# W I N N E R SA N D LO S E R S
WINNERS & LOSERS
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Session’s out for summer! Lawmakers were cramming to pass the remaining items on their agenda like a college student during finals, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the big man on campus, insisted this was his most productive session. Fortunately, this class of lawmakers isn’t Pass/Fail, but there are Winners and Losers:
Go to cityandstateny.com each week to vote.
WEEK OF JUNE 24, 2013
WEEK OF JUNE 17, 2013
YOUR CHOICE
WINNERS WEISENBERG 35% THOMPSON 29% BHARARA 17% SKELOS 14% BONACIC 5%
Preet Bharara: Gets NYC pension deal John Bonacic: Up to two Catskills casinos Dean Skelos: Held the line in Albany
TEACHER’S PET Bill Thompson:
Endorsements do not a mayor make, but Thompson has been racking them up recently, and none was bigger than the United Federation of Teachers’—arguably the most powerful union in the city, with a formidable ground operation. Thompson first picked up Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, then wooed AFT President Randi Weingarten and capped it off with the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators. Now comes the hard part: translating the support into votes come September.
LOSERS
driving if alcohol is on their breath.
YOUR CHOICE KLEIN 38%
ESPADA & ESPADA JR. 36% BROOKS 12%
KINK 10%
BLONSKY 4% Doug Blonsky: Central Park Conservancy contract axed Maggie Brooks: Monroe County tops distressed list Mike Kink: Gets arrested as campaign finance reform fizzles
LIKE FATHER… Pedro Espada Jr. and Pedro Gautier Espada: The Espada dynasty has come to an end—at least for now. The former Senate majority leader’s bid for a new trial was rejected as utterly baseless and could get him charged with submitting a false affidavit, too. Pedro Gautier, who got six months, blamed his dad for his troubles. The first father-son team to represent the Bronx in the Legislature, the Espadas are now the borough’s first father-son team of legislators to go to jail. 30
Harvey Weisenberg: The Legislature’s unofficial gym coach helped get $90 million in funding for disabilities services restored after being cut from the budget. His indefatigable advocacy convinced lawmakers to back the bill unanimously, after the governor huffed and puffed on the issue but could not blow the people’s house down. Weisenberg, a lifeguard in his native Long Beach, also pushed through a bill to prevent convicted drunk drivers from
JULY 8, 2013 | www.cityandstateny.com
Jeff Klein: The Senate co-leader was targeted by progressive groups for foot dragging on several items of the governor’s agenda. Fair elections activists staged a protest in front of his fourth floor Capitol office when it became clear public corruption would not pass; women’s rights groups said they would target him at the ballot box over the Women’s Equality Agenda; and Democratic legislators grumbled that Klein’s disagreements with his co-leader, Dean Skelos, were to blame for a paltry agenda as the session closed.
YOUR CHOICE
WINNERS WINDSOR 54%
Edith Windsor:
WEINER 17%
WILLIAMS 14%
GUERRIERO 10% GLASER 5% Howard Glaser: Makes peace on Peace Bridge Cathy Guerriero: Poll support for public advocate candidate Anthony Weiner: Leading or tied in recent polls
STOP THE FRISK Jumaane Williams: The Brooklyn councilman has been out front on reforming stop-and-frisk for a long time, and as one of the primary sponsors of the Community Safety Act, which recently passed, he has a nice notch on his belt to further bolster his progressive credentials. Whether or not you agree with the final legislation, this is a huge victory for him politically and changes the landscape of public safety in New York City. Congratulations, Jumaane! Now maybe you will stop being arrested.
LOSERS
When the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act that Windsor had challenged, she received a phone call. “Who am I speaking to? Oh, hey, Barack. My day is going great, thanks for asking. I just got the Supreme Court to recognize marriage equality in the United States. Oh, you saw that too? Well, thank you for everything you’ve done.” No, Edith. Thank you. Is Betty White available for the inevitable Edith Windsor biopic?
YOUR CHOICE: DE BLASIO 32%
BLOOMBERG 27%
JOHNSON 20% WOLFSON 13% HABER 8%
Adam Haber: Stereotypes Italian-Americans Corey Johnson: Gay candidate hides work for antigay firm Howard Wolfson: Hypocritical criticism of UFT
Bill de Blasio: You would think that running to the left of everyone else (except John Liu) in a New York City Democratic primary would be a smart decision, but it has backfired for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. He’s struggled to gain ground in the polls, and was dealt a severe blow when SEIU 32 BJ dissed him for Christine Quinn, virtually blocking any logical path to victory he had. At least he has Howard Dean backing him. YEEAAHHH!
LAME DUCK Michael Bloomberg: For all his billions, Mayor Bloomberg is still a lame duck—and the City Council knows it. Over the course of a few hours, the Council overrode Bloomberg’s veto of the paid sick leave bill and passed two pieces of legislation strenuously opposed by the mayor, which will impose new oversight on the NYPD, including creating an inspector general. Though Bloomberg has vowed to veto these bills too, the Council passed both with enough votes for an override.
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