Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
Move over Eric, Brad, Scott, Zellnor and Zohran, because it’s time to elect New York City’s next dog mayor, with 15 dogs facing off to be canine-in-chief. The winner may have a bone to pick with Tonawanda Mayor John White, who has banned city employees from bringing their dogs to work, though residents can still bring dogs to City Hall to say hi. But the next dog mayor may have to take a backseat, thanks to proposed legislation in Albany County.
Anthony Brindisi -
Things just keep working out for Anthony Brindisi. The former member of Congress and the Assembly has lost a handful of elections, with his tenure in both D.C. and the state court system ending at the ballot box. But this week, President Joe Biden nominated him for a federal judgeship in the Northern District of New York – a lifetime appointment. It’s the political equivalent of failing upward.
Sasha Ahuja & Liz Krueger -
Abortion will officially be on the ballot in November…kind of. After a lawsuit to knock the state Equal Rights Amendment off the ballot made its way through the courts, the Court of Appeals made the final determination that the measure will definitely go before voters. It’s a win for state Sen. Liz Krueger and New Yorkers for Equal Rights campaign leader Sasha Ahuja. But the description of the new amendment included on the ballot won’t include the word “abortion.”
Jenifer Rajkumar -
Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar is here. She’s there. She’s everywhere. And now her legislation has helped take down more than 750 illegal cannabis stores since May. The Adams administration has embarked on a sweeping campaign to shut down unlicensed weed shops since the state expanded New York City’s enforcement powers. Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD are certainly happy. The shop owners? Less so. All the same, the success may very well give Rajkumar a better shot in her potential city comptroller run.
Harry Heymann -
Tribeca resident Harry Heymann embodied the phrase, “not all heroes wear capes” on Wednesday when he removed illegal license plate covers from a pair of SUVs to ensure they were legible. But the license plate vigilante got more attention than he bargained for when it turned out that the SUVs belonged to a Secret Service detail assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris’ step-daughter, Ella Emhoff, and the backplate Batman was promptly arrested for “criminal mischief.”
Jumaane Williams -
Not even losing a bitter veto fight will stand in the way of Mayor Eric Adams flexing his executive powers. This week, the mayor issued an executive order halting parts of the law banning solitary confinement in city jails that was introduced by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and passed by the City Council over Adams’ veto, leaving Williams feeling like one of King Adams’ subjects.
Timothy Pearson -
It’s nice to have friends who can back you up during tough times. That’s certainly true for Timothy Pearson, a former top NYPD officer who is the subject of four separate sexual harassment lawsuits. Despite all the allegations Pearson, his “good friend” Mayor Eric Adams has allowed him to keep his position as public safety adviser. Isn’t that what friends are for?