Celebrating a year of Capitol Confidential with Dan Clark

In a period of significant tumult, here’s something to celebrate: Today, February 12, marks the one-year anniversary of this very newsletter. For the past year, our five-days-a-week deep dive into the inner workings of New York government and politics has kept you informed, and we’re thrilled to mark this milestone with you.

To restate the case I made when this newsletter first appeared: If your interest in what happens in and around the seat of state government is well-served by the excellent Capitol Bureau coverage that appears in the Times Union in print and online — the work of one of the most populous statehouse reporting teams in the building — we’re perfectly happy to hear it, and we’ll keep it coming.

But for those with a professional or similarly specialized interest in the realms of lobbying, legislation and advocacy as well as the personalities that power them, CapCon has proven to be an illuminating resource and a flat-out good read.

This is in no small part due to Dan’s encyclopedic knowledge of the subject — gleaned from his decade-plus of experience covering the statehouse for “Capitol Tonight,” PolitiFact, the New York Law Journal and his COVID-era work as the host and managing producer of WMHT’s “New York Now” — as well as his engaging writing voice, which avoids snark in favor of leading the reader through the day’s action with clarity and wit. Working in league with Brendan Lyons, our Capitol Bureau chief and managing editor for investigations, Dan manages to produce a daily product that never fails to inform.

So what’s ahead for CapCon as it enters its second year? A lot more granular coverage of how the Trump administration will be remaking (if that’s the proper verb) the relationship between the federal government and the states, especially blue ones like New York. To help make sense of it all, we’ll be offering new and expanded tools such as our bill tracker and features that will digest and recap what transpires in the chambers and corridors of power distant from the state Senate and Assembly.

In addition, Dan also will be presenting new ways for readers to tap his expertise with questions and feedback, both within the newsletter and off-platform in podcasts, live events and more. (As a former statehouse editor and confirmed political junkie, I hope to tag along.)

While CapCon draws on the talents of the rest of the Capitol Bureau — and makes their work free to the newsletter’s subscribers — CapCon is a separate product from the Times Union, with a cost that currently totes up to roughly 38 cents per newsletter for those on our annual plan. If politics is your passion — or your vocation — I think you’d agree that price is a steal.

If you’re not currently a subscriber and want to take this great journalism for a ride, click here for a 14-day free trial.