Winners & Losers 10/02/15

There's a storm brewin'. Hurricane level winds and high seas are expected to make it a miserable weekend for many New Yorkers as Joaquin heads our way. So hunker down and enjoy this week's winners and losers. 

WINNERS

Fred Akshar - The Binghamton-area Republican state Senate candidate has a significant lead in the polls this week and his opponent lost an additional ballot line this week. Fortunately for the Broome County undersheriff, having a beard in New York doesn’t make you a bad candidate for the state's upper house.

Darcel Clark - It may not have been pretty, but Justice Clark is a lock to become the first female Bronx County district attorney after she was hand-picked by Bronx Democratic leaders to replace veteran DA Robert Johnson on the November ballot. Clark is having to fend off criticism from good-government advocates and other critics questioning her independence and claiming she used her connections with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and other Bronx politicians to get the position. But hey, she won. 

Timothy Dolan - As any Catholic will tell you, good luck getting a seat on Easter. New Yorkers felt that way this weekend, too, when the faithful from all over the region packed Manhattan to catch a glimpse of the church’s new rock star, Pope Francis. The immensely popular pontiff’s visit went off without a hitch, generating enormous goodwill for the church (thanks in no small part to the efforts of his host, the archbishop of New York). But whether all the excitement leads to a permanent boost in Sunday attendance remains to be seen.

Arnaldo Ferraro - The 79-year-old Italian immigrant said he was "completely shocked" when he was nominated to be the next Brooklyn GOP chairman following a raucous reorganizing meeting. After former chair Craig Eaton abruptly stepped down, Eaton's faction traded heated barbs with supporters of state Sen. Marty Golden, who was backing another candidate. The throwback meeting hall melee over leadership landed Ferraro the top spot, which is a feather in the cap for a man who has spent decades in politics.  

Brendan Fay - Break out the Guinness! The chairman and co-founder of the Lavender and Green Alliance can celebrate with a few Irish stouts alongside other LGBT activists in New York City after his group became the second gay group to be invited to march in next year's St. Patrick’s Day Parade. After 25 years of protesting the event for its exclusion of gay Irish groups, it looks like the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Inc., the nonprofit that oversees the Fifth Avenue parade, finally succumbed to the pressure and political will of one of the most inclusive cities in the country. 

LOSERS

Bill de Blasio - Any positive bump that the mayor got from Pope Francis' visit to New York City disappeared pretty quickly. Not only are the usual suspects -- GOP officials, the tabloids -- questioning his upcoming trip to Iowa, but even fellow Democrats are wondering aloud why the self-anointed progressive prophet isn't more focused on sticking around town and actually governing. And whether it's his fault or not, the new Legionnaire's outbreak and a potential hurricane probably won't help. 

Andrew Cuomo - The governor’s Buffalo Billion initiative that helped him win over Western New York voters has come back to bite him this week. Rumors were already swirling about U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara investigating the initiative's key project – the million-square-foot solar panel factory called RiverBend – for bid-rigging. Now the project is getting bad press for failing to hit diversity hiring goals touted by the administration and the contractor LP Ciminelli is getting slammed for being big Cuomo campaign contributors. Not the type of headlines you want surrounding one of the signature achievements of your administration. 

Barbara Fiala - First, a poll showed the former DMV commissioner down 28 points in the battle for Tom Libous' vacant state Senate seat. Then she lost the line of the Women's Equality Party, which is even more embarrassing since she had briefly headed the third party. The only question now is what's hurting her more: her critique of her rival's beard in a campaign ad or her endorsement from the governor. 

Alexander Gromack - The Clarkstown supervisor received more bad news this week when the news broke that U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating the former assemblyman amid reports of unreported payments from a local businessman. Since Bharara has a pretty solid record, Gromack has reason to worry. 

Chad Stickney - The Clinton Correctional Facility correctional officer is the lone guard to be identified from a group who rounded up inmates and beat them to extract information after the escape and weeks-long manhunt of two convicted killers this summer. Identified by an American flag tattoo, “Captain America,” as he is known around the prison, now has his name feature prominently in the pages of The New York Times.