wants Verizon to return $800,000 he said may have been obtained illegally. (photo credit: azi paybarah / observer)

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer sent a letter to Verizon urging them to repay New York City $800,000 in response to findings from a city investigator who said the major telecom company benefited from the illegal activity of one of their subordinates.

In his August 30th letter to Jim Gerace, president of of the New York Region for Verizon, Stringer said $800,000 was the "minimum" amount the company should repay, based on a report from Richard Condon, the special commissioner of investigations for New York City public schools.

"If you got the money by ill-gotten gains, then you have to return it," Stringer said this morning, at a press conference outside One Centre Street. Stringer said the company agreed earlier to return the money but "they just haven't sent the check."

A message left with the company was not immediately returned. Also appearing with Stringer this morning were State Senator Tom Duane, City Council members Jessica Lappin, Ydanis Rodriguez, Elizabeth Crowley, Jumaane Williams and, belatedly, James Sanders.

Earlier this week Upper West Side Sen. Tom Duane, the only openly LGBT member of the State Senate, told supporters that he was taking his name off as co-host of a fundraiser for  David Weprin in wake of comments the Assemblyman gave to an Orthodox Jewish news site in which he alleged that the State Senate vote to legalize same-sex marriage should be investigated due to procedural irregularities and "coercion."

The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic club, an LGBT political club, followed suit and others are said to be considering doing the same.

"It is astounding that someone could try to walk that kind of line on something like that," said Allen Roskoff, head of the club. "If he has to be made an example of, so be it."

Reached by phone today however, Duane reversed course and said that he was putting his name back on the fundraising invitation.

"We all make mistakes, and we all say things we wish we hadn't," Duane said. "I am cutting him some slack."

Duane said that no one lobbied him to come back to the Weprin fold.

"I just thought it over," he said.

The fundraiser came about because Weprin, the Democratic candidate for the Congressional seat vacated by Anthony Weiner, appeared last month before a meeting of the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, another LGBT political club, and lamented that "everybody is after me," for his vote on marriage equality, according to one person present.

In response, LID endorsed the Assemblyman in his bid against Republican Bob Turner, and some members tried to organize a fundraiser.

Joe Hagelmann, the head of the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York, said that his club was still supporting Weprin and agreed with Duane that one stray comment should not undo Weprin's record.

"As far as I know, David is a pretty good guy," he said.  "He voted the right way on our issues both in the Council and in the Assembly, so it's a little shocking to see things in the blogs that are contrary to what we believe [about Weprin.]"

"The governor invited me to come today," explained Queens State Senator Shirley Huntley, on the sidewalk outside the Dream Hotel on West 16th Street. "I’ve known the governor a very long time. And he wanted me to be here, so I figured that I would."

Huntley was one of four state senators who made it to the party, along with fellow Democrat Tom Duane, and two Republicans, James Alesi of Rochester and Stephen Saland of the Hudson Valley. All but Duane voted against the bill back in 2009.

Along with the governor's prodding, Huntley said she also came to see an old friend -- the governor's father, Mario -- who attended P.S. 50 in her district, and used to visit Shimer Junior High and sing the school song with her, back when she was involved with the P.T.A.

There were a few other longtime loyalists in attendance, including Drew Zambelli, who served as Mario's last secretary to the governor, and Steve Cohen, who held the post for Andrew before announcing his resignation last week (and had previously interned in Mario's administration).

The event was closed to the press, but Council Speaker Christine Quinn took a couple of quick questions on the sidewalk before the event, and described what it was like seeing the first gay couple get married in Manhattan this morning.

"It sent a chill up my spine," she said.

Reporters began assembling shortly before noon -- the time listed on the governor's public schedule -- only to find out around 1 p.m. that he had arrived through a different entrance. Shortly thereafter, Cuomo held a brief press conference in the lobby, joined by Lieutenant Governor Bob Duffy.

Cuomo said it was a "historic day," even though he didn't personally know any couples getting married in the city on Sunday.

"This is a statement we should all feel good about," he said, citing New York's place as a leader in advancing equality. As for other states, Cuomo did not sound as if he will be barnstorming on behalf of the national cause.

"Anywhere we can be helpful, we will," he said. "Bob and I have enough to do in this state that we don’t need to be running around the country right now. But any way we can help people learn from this experience would be our pleasure."

Asked whether he will support the Republican senators who voted for marriage equality, at the possible expense of a Democratic State Senate, Cuomo said he thought the vote itself would help them.

“What I’ve said is I believe the legislators who voted for marriage equality, this is actually going to be an asset to them in their campaign; I believe that," he said. "Yes, there’s opposition, but by the way, there’s opposition to everything. The majority of the people in this state support it. It’s a vote of principle. It’s a vote of courage. And I think that’s what people look for in their politicians, is courage, authenticity, and principle. And this vote shows that.

"So I think it’s going to be good news for them in their campaign. And I told them I’m willing to stand up and say that.”

After four questions, Cuomo disappeared back to the party, and, a short while later, Alesi strolled through the lobby, eating a bagel. He said he didn't know whether the governor would support him in 2012, but wasn't particularly concerned about Cuomo campaigning against him.

“I’m not worried about the governor as an adversary at this point," Alesi said . "I look at him as a partner -- a work partner -- and politics will take care of itself down the road.”

Alesi has had a strained relationship with both the Republican and Conservative parties in his home district, for a variety of reasons predating his marriage vote, but cautioned Republicans against trying to oust him in a primary.

"I don’t think this is the make or break issue here," said Alesi. "I think it’s important to understand for someone like me, if I were the loser in a primary, I don’t know of anybody else in my district that is going to hold this seat. I hold this seat because I represent the district well...So a loss in a primary for me, I think, would be disastrous for the Republican majority."

Alesi flew in from Rochester on Sunday morning, and, since he missed mass at his own parish, said he'd attend Saint Patrick's to make up for it.

His fellow Republican, Stephen Saland, came down from the Hudson Valley, and was joined by his wife, Linda, who had lobbied him to support the measure.

"We’re married 46 years and I’ve never been as proud of him -- to do what he felt he needed to for equality," she said.

The two wore big smiles, even as they explained how they had canceled on a same-sex ceremony in their home district.

“When the governor’s office called the second time, we called with our apologies to the couple getting married, explained to them that the governor had invited us -- not once but twice,” Saland said.

Mrs. Saland said she was hoping for some more invites to same-sex ceremonies in the future; Huntley said she was still waiting for her first.

"I just congratulated everyone," Huntley said of her remarks. "And I expect to be invited to some weddings."

Writes the  San Diego Gay and Lesbian News website:

Two New York senators who played key political roles in passing their state’s marriage equality law on June 24 will be participating this weekend in San Diego LGBT Pride events...

As the first and only openly gay member of the Senate, who has also disclosed that he is HIV-positive, Duane introduced New York’s marriage equality bill, which he says “eliminates one of the last remaining hurdles to full LGBT equality in New York State.” Since first elected to the Senate in 1998, Duane has been a staunch and vocal supporter for LGBT civil rights, sexual abuse survivors and the HIV/AIDS community...

Savino, a heterosexual who came to the Senate in 2004, was among the marriage equality bill’s strongest supporters. For the past two years, she has called on her fellow senators to “make history” in poignant assembly arguments favoring the bill. During the effort, she publicly stated: “We have nothing to fear from love and commitment.”

Savino, who represents Staten Island and Brooklyn, and Duane, from the west side of Manhattan, are not the only legislators who helped pass gay marriage who are receiving a measure of fame. Poughkeepsie Senator Stephen Saland was recently profiled by Time Magazine. And Savino's 2009 speech in favor of the bill went viral and led to a degree of Internet celebrity for the lawmaker, even leading Jezebel to tout Savino for President 2016