Once upon a time a little salamander named Jerry found himself in the streets of New York helpless and alone.

Hey there little guy! I'm gonna take you home with me.

Suddenly, Jerry found himself in a tank inside an office. Jerry was a pretty chill guy, so he didn't think anything of it, until he was suddenly frightened by a voice saying, "Hello!"

"Who's there?!" Jerry shrieked.

"Calm down, bro," the voice replied. "The name's Pedro. I live in this tank here in the governor's office. I guess now you do too."

"Governor? What's a governor?" Jerry wondered.

"Well, for us she's our owner. But for all the people of New York state, she has a lot of responsibilities, like enforcing state laws, granting pardons, convening the legislature, vetoing or signing bills, and even giving speeches about the state of the state," Pedro responded.

"Can I be the governor of this tank so I can get out?" 

Pedro laughed. "Okay, let me explain it this way. That lady over there on the fridge, her name is Governor Kathy Hochul. She feeds us and she takes care of duties for the state."

"State? Last thing I knew I lived in a river, I went for a quick walk and now I'm in a state?" Jerry was confused.

"Technically, you're in a tank, but yeah, we are currently in New York state." Pedro sighed. "You're in for a lot of explanation. Let's get started."

"We live in a country called the United States and in a state called New York. Maybe you came from a county called Cattaraugus County, and in that county was a town called Allegany, and in that town was a river called the Allegany River. That could be the river you come from," Pedro explained.

"Does the governor rule over everyone there too?" Jerry asked.

"Yes, sort of. She has the final say on things like bills. But there are smaller levels of government too. Your county has legislators from Allegany and nearby Olean. Allegany has R. Donald Benson and Robert A. Parker, and Olean has Frank Higgins, Richard C. Smith, and Kelly J. Andreano. They help make decisions just for Cattaraugus County."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Jerry said. "That map looked like it had a lot of states, so there's gotta be more government than just Ms. Hochul, right?"

"Of course," Pedro answered. "There's county, state, and federal government, and they have some different powers. People from each state also get to go to the federal government to make laws in Congress and the Senate. Our state's Congressional District is the 23rd district, and we send Nicholas A. Langworthy as our Congressional Representative. Our senators are Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer. They're a part of the federal government."

"And there's state government too?"

"Yeah, the Assembly and the Senate. Our Assembly district is 148, and our Senate district is 57."

Suddenly, a group of people entered the room, including Governor Hochul.

"Who are all these people?" Jerry asked.

Pedro laughed. "Okay, well, going from left to right we've got Letitia James, Thomas DiNapoli, and Antonio Delgado. Want to know what each of them do?"

Jerry shook his head. "Nah, but you're going to tell me anyway, aren't you?"