Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
As a political community that spends an unhealthy amount of time online, we were really trying to connect all the dots this week, weren’t we? Jenifer Rajkumar switches to the public advocate race the same week that Mayor Eric Adams comes down with a mysterious illness? Very interesting. And that happens the same week that Adams makes all sorts of internal promotions at City Hall?? Fishy, huh? And that all happens the same week that New York City rat czar Kathleen Corradi goes to New Orleans???? To prep for the Super Bowl???? We’ll get to the bottom of this, you’ll see! Maybe if we just keep scrolling, we’ll figure it out.
Lee Zeldin -
Lee Zeldin may not have gotten an Albany office, but he’s now ensconced in downtown Washington, D.C. The former Long Island member of Congress was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. When not focused on the environment, blasting out a DOGE memo or palling around with fellow veterans Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Zeldin can always explore the Smithsonian, whose museums are right across the street from EPA headquarters.
David Carr -
It’s a little bit like being king of the world’s smallest kingdom, but New York City Council Member David Carr appears to have won what ended up being a pretty ugly battle to lead the City Council’s six-member minority caucus. His chief opponent, Council Member Joann Ariola, is crying foul because only half the members of the caucus were present at the vote, but if you ask Carr, that’s just how the cookie crumbles.
Betty Rosa -
For state Education Department Commissioner Betty Rosa, it’s more money, not my problem. She reportedly received a $155,000 raise in secret – bringing her annual salary to $489,000, which she says is in line with local superintendents in New York – even as issues abound in the state’s public school system. Rosa is now one of the highest paid education officials in the country, and while things aren’t exactly worry-free in 2025, she doesn’t have to worry about school funding cuts.
Richard Davis -
The now-former president of Transport Workers Union Local 100 lost his position after an internal report from the union found that he allegedly pressured a subordinate into having sex multiple times and then threatened to kill her when she tried to end the relationship. And apparently, you can’t be accused of threatening someone’s life and then immediately go back to driving school buses, as Davis seems to be learning the hard way.
John Chell, Kaz Daughtry -
Let this be a lesson to all, particularly public officials: Think before you tweet. In a newly released report, the city Department of Investigation lambasted high-ranking New York City police chiefs John Chell and Kaz Daughtry, describing their social media posts as “unprofessional,” “inappropriate,” and “demeaning.” One example cited? Chell, now the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, accused a judge (whom he’d misidentified, mind you) on X of letting a “predator” loose. One might hope that “New York’s finest” would be above such behavior, but alas.
Peter Stein -
Four decades leading the lifeguard union didn’t earn Peter Stein so much as a rescue buoy as he made his unceremonious exit this week. The longtime leader of Local 508, known for his iron rule over the union, retired on the eve of a disciplinary trial scheduled to address accusations that he disregarded rules and got in his own members’ way. But then, Stein never seemed like one to follow the cardinal lifeguard rule to never swim against the riptide.