Bill Mahoney in Politico New York reports that, thanks to special elections Nov. 3, 26 percent of representatives in the legislature in Albany are now women. That's the most female representation in the Senate and Assembly of all time. This week there were five special elections for seats vacated by male legislators who had either been convicted or left office voluntarily. Democrats ran five women and four won. The first woman to head one of Albany’s legislative conferences, Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said, “I am pleased that we now have more women in the State Legislature than ever before. Unfortunately, women make up under 30 percent of the State Legislature despite being over a majority of New York’s population. We need to continue the progress we've made and encourage more women and pro-women candidates to run for office,” she said. The story also notes that last year Governor Andrew Cuomo created the Women’s Equality Party, and eight of the 12 state-level candidates on the party's first ballot line were men. Read the full story in the Politico New York.