Do you feel the love? Democrats are uniting behind Bill de Blasio. Of course, Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn’t the type to enjoy standing “behind” anyone—as you may have noticed at the “unity” event earlier this week. Give the Guv a break, though. He must have been excited that he can enter the city again without questions about Weiner or Spitzer to dodge—just talk of tax hikes his new bestie, Bill, is pushing. Let’s see who gets more votes in today’s Winners and Losers.
Can’t get enough of our Winners and Losers? Tune in to the “The Capitol Pressroom” with Susan Arbetter each Friday at 11:05 a.m. to hear about our weekly picks.
Bill de Blasio – These days everybody wants a piece of Bill. The unions dumped Thompson and Quinn and endorsed de Blasio, the governor threw his support behind him, even the Clintons gave him their blessing. Now he is crushing his opponent, Joe Lhota, 66 to 25 percent in the latest Quinnipiac poll, including 90 to 3 percent among black voters. Yes, you read that correctly.
Andrew Cuomo - Who doesn’t secretly love it when the big dog comes to the city and hijacks the news cycle—especially at a crucial juncture in the never-ending mayor’s race? Hours after the Post speculated that Cuomo and de Blasio would not get along if de Blasio became mayor, there they were on the steps of City Hall raising their hands in unity as Bill Thompson conceded. It was a subtle reminder that the mayorality may be enjoying its moment, but even mayors still have to answer to Albany.
Nina Davuluri - To win the Miss America crown you obviously have to be beautiful. But Syracuse’s own Nina Davuluri displayed her true beauty after the pageant was over through her graceful handling of the outpouring of despicable hatred and racism that exploded on social media from people who couldn’t handle the thought of a Miss America who is not blond and blue-eyed. We applaud Davuluri for her victory, all the more so for her poise and courage in responding to hate by simply saying, “I have to rise above all that.”
Loretta Lynch - Preet may get all the headlines, but Loretta has also been busting crooked pols with the steady ease of a Cormac McCarthy protagonist. This week she plowed through her greatest hits at a Moreland Commission hearing and locked down a guilty plea from Assemblyman William Boyland. Plus she has the cool, mesmerizing voice of an NPR host. “All things considered,” Lynch was “on point,” if not quite the “talk of the nation.”
Paul Vallone - For all of you who were panicked that the Vallone dynasty was coming to an end in the New York City Council with the departure of failed Queens borough president candidate, Peter Jr., fear not! Nearly a week after Primary Day, Austin Shafran conceded the tight Council race in northeast Queens to Paul Vallone, meaning that, provided Vallone can dispatch his Republican opponent in November—as is expected—the Vallones’ streak of having a member of their family in the Council uninterrupted since 1974 will continue. Third-generation Vallones, get ready to step up in 2021!
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Bishop, Grimm, Meeks and Owens - No, they’re not a new law firm. Tim Bishop, Michael Grimm, Gregory Meeks and Bill Owens are the four representatives from the New York delegation to turn up on the Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington’s list of the “most corrupt” members of Congress. This is the second time Bishop has made the list, and the third for Meeks and Grimm. To be fair to Owens, he was not named to the main list of “violators” and instead received just a “dishonorable mention” from the left-leaning watchdog group, but, hey, that’s not exactly the type of technicality one wants to boast for getting off on.
Jack Hidary - The tech millionaire’s stealth approach to his independent bid for mayor has been so successful that still nobody knows about his campaign with six weeks to go until Election Day. This week Hidary did succeed in making some news—though not exactly the kind he wanted. Hidary met with the Liberal Party about getting its nomination after John Catsimatidis ceded it following his loss in the Republican primary. The party was faced with a tough choice: Hidary or nobody. It went with nobody.
Occupy Wall Street - City & State’s office is only three blocks from Zuccotti Park, and yet the second anniversary of Occupy Wall Street was easy to ignore, with just a few soapbox socialists showing up to commemorate the occasion. In part, the paucity of the 99 percent can be blamed on the city’s plutocrat mayor cordoning off the park, but the feeling that the movement has fizzled was unavoidable. Of course, the argument could be made that the cause just got co-opted by the mainstream. Blame it on de Blasio!
Michael Ryan - The fledgling New York City Board of Elections executive director took to his new job with lots of optimism. On Primary Day, he was all over the city tackling problems with a hands-on approach. When he talked to City & State late in the afternoon he felt the day had gone mostly well (check out the interview here). Clearly, he spoke too soon. While Ryan might get an “A” for effort, the excruciatingly slow counting of votes by the BOE in the days following the election made it abundantly clear the Board still has a host of problems, a fact editorial boards and electeds were to pounce on, starting with Bill Thompson and continuing down the line. Ryan told us last week he wanted the Primary to go so well he made our Winners list. Sorry, Mike. Maybe next time.
David Yassky - The Taxi Commissioner has heard it from all sides this week. Bill de Blasio, his former colleague in the City Council, promised to toss him from his administration if he wins the mayoralty. The Daily News ripped him for introducing new taxis that were not wheelchair accessible. And medallion owners threw enough punches at him in the press this week to leave him yellow and black. If Yassky is looking for a quicker exit from City Hall, he should probably stick to the subway.
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