Winners & Losers 5/6/16

The rumors and reports of potential wrongdoing by those closest to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio make for plenty of losers. But if any of it is true, the biggest losers may be everyday New Yorkers who just want government officials to do their jobs. To see who else is up and down this week, check out our Winners & Losers.

WINNERS

Preet Bharara – The Manhattan U.S. attorney has racked up a lot of wins lately, and he scored a big one this week when former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. It would be big news for the Bharara, but apparently he’s set his sight on some bigger fish. These days, it seems that being a political leader in New York is like having a target on your back.

Todd Kaminsky – Now it's official: Todd Kaminsky is a state senator. After all the absentee ballots were counted, he officially won the Nassau County seat and was sworn in Tuesday. That was dampened somewhat by news reports of $50,000 in campaign funding from a real estate developer to support him – albeit indirectly – after de Blasio's top fundraiser requested it. But it’s got to be an afterthought after Kaminsky pulled off a big win that could alter the balance of power of the state Senate.

Brad Lander & Margaret Chin – They’ve finally bagged it. After two years of pushing legislation, co-sponsors Lander and Chin convinced 28 of their colleagues to vote for a measure that aims to curb New Yorkers’ use of single-use plastic and paper carryout bags by imposing a 5-cent fee on them. The bill is now bound to the mayor’s desk, where his signature is said to be in the bag.

Larry Seabrook – The bagels may not be worth $177 – after all, they’re probably not made with New York City water – but at least the baked goods are back in Seabrook’s life. The disgraced Bronx pol was moved from a squalid Brooklyn jail to a nicer facility in Pennsylvania, where bagels are sold, thanks to a support from his friend, Rep. Charles Rangel.

Keith Wright – Rangel made not one but two winners this week. As his reign as king of Harlem politics comes to an end he has anointed an heir, endorsing Wright to replace him in Congress when he retires at the end of the year. While the race will remain heated until the June 28 congressional primary, Rangel still retains huge support in Harlem and his endorsement will take Wright a long way in the race.

LOSERS

Bill de Blasio – The flow of bad news for de Blasio just won't stop. New details of potential wrongdoing are coming out seemingly each day, and it's gotten so bad that he just hired a criminal lawyer. Even on a policy level, he had to schlep up to Albany this week to ask lawmakers to renew his oversight of New York City’s schools, a move the Senate GOP looks to be in no mood to make. Can anyone be surprised that his press secretary is on the way out? 

Andrew Cuomo & Joe Percoco – We knocked Mario’s “third son” last week for sticking around the Second Floor after he took a job at MSG. This week it got much worse. The feds are investigating Andrew’s best buddy, and the Guv sure isn’t happy. Consulting for entities with business before the state– didn’t Percoco know that’s a no-no? And it keeps getting worse, with the campaign “consultant” earning a wage while also getting a sweetheart deal on a mortgage from another Cuomo loyalist. Percoco isn’t the only one getting probed, but you can’t get any closer to the governor than his “brother.”

Jay McCarthy & James Sampson – Despite the full-throated support of The Buffalo News, McCarthy and Sampson, just lost their seats and are now outgoing members of the Buffalo School Board majority. In fact, Sampson, the school board president, wasn’t even on the ballot and was forced to wage a write-in campaign because he failed to secure enough signatures. Another majority member up for re-election, former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, barely hung on, defeating an 18-year-old high school senior by about 100 votes. Apparently the few Buffalo voters that actually participate in school board elections were not happy with direction the self-described “reform” bloc was taking the district.

John Michalek –The state Supreme Court justice has become the latest name to pop up as a target in the year-old probe into the dealings of longtime Western New York power broker Steve Pigeon. The judge allegedly wanted Pigeon to help a relative get a job while political allies of the former Erie County Democratic Committee chairman had a case before him. Even making the suggestion is a crime, and if Bob McCarthy’s sources are on the mark, it looks like investigators have it all in writing.

Sheldon Silver – The former Assembly speaker’s decades-long career ended ignobly this week when he was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. What’s more, he will be forced to forfeit $5.3 million and will pay a whopping $1.75 million fine. Silver’s lawyers tried to convince the judge that his achievements as a politician outweighed the bad deeds he did, but apparently she didn’t agree. To use Silver’s own words: It is what it is.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Todd Kaminsky received $50,000 in campaign funding from a real estate developer after de Blasio allegedly requested it. In fact, the donation was made to the Nassau County Democratic Committee, which was supporting Kaminsky. While it is not known nor has it been asserted that de Blasio requested the donation, the money was raised by de Blasio's top fundraiser.