Silver will no longer be Speaker, Special Election set for February

By next Monday, Sheldon Silver will no longer be speaker of the New York State Assembly after having held the position for 20 years. But Assembly Democrats are still showing their lingering support by refusing to tell reporters if he will resign voluntarily or be forced out by a vote.

“I won’t hinder any succession process,” Silver told reporters Tuesday night. “I will be a member of this house. I was elected by my constituents and I do not intend to resign my seat in this house.”

Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle told reporters that Silver will not “impede” the transition, but Silver has not spoken to any of the other members of the Assembly.

“On Monday, there will be a vacancy in the office of the speaker. The members will come onto the floor and set February 10th as the election day for a new speaker,” Morelle said. “We’re confident we can go forward, get back to work in terms of the budget and continue to lead the people of the state and do the jobs we were elected to do.”

Morelle will serve as the acting speaker until an election for a new speaker will be held on Feb. 10.

Sources confirmed to City & State that Assemblyman Keith Wright currently has enough votes to become speaker. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio could disrupt Wright’s plans by backing Assemblyman Carl Heastie.

De Blasio, who has refused to call on Silver to resign, has tapped Brooklyn County Leader Frank Seddio—who was previously backing Wright as speaker—to back Heastie, sources say. Heastie has also tapped Roberto Ramirez, a former assemblyman and Bronx county leader to work behind the scenes in Albany in order to promote him as a potential speaker. 

In May, City & State reported that Heastie was one of the members of the state Legislature that was being investigated by the now-defunct Moreland Commission. Heastie was investigated for some $25,000 in unitemized campaign expenditures made over the years the investigators analyzed, most of which were unexplained. This could hurt Heastie's chances, as Assembly Democrats told City & State that members are being very "cautious" not to pick another leader who could face legal problems.