Winners and Losers 02/13/15

Mayor Bill de Blasio took a rare day off this week, calling in sick with a nasty cold. We’d all like to take a day off too, but hey, at least it’s Friday—and we’re not about to cancel our public schedule before sharing this week’s winners and losers.

WINNERS

John DeFrancisco – Double-dipping usually makes you a target of the press, and the veteran Syracuse-area state senator is no different. It was confirmed this week that he will double his salary as he starts to collect his pension. A pay bump makes him a winner, considering the public doesn't seem to care much about the legal collection of a pension.  

Alain Kaloyeros - The SUNY Polytechnic Institute and its CEO are never wanting for praises, but the school received a new boost this week when it took first place when it comes to business-funded research and development, according to the National Science Foundation. Maybe Kaloyeros will get another raise!

Jim Yates, Lou Ann Ciccone and Mike Whyland – When the corruption allegations against Shelly Silver rocked Albany a few weeks ago, for once it wasn’t a good thing to be part of his inner circle. But in the aftermath, three top staffers—Yates, his counsel, Ciccone, the program and policy secretary, and Whyland, the Assembly’s communications director—got to keep their jobs. Meanwhile, Silver and longtime aide Judy Rapfogel were relegated to a desk with the rest of the rank and file. And that’s what you call awkward.

Eugene Fahey and Leslie Stein – The state Senate’s confirmation of the two newest state Court of Appeals judges was not much of a surprise, but still quite the achievement for these two judges. For Cuomo, it also doesn’t hurt that he landed two more Democrats on the court—not that it makes any difference in how they'll rule, of course. 

Phil Walzak - The Milwaukee boy just landed a seat in the inner echelons of New York City Hall. Walzak will transition from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s press secretary to his senior adviser for strategic planning now that the progressive’s top aide, Peter Ragone, is stepping down. The move even caught the attention of Walzak’s hometown paper in Milwaukee.

LOSERS

Rick Chandler and Vicki Been – We know it probably isn’t city Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler’s fault that 11 of his department’s employees were charged in an elaborate scheme involving developers bribing city employees to fast-track construction projects. And we know it probably isn’t Vicki Been’s fault that five Department of Housing Preservation and Development employees were implicated, either. But although the cases stretch back years before the de Blasio administration, the case was busted open on Chandler and Been’s watches, and now they’ve got to deal with the fallout.

Andrew Cuomo – Talk about getting thrown under the bus. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara informed the press that there is nothing barring Cuomo from talking about the Moreland Commission he convened and controversially disbanded last year. Which means the governor has lost his favorite card to play when asked about the commission by reporters. Plus, Cuomo had to go on the defensive after state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli criticized the lack of transparency in the budget. 

Peter Liang – The rookie NYPD officer accused of shooting unarmed Brooklyn man Akai Gurley to death in a dimly lit housing project staircase in East New York was indicted by a grand jury this week and has pleaded not guilty on charges including manslaughter and official misconduct. This alone makes it a very bad week for Liang, but the fact that a grand jury failed to indict his Staten Island colleague in the choking death of Eric Garner in spite of the episode being captured on video must make it an even harder pill to swallow.

Laura Santucci – Brooklyn not landing the 2016 Democratic National Convention may not be the only loss that comes out of the selection of Philadelphia as the winning bid. Santucci took a leave of absence from her position as Mayor Bill de Blasio’s chief of staff to run the failed convention bid. And she may not be returning to City Hall. 

Frank Sparaco – Let’s be frank—let’s not be Frank. Sparaco got into a mess during a bid to take control of the Clarkstown GOP, but as any good New York pol should know by now, it’s only okay to fudge things if you don’t get caught. Now the Rockland County legislator will soon be changing his status to ex-lawmaker, thanks to his guilty plea to charges that he filed fraudulent nominating petitions.