People & politics.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Legislator elections

New York Assembly Majority Leader Paul Tokasz will not seek re-election to a 10th term. The veteran lawmaker, first elected in 1988, was appointed majority leader by Speaker Sheldon Silver in 2001. He sponsored New York's "motor voter" constitutional amendment and was key in establishing an arts and cultural fund. "It came down to family," Tokasz said of his decision to retire. "I'm a home guy." Possible candidates for majority leader are Ronald Canestrari, Joseph Morelle and RoAnn Destito. Silver is expected to make his choice in January.

A husband and wife from Kansas may be facing off in November for the same open seat. Pam Ippel, a Democrat, is unopposed in the August primary. Her husband Jeff is in a three-way GOP primary race. Pam decided first to run, then Jeff jumped in. "Better ideas," he says. But one of his opponents, Jeff Colyer, believes it's an attempt to divide the vote to ensure than moderate candidate Sherrelyn Smith gets the nomination. "It's an absolute sham," says outgoing Representative Eric Carter, who is leaving to run for state insurance commissioner. "They're trying to confuse voters and manipulate the process." Kansas Sate University political science professor Joe Aistrup has another take: "It's about time the moderates started pulling this stuff. Conservatives have been running stealth candidates for years."

The chief of staff to former Illinois House Minority Lee Daniels was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and will pay $120,000 for directing state employees to work on campaigns on state time. Michael Tristano faced nine counts in a federal indictment that included extortion, a charge that was dropped although Tristano admitted to it. Tristano admitted to approving false expense forms so employees working on campaigns would be paid by the state from 1998 to 2001. The estimated cost to the state was $120,000, which he agreed to pay. He said he violated the law "out of loyally to House Republican leadership," and that others above him were instructing him to do so. "Frankly, I compromised my conscience to fit in and go along," he said. Tristano said the plan was to use state money to reduce the cost to the House Republican Campaign Committee.

A first-term Arizona legislator will sit out the primary and general elections in Iraq. Representative Jonathan Paton, an intelligence officer in the Army Reserves, volunteered for a five-to-six month tour of duty, which began in August. Paton says his campaign is in...