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There’s less than a week to go before the Democratic primary, and candidates running to try and succeed the late Congressman Donald Payne Sr. have been relying on tried and true methods to make their case to the voters: name recognition, resumes and endorsements.

Democrat incumbent congressmen Bill Pascrell and Steve Rothman — pitted against one another as a result of redistricting — are battling for the newly created ninth district, a Democratic stronghold that is a study in contrasts.

One of the prime contractors selected to improve the city’s 911 call system overbilled taxpayers by as much as $163 million because of “severe mismanagement,” according to an audit by City Comptroller John Liu released Wednesday.

As he has done every year since becoming mayor, Michael Bloomberg permitted reporters to review a heavily redacted draft of his federal and state tax returns on Friday. But the forms didn’t show dollar amounts, instead there were letters.

The populist strategy to make the GOP appear as the exclusive province of the one percent has also extended to how the Democrats plan to finance their national convention in Charlotte, N.C., in September.

As the cash-strapped City Council scours the mayor’s proposed budget for wiggle room, a report shows the city spent $50.5 million more last fiscal year to settle claims against the NYPD than it did the year previous.

On This Week in Politics, WNYC political reporters run down some of the top political stories from the week that was, providing insight and analysis on local, state and national political issues that touch New Yorkers.

Democrat incumbent New Jersey Congressmen Bill Pascrell and Steve Rothman used their final broadcast debate Monday night to try make a pitch for the party's progressives ahead of the June 5 primary to decide who should represent the freshly drawn 9th district.

Bob Hennelly, WNYC's contributing editor for politics and investigations, discusses two key congressional elections in the Garden State: the Steve Rothman vs. Bill Pascrell primary, and who will fill Donald Payne's seat.

The NYPD credited citywide declining homicide rates to its increasing reliance on the controversial practice of stop-and-frisk last week. But in the 13 precincts citywide where homicides were trending up so far this year, a WNYC analysis of the data found that an increase in stop-and-frisk in the first quarter of this year did not always result in fewer homicides so far this year.

Longtime Democratic Congressmen Bill Pascrell and Steve Rothman will face off in their second debate at Montclair University on Monday night.

Two veteran New Jersey lawmakers traded barbs last night during a rare debate that pitted incumbents on the same side of the aisle against one another.

Incumbent Democratic Congressmen Bill Pascrell and Steve Rothman will have their first face to face debate Monday night. New Jersey's loss of a congressional district due to re-districting has set up this rare face-off between two incumbents with very similar left of center voting records.

An independent consultant brought in to assess the status of the city's 911 system determined the system is flawed because the NYPD, FDNY, EMS, and Office of Emergency Management are not effectively integrated. "New York City needs a unified strategic plan and agreement," stated the report from Winbourne Consulting LLC.

Arguing among the jurors deliberating on federal corruption trial of former state Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada has escalated to the point where the judge in the case has decided to speak with one of the jurors, court house sources confirm.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed Thursday a total city budget that exceeds $68.7 billion this year — restoring 2,500 teaching slots but cutting pre- and after-school programs and shuttering firehouses.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg will reveal that the city’s revenues  are not growing as fast as originally projected when he unveils his executive  budget on Thursday. The administration plans to apply the $400 million CityTime fraud settlement to help close the revenue gap.

Adis Medunjanin, a 28-year-old man a naturalized citizen born in Bosnia, was convicted of a host of terrorism charges connected to an plotting suicide attacks in the New York subways. Bob Hennelly, contributing editor for politics and investigations for Takeaway co-producer WNYC has been following the trial.

Bob Hennelly, WNYC's contributing editor for politics and investigations, talks about the trial of Adis Medunjanin, accused of plotting to bomb the subway.

The jury in the federal corruption trial of former New York State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada and his son began deliberations on Monday.