Politics on the Hudson

The Empire Center for New York State Policy did an analysis of the last six months of office spending by state lawmaker and found that Sen. Pedro Espada, D-Bronx, spent the most—$880,201 on his legislative office operations and staff.

They said that’s nearly $273,000 more than former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, Rensselaer County, spent during a comparable period in 2008.

Gannett’s Albany Bureau analyzed the same period, but looked at it over a full year as part of its Platinum Legislature series, which concluded Sunday. The analysis found that Senate Finance Committee chairman Carl Kruger, D-Brooklyn, spent the most—nearly $1.5 million—on his office from April 2009 through March 10.

You can check how much each lawmakers spent on their office over the past year, how much they’ve collected in per diems over the past 10 years, their total salary and their attendance record on Gannett’s database here.

The Empire Center’s data, meanwhile, showed that the Legislature spent nearly $114 million during the six-month period. The average per Senate Democrat was $419,745; it was $353,974 per Senate Republican member

The report found that Senate Democrats’ spending per member office increased by $25,986, a 7 percent increase over the average of $393,759 during the previous six months.

Senate Republicans’ spending increased by $33,747, an 11 percent increase from the $320,227 average six months ago.

In the Assembly, Assembly Health Committee Chairman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, spent the most on his office—$465,926. The Assembly’s next highest spenders were: Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn, $358,895; Catherine Nolan, D-Queens, $323,003; Robin Schimminger, D-Erie County, $320,223; and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, at $319,804.

In the Senate for the six month period, Kruger ranked second at $788,834; Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, $724,547; Jeffrey Klein, D-Bronx, $683,170; and Shirley Huntley, D-Queens, $538,979.

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