This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Sure, Republicans couldn’t “stop the steal” and lost to Democratic New York City Council Member Justin Brannan, but they did pretty much everything else they set out to do. Now everyone’s favorite Staten Island Francophile will be leading the expanded, five-member Republican caucus in the council as minority leader. But it might be easier dealing with the 46-member Democratic majority than keeping the peace between Queens rivals Vickie Paladino and Joann Ariola. 

When one car door opens into the path of an oncoming cyclist, a couple legal loopholes open too, it turns out. Charges against Manhattan Democratic Party Chair Keith Wright for allegedly “dooring” a cyclist over the summer and fleeing the scene were dropped this week. The Democratic boss couldn’t be charged with fleeing the scene of the incident because he wasn’t technically operating his vehicle at the time, and while “dooring” cyclists can earn drivers traffic tickets, it’s not a criminal offense.

It’s not every day that the word “anime” gets read into the official congressional record, but here we are. That little bit of weirdness came because Republican Rep. Paul Gosar shared an edited video from the popular anime Attack on Titan, depicting himself killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The morbid imagery earned Gosar an official congressional censure and Ocasio-Cortez the support of her party as lawmakers debated the finer points of Japanese animated cartoons. It’s almost too bad the show’s facist and genocidal themes didn’t come up. AOC would have had a field day. 

The Nassau County Executive, Laura Curran says farewell to her post. After the absentee count, Curran conceded the 2021 election to her Republican challenger, Bruce Blakeman. The former incumbent is now included in the list of the red wave victims witnessed across the country. When it came to Nassau voters, they mentioned pressing issues that mattered to them the most, like the disapproval of the president, vaccine mandates and lastly, fear of defunding the police. Blakeman focused on county taxes, where increases were seen under Curran’s leadership that affected many residents. Curran’s defeat marks a successful win for the Republican party. 

Nothing spoils a debate on individual liberty quite like Nazi references. The former Westchester executive and Republican candidate for governor learned this the hard way after holding a campaign event on vaccine mandates outside the district office of a Jewish state legislator. Astorino says that he woulda booted the swastika-holding supporter if only he had noticed her standing a few feet away. If that’s true, we gotta wonder what else he might be overlooking about surging anti-semitism statewide.

News broke this past week that Gov. Kathy Hochul had fired Dolores Alfieri, the state’s director for Italian-American Affairs, which is also how most New Yorkers learned the state had a director for Italian-American Affairs. Alfieri, who was appointed by fellow Italian-American former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, told the New York Post the position was being eliminated because it was unnecessary. And after the governor declared Columbus Day – a point of pride for many Italian Americans – Indigenous Peoples' Day earlier this fall, some civic leaders feel that Hochul is saying arrivederci to their concerns. One fuming group said the issue could, somehow, “unseat Gov. Hochul during next year’s gubernatorial race.” But Hochul managed to quell the grave threat by pledging to bring on a replacement.