Assembly Facing Historic Change in Leadership

The contest to succeed longtime Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was supposed to have taken two weeks for lawmakers to mull their options. Instead, it’s looking increasingly likely that the decision will be made before Silver’s resignation takes effect Monday night.

Assemblyman Carl Heastie of the Bronx has emerged as the clear favorite from a field that just a few days ago featured five contenders. Three of them quickly backed out and threw their support behind Heastie, who would be the first African-American speaker in New York.

Now there is only one
other opponent, Catherine Nolan of Queens, who would be the first female speaker in state history.

Nolan insisted late in the week that she’s in the race to win it, and said she doesn’t want her colleagues to make a snap decision or revert to the Assembly’s tradition of secret deals. “The conference agreed on a process to reflect a new openness,” she said. “Otherwise it’s the same old Albany.”

Majority Leader Joseph Morelle of Rochester is set to become acting speaker until all 150 members vote on a permanent replacement, now as early as Tuesday given Heastie’s quick consolidation of support.

That would be earlier than a timetable setting a Feb. 10 vote as part of a process meant to allow lawmakers to fully consider candidates for the job. Good government groups had even hoped the contenders would agree to a public forum that would give voters a chance to learn more about them.

Heastie, 47, chairman of the Assembly Labor Committee, was elected in 2000. He is a former budget analyst for the New York City Comptroller’s Office and he leads the Bronx Democratic County Committee. His legislative history shows few successes aside for labor and wage issues.

Heastie said Saturday he isn’t worried about news reports on his campaign spending will put U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s target on his back.

“Preet Bharara’s job is prosecutor and I don’t think this makes me any more of a target. I have no concerns about that at all,” Heastie said.

Nolan, 56, leads the Committee on Education. She was first elected to the Assembly in 1984. She vowed, if picked, to bring openness and transparency to the Assembly — and to make sure all lawmakers have more of a say. She dismissed suggestions that the choice was already made.

“I’ve seen people say ‘X’ and then vote ‘Y,’” she said when asked whether Heastie had the votes he needs. “Anything can happen.”

This article appeared in print on page 1 of the February 2nd, 2015 edition of Hamodia.