Honorees responding to this year’s “Best in Government Affairs New York” survey identified shifts they believe are not getting enough attention yet—but will matter much more over the next 12–24 months.
Concern about the new class of legislators expected in 2027 was a recurring theme among honorees—a familiar theme in an election year. But their responses pointed to more than a change in priorities. The incoming Legislature will face shifts in where political influence is growing and how technology is being used to shape policy—changes that will affect lawmakers, government affairs professionals, advocates, and policy outcomes.
An executive-level honoree noted that “the true impact of the retirement of longtime leaders and the trend to elect younger, more idealistic lawmakers…will certainly impact the legislation they introduce and their desire to work with government affairs professionals representing various sectors” would be significant in the next year or two.
Or as Jack O’Donnell, Managing Partner of O’Donnell & Associates, called it, “the changing of the guard in the New York State Legislature.”
While new legislators bringing new ideas to the table is expected and, at times, even the point voters are making, Darci Lindgren, Legislative Director at the New York State Assembly, offers another perspective: What’s considered acceptable policy is changing.
“…the next phase of government affairs will require more attention to implementation; not just what we want government to do, but whether the infrastructure exists to actually deliver it. The most effective policy is ultimately policy that works for the person who has to navigate the system, not just the person who wrote the bill. Some of the biggest challenges are happening because the underlying systems (our courts, guardianship system, legal services network and other institutions that people rely on when they are at their most vulnerable) are increasingly being asked to do more with limited capacity.”
Lindgren’s focus on implementation connects directly to a broader pattern within the survey responses: as the legislative branch adapts to a rapid shift in institutional memory, the substance of policy is increasingly shaped before formal proposals emerge, while local governments, state agencies, and public channels change where everyday influence is exercised. Technology adds to this pressure, offering tools to manage limited time and resources while introducing entirely new operational risks.
Hunter Petro, Chief of Staff of Carlucci Consulting, says: “The action is moving to the counties and the municipalities. I have spent this year on local ordinances, county health orders, and town resolutions that regulate products and projects far faster than Albany ever could, and firms that only watch the Capitol are going to miss where their clients’ risk actually lives.” This highlights the immediate practical reality of Lindgren’s points regarding existing delivery infrastructure.
Advocacy organizations and grassroots initiatives have long worked to inform local governments with impact data, timeline recommendations, and evidence of outcomes—even when legislation supports their causes. That continued effort points to gaps between policy intent and implementation. Social media now gives these organizations access to a broader, more immediate public stage. Its influence is growing, with some issues sparking viral conversations and action beyond the platforms themselves.
Several honorees described how advocacy—particularly grassroots and coalition-based work—is playing a larger role in shaping New York’s policy priorities.
Ashley Stuart, Vice President of Government Affairs, New York Health Plan Association, said: “I think the shift back to grassroots isn’t getting enough attention; in a world where the globe is at our fingertips through social media and the constant barrage of news, all politics is still local and that in-person, at-home engagement really matters.”
Laura Ladopoulos, Advisor at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, said, “I think one of the biggest shifts that is not getting enough attention is the growing complexity of the advocacy environment, particularly how much is happening outside the formal legislative process. The budget will always be central, and the Legislature will continue to play a critical role in policymaking, but more issues are also being shaped through agencies, commissions, procurement rules, regulatory proceedings, the media environment, and public-facing campaigns.
“As government affairs professionals, we cannot just track legislation; we have to understand the broader ecosystem — where decisions are actually being made, who is influencing them, and how the pieces fit together — so we can help our clients respond before an issue has fully taken shape.”
Ladopoulos continued: “Over the next 12 to 24 months, I think the most effective professionals will be those who can bridge legislative, regulatory, political, and communications strategy.”
Jerry Hyppolite, Chief of Staff & Head of Government Affairs for Housing Solutions of New York, added: “The shift toward hyperlocal, coalition-driven advocacy isn’t getting enough attention. Over the next 12–24 months, organizations that can connect community voices, nonprofits, business leaders, and government around shared priorities will have greater influence. Relationships will remain important, but the ability to demonstrate broad, local impact will increasingly shape policy and funding decisions.”
Technology Changes How Policy Is Drafted and Contested
As the ecosystem grows more decentralized, technology is simultaneously altering internal legislative workflows and external public engagement:
Artificial Intelligence: Caiti Anderson, Senior Associate at Harter Secrest & Emery, warned that AI-assisted bill drafting could add work for central staff and slow bill introductions if legislation cites nonexistent or inaccurately stated statutes: “Although AI can be an effective tool in tracking and analyzing legislation, I am concerned that its use in bill drafting will lead to bills referencing statutes that don’t exist, or do not exist as written. This will require more work from the central staff bill drafting teams in both houses, which may lead to longer nights and slower bill introductions.”
Social Media Strategy: Strategic Communicator Geoff Redick addressed the speed gaps created when digital strategy lags behind public momentum in his response — “The guerrilla nature of what I’ll call ‘counter-communications’ — achieved nowadays with a cell phone and almost no budget — is not a new phenomenon in our society (see: Thomas Paine). Yet the speed with which it can spiral out of one’s control is still not being effectively addressed in advance communications work. Even as clients and industries are beaten to the punch by independent social media creators and the ‘hive mind,’, they are still reluctant or, at best, slow to engage with these channels.”
Redick continued: “There’s still a place for traditional communication tactics, and yes, a legal requirement for certain public presentations, but it is increasingly mandatory that a behind-the-scenes team identify and engage with today’s new trusted voices, long before a project or proposal is made public.”
The Broader Legislative Ecosystem
These distinct pressures converge to accelerate a shift away from traditional, calendar-bound tracking models. As a New York government relations firm executive explains, the structural core of policymaking is operating in highly varied venues:
“The center of gravity in New York has been and is continuing to move away from the legislative calendar and most of the industry is still behind that reality. Look at where consequential decisions are actually being made now. First and foremost, the Executive Budget, then Public Service Commission proceedings, and a wave of federal changes to Medicaid financing and provider taxes that will be implemented almost entirely through state agency guidance rather than legislation. Layer on top of that a 2026 election that will produce a large freshman class and new committee leadership in 2027, and you have a legislature with less institutional memory at exactly the moment more of the substance lives in agencies and the Executive Chamber.”
The structural takeaway for modern practice is clear: “That is why clients who wait for session to engage, or ‘take the summer off,’ are going to find the decisions were already made in September and are facing a much harder uphill battle.”
Connecting the Signals: Technology and the Expanding Scope
As honorees noted, the challenge for government affairs teams is no longer simply keeping pace with legislative activity and cultivating the right relationships. It is also knowing how developments in the Legislature, agencies, local government, and public channels are converging—and acting before the window to engage narrows. Teams that can connect those signals are better positioned to judge what is changing, where a decision may land, and how to respond.
Capitol Confidential Pro, powered by USLege, is built to help teams do exactly that across New York State and New York City. It brings searchable bill text and transcripts, sponsor activity, hearing video and coverage, agency developments, official social media, and Capitol insider reporting and analysis into one place. Alerts, a government video archive, and collaborative intel portals help teams keep that context current and share it with clients and colleagues—supporting better-informed judgments about legislative viability and stakeholder response.
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