Winners and Losers 01/30/15

The prophets warned of a Snowmageddon, and they led New Yorkers astray with their heresies and false teachings. Yet hell itself froze over, for an assembly of Democrats turned against Sheldon Silver, who led them for what seemed like 40 years and left them wandering in the wilderness. Truly, Silver will be cast out, but as it is written, every seven days there shall be five who win and five who lose.

WINNERS

Kathryn Garcia – The New York City sanitation commissioner weathered her first storm without criticism—except that some snowplow drivers may have been too eager to keep hitting the streets. But it wasn’t Bloomberg’s 2010 blizzard or John Lindsay’s 1969 disastrous snowstorm or even de Blasio 2014—and that’s a good thing for Garcia.

Carl Heastie - The Bronx assemblyman is suddenly eyeing a promotion he probably hadn’t been expecting just a week ago. Following the current Assembly speaker’s arrest and the exit of two other contenders to replace him—so far—Heastie has emerged as the frontrunner for the race. He has promised transparency as speaker, a sharp turn from when he told reporters less than 48 hours before that his favorite word was, “No comment.”

Michael Kearns – He didn’t even say, “I told you so.” The Buffalo assemblyman simply said he felt vindicated by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s arrest on corruption charges. When Kearns left the conference 20 months ago, the lawmaker said Silver was not fit for leadership because of his mishandling of sexual harassment allegations in the chamber. Now the Democrat won’t be so lonely, since he plans to rejoin the Democratic conference.

Loretta Lynch – U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, Obama’s pick for U.S. attorney general, made it out of Senate confirmation hearings looking like a shoe-in, with even some Republicans offering their grudging admiration. In fact, the hearings proved more of an excuse to bash current Attorney General Eric Holder, which allowed lawmakers to envision Lynch as an independent defender of the U.S. people in comparison. Barring unforeseen developments, it looks like Lynch will indeed have the honor of serving as the United States’ first black female attorney general.

Joe Morelle - The Assembly majority leader gets to step in as acting speaker until the official election on Feb. 10, but he wants to hold onto the position long after that. Having a brief audition may help, and it doesn’t hurt that Morelle has Cuomo’s support behind him going in to the race. The governor’s backing of Morelle and de Blasio siding with Heastie may turn this Assembly speaker race into another proxy war between the two most powerful men in the state.

LOSERS

Erik Dilan – This week, the assemblyman was slapped with a $9K fine for failing to disclose his relationship with a developer who floated him an apartment on the cheap. It probably couldn't have come during a better week for the former city councilman, given the news involving his Assembly colleagues, but we didn't overlook this story—and that's why Dilan landed on the losers list.

Matthew Libous – The son of state Senate Deputy Majority Leader Tom Libous was convicted of tax fraud, but it wasn’t all bad: the younger Libous was acquitted of several charges, including a more serious one alleging that he tried to impede an investigation, and the news was largely overshadowed by Sheldon Silver and those who want to replace him as speaker. The elder Libous has a trial of his own coming up on a related charge of lying to the FBI. Now the only question is: Like father, like son?

Jimmy McMillan – The rent IS too damn high! Jimmy McMillan, the former mayoral and gubernatorial candidate who rose to fame on that campaign slogan—even sitting alongside Andrew Cuomo in a debate—is now facing eviction from his rent-stabilized apartment in the East Village. McMillan is fighting in court to stay in his $872-a-month pad, and claims his landlord is using sneaky tactics to try and force him out. At the end of the day, maybe McMillan is just another New Yorker fighting an eviction-hungry landlord at the vanguard of the housing crisis.

Sheldon Silver – Most people thought it would never happen, but the long-serving Assembly speaker will resign on Monday … or be forced out, no one’s 100 percent sure about that. While Silver spent two days confined in his office, presenting an ominous presence to his conference, the Assembly Democrats spent many, many (just ask us reporters) long hours conferencing before deciding Silver would have to go. At least they got coffee, white bread and cheese cubes while they worked.

Robert Taub – The corruption allegations against Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver were so earth-shattering that they reverbated all across the state. One of the worst casualties, other than the speaker himself, was Dr. Robert Taub. If federal prosecutors are to be believed, Taub played a central role in one of Silver’s corruption schemes, sending lucrative clients to Silver’s law firm while winning hundreds of thousands of dollars in state research funds. He got a sweet non-prosecution deal, but he lost his title when his research center was shut down.