As it's been said many times, there are only two things for certain: death and taxes. And as this magical time of the year comes and goes with reporters combing through boring tax documents prepared by elected officials generally to find absolutely nothing of interest we propose adding a third certain thing to the cliche: friday's Winners and Losers.

WINNERS

Rob Astorino - Donald Trump hasn’t been a serious challenger to Astorino since last month. But Carl Paladino finally got the memo this week, announcing that he would drop his drive to convince Trump to run for governor. That’s good news for Astorino, who Paladino said he would support. The Buffalo businessman has been an influential Republican figure so far this election cycle, so with his support presumably comes more upstate Republican support for the Westchester County Executive, especially out of Western New York. With Astorino still a largely unknown commodity, he can use all the high-level backing he can get. All of the negative press the Cuomo administration is getting over its handling of the Moreland Commission hasn't been a bad thing for Astorino either.

Adriano Espaillat - If the state senator ousts 22-term Rep. Charlie Rangel at least one chapter of the story would be a Bronx tale. This week Espaillat won the backing of the Bronx Dems, including Assemblyman Carl Heastie, the borough’s party chairman. City Comptroller Scott Stringer is reportedly on the verge of endorsing Espaillat too. The recent entrance of a little-known Bronx Hispanic activist could complicate the racial politics of the primary battle, and Rangel still is getting key endorsements from his D.C. colleagues—but some support is still slipping away.

Kathleen Rice - The Nassau County district attorney got out of the Moreland Commission at the right time—and it hasn’t taken her very long to show the political world that she is not to be taken lightly as a congressional candidate. Rice reported a whopping $1.47 million in the first quarter of 2014, putting her at least a million dollars ahead of anyone else in the race—and quite possibly out of reach for good.

John Samuelsen - For more than two years the Transport Workers Union has been at odds with the MTA over contract negotiations. In a video interview with us back in January, Samuelsen even took shots at Gov. Cuomo for comments he made hinting that the TWU workers may get no raise for the next 3 years which appeared in an editorial by the Daily News. This week, Sameulsen and the governor were all smiles as they announced a new deal. Raises may not be as much as TWU would like, but their deal was far better than the one floated by Cuomo back in January.

Linda Sarsour - One of the most prominent critics of the NYPD’s operation to spy on Muslims was Linda Sarsour, the executive director of the Arab American Association of New York. The NYPD’s recent announcement that it has shut down the unit is a big win for Sarsour and for Muslim New Yorkers subject to undercover surveillance by the police, who acknowledged the effort had been fruitless. Honorable mention goes to the Associated Press—including Pulitzer-winning reporters Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman—who first brought the NYPD’s Muslim surveillance to the public's attention. 

LOSERS

Sant Singh Chatwal - Chatwal, who runs a luxury hotel chain, had his past finally catch up with him when he pleaded guilty to using straw donors to illegally contribute more than $180,000 to several federal-level candidates. Chatwal also gave plenty of money to other candidates, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who quickly agreed to return more than $15,000. Chatwal, who faces a $1 million fine and up to 25 years in prison, just might need the cash.  

Matt Doheny - Maybe it’s no surprise that Doheny’s main opponent, Elise Stefanik, received the backing of the state Conservative Party late last week. After all, the two-time candidate showed up a bit late to the 21st Congressional District party and has been playing some catchup since. With Stefanik earning the Conservative Party’s blessing, Doheny, who has secured the Independence Party’s backing is kept off an extra third-party line, with those lines expected to be crucial in a close race. He’ll still primary Stefanik for the Republican nod, but every additional spot he can get his name makes for a better chance of him actually winning the election this time around.

Valerie Oliver-Durrah - It's never a good thing when the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board starts looking at the money you are collecting in your role as both an aide to the Brooklyn Borough President and the head of a nonprofit. When the details get splashed all over the tabloids, that's even worse—especially when the picture they paint makes you look so bad.

Pat Foye - To Foye’s credit he hasn’t done anything wrong—at least not that we’ve seen. But it’s been one headache after another for the Port Authority's executive director since the dominos began to fall in the Bridgegate scandal. Now Foye is dealing with the Manhattan district attorney’s office opening an investigation into PA construction projects, including the World Trade Center redevelopment. The commissioner who played a key role in that project, Anthony Sartor, jumped ship earlier this week, though he said it had nothing to do with the investigation. Even if Sartor's resignation was coincidental, as he claims, Foye is the highest-ranking New York-appointed official who will likely have to answer any tough questions regarding projects on this side of the Hudson.

Robert Schulz - The founder of the activist group We The People of New York just lost not one but two recent court battles. In one case, a state judge tossed Schulz’s challenge to the SAFE Act, the state's landmark gun control law. In the other case, the same judge upheld the state’s coming casino expansion, the casino compacts with three Native American tribes and the tax-free Start-Up NY zones. Despite the losses, you can expect more legal challenges and appeals from Schulz in the future.