Winners and Losers 04/10/15

This week was vacation time in the world of New York politics, with the governor, the mayor and plenty of other elected officials taking some time off. (Whether it was well-deserved or not, we can’t say.) But a trip to the Caribbean doesn’t exactly count as a victory, so we looked elsewhere to find this week’s winners and losers.

WINNERS

Eric Adams - The promise of increased traffic in Brooklyn Heights on account of Hillary Clinton choosing the neighborhood for her 2016 presidential campaign headquarters may or may not prove to be a headache for residents. But we imagine it’ll be nothing short of a win-win for Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who now gets to bask in all the extra attention for the next year and a half, as well as the added economic boost. 

Michael Bloomberg - After lying low for more than a year, New York City’s former mayor is back in big way. He blasted Gov. Andrew Cuomo for legalizing casinos and banning fracking. He weighed in on the presidential race, saying Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush were legitimate candidates. He was floated as a potential candidate himself—for mayor of London. And to top it off, he was dubbed an honorary knight of the British Empire. Not a bad week for ol’ Bloomy.

Arthur Cheliotes - The president of Local 1180 of Communications Workers of America fought City Hall, and is now poised to secure some extra money for his members this spring. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled on a 2013 complaint this week, finding the city discriminated against minority and women employees and paid them less than their counterparts. The de Blasio administration maintains the ruling does not prove discrimination occurred, but the EEOC recommended back wages and damages totaling $246 million and gave the city an April 17 deadline of entering conciliation talks before turning the matter over to the Justice Department. 

Matt Driscoll - Stepping on up.The former Syracuse mayor and current head of the state’s Environmental Facilities Corporation was nominated this week by the governor to become commissioner of the state Department of Transportation. The nomination could be a good fit for him, as from what we’ve heard, Syracuse has a few infrastructure issues … 

Mark Poloncarz - No one wants to run against this guy. As Poloncarz gears up for his reelection campaign, the first-term county executive has seen a succession of possible challengers bow out, each putting up another Republican for the challenge in the process. First it was County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw who said he would not run and would instead support County Clerk Chris Jacobs. Jacobs this week said he would not challenge Poloncarz, but that Assemblyman Ray Walter can knock out the incumbent. Walter said he views the office as “winnable” but did not commit to running. With the clock is ticking, the Erie County GOP needs to find someone to take on the challenge sooner rather than later. 

LOSERS

Michael Benedetto and Carl Heastie - Now that the state budget is passed and the Albany press corps has some free time, it seems the new Assembly speaker can expect the drip of stories about his past to come back. This week, it was reported that the Bronx Democratic Committee that Heastie headed the past few years has been quietly fixing their books to hide past errors and omissions. Assemblyman Michael Benedetto—the committee's treasurer—fell on the sword, taking full responsibility for the filings. But, in this era, any bad press for mishandling of money is sure to lead to some sweaty palms and higher heart rates. 

Bob Dana - The Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda school board president led the charge against Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s education reforms last month, taking up measures that would have ended the use of state tests in teacher evaluations. But Dana and the board walked those measures back in the face of threats from the state board of education that funding would be withheld from the district and the board would be forcibly removed, saying that they could not put the taxpayers in a tough spot. It looks like Dana and the board bit off more than they could chew in their challenge to the governor.

Vincent Gentile – The Brooklynite couldn’t catch a break—neither from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Ben Ray Lujan, nor from local transit crews. The DCCC has spent nothing on behalf of Gentile in the race to replace the disgraced former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm. And it’s unlikely national Dems will get involved in the final month, deciding that it’s unlikely Gentile can best Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan and better off investing in 2016. Then, the massive pothole Gentile chose for a scheduled press conference on the need for more highway funding was filled overnight. He was left clutching a yardstick.

Timothy B. Howard - Erie County’s longtime top cop was called out by the New York Civil Liberties Union this week for his department’s use of a Stingray surveillance device to listen in on cell phone conversations. Howard has said that all the surveillance was subject to judicial review, but the NYCLU said records it obtained from his office show that the device was used 47 times between may 2010 and October 2014—and only once with permission from the court. While Howard has a bit of egg on his face, his actions have left Western New Yorkers humming Michael Jackson’s “Somebody’s Watching Me.”

Jeff Klein - The IDC leader got some good press in the past couple weeks, getting a seat at the table to negotiate the state budget and passing some legislation he has pushed for. But it was quickly forgotten when an odd tweet was posted on his official Twitter account that some perceived as sexist. His office immediately responded that it was an accident by a female staffer, but the damage was already done. As lawmakers keep learning, social media is a dangerous place.