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city & state — June 9, 2014
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mid all the stories about corruption and ethical misconduct that come out of Albany, it is sometimes easy to overlook just how many extraordinarily bright and talented people work in the state capital and elsewhere in New York politics and government. Each year City & State is deluged with so many worthy nominations for our annual Rising Stars list that the most difficult part of our task becomes not identifying the state’s up-and-coming leaders but winnowing the roster to just 40 women and men. This year’s competition was as fierce as ever with hundreds of notable elected officials, advocates, consultants, operatives, union leaders, flacks and journalists from every corner of the state in the running. The 40 young people we ultimately decided to honor may still be early on in their careers, but they have already distinguished themselves in the eyes of their colleagues, and are well on their way to even greater and more meaningful accomplishments in the future. City & State is proud to present out 2014 class of 40 Under 40 Albany Rising Stars.
andice Giove found her calling in elementary school while writing a book report about Nellie Bly, the pioneering 19th century journalist. Giove, then a fifth grader in Ozone Park, Queens, learned that Bly, one of few female reporters in that era, was widely known for feigning insanity to expose the poor conditions at a mental institution in New York. “Since that point, I fell in love with journalism and the idea of it, and I decided that that’s what I wanted to do, and I did it,” Giove said. “I really loved that she did undercover work, and that’s what I did for the Post.” After getting her start as a freelancer for the Queens Ledger in high school, Giove studied journalism at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx and was hired at the Bronx PressReview and The Riverdale Review, where she first encountered state Sen. Jeff Klein. Joining the New York Post in 2010, she was the first reporter to sleep at Occupy Wall Street and broke the story of then Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera’s questionable romantic relationship with a man she had hired to work in her district office. Giove left journalism behind six months ago after Klein recruited her to join his Independent Democratic Conference as a top communications staffer. “I thought it would be very interesting to see what the other side is like,” Giove said. “What surprised me is what a workhorse Jeff is. I think he’s an incredible elected official, and I think from the other side, you don’t really get to see that.” If you were not working in politics or government, what would you be doing? “Investigative journalism.” What is one thing on your bucket list? “To write a book. I definitely want to leave something behind.” —JL
CANDICE GIOVE Deputy Director of Communications, Independent Democratic Conference Age: 32
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