Winners & Losers of the Decade

Everyone in politics has ups and downs, but sometimes a rough patch can be so devastating or defining that being designated loser of the week is not enough. Similarly, some New York politicians have achieved so much or risen to such prominence between 2006 and 2016 that their lofty status seems unshakable. (Don’t look for a presidential pick here – those two New Yorkers belong to the whole country now.) So without further ado, in honor of City & State's 10th anniversary, we present the Winners & Losers of the Decade! (Editor’s note: Voting is open for only 24 hours, and the top choices will be featured in City & State’s upcoming 10-Year Anniversary issue.)

WINNERS

Preet Bharara – Once upon a time in the Capitol, power and influence were paramount and shady dealings and dysfunction were the norm. But when the “Sheriff of Albany” rode into town, he tracked down one lawbreaker after another and even brought Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos to justice. With Preet’s investigations showing no signs of slowing, the only question is when he’ll ride off into the sunset.

Michael Bloomberg – Sure, he sometimes acted like a tone-deaf know-it-all who couldn’t stop spewing mangled Spanglish, but el Bloombito’s list of accomplishments is truly impressive. He shepherded the city through the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks and the Great Recession. He won mayoral control over the public school system, banned smoking in restaurants and bars, reshaped the cityscape, hammered out a groundbreaking sustainability plan and drove down crime. These successes bolstered his national profile and drove his flirtation with a presidential bid. And even if he drops out of the public eye completely, he’s still a billionaire.

Andrew Cuomo – After a disastrous gubernatorial campaign in 2002, Cuomo made his comeback as attorney general in 2006 before coasting to the governorship in 2010. Since then, he has balanced the state budget, instituted a property tax cap, legalized same-sex marriage, raised the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour – and much more. In negotiations with legislative leaders, Cuomo capitalized on the structural powers of his office as well as his own experience as the son of a governor. Even Cuomo’s critics admit he restored functionality to Albany after years of late budgets and chaotic sessions.

George Gresham – The health care union 1199 SEIU has been called “influential,” “powerful,” “the state’s most politically powerful union,” and “the union that rules New York” – and the man making the biggest decisions for its huge membership is Gresham. He took over as president in 2007, just as the union was flexing its muscle by forcing Gov. Eliot Spitzer to scale back deep budget cuts. And over the years Gresham has forged strategic alliances with most of the state’s biggest players, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the state Senate GOP.  

Charles Schumer – While he has been a U.S. senator for almost two decades, the last decade has been particularly good to Chuck. Opting not to run for governor, the popular Schumer instead rose through the ranks to become one of the most powerful Democrat in Congress. After leading his party back to a majority in the 2006 election, he won the No. 3 spot. Then outmaneuvered a colleague to position himself to replace Harry Reid as Senate minority leader – or even majority leader, if the Dems regain the majority once again. 

LOSERS

Pedro Espada Jr. – Espada tops the list of a cohort of legislators tied up in the chaotic events of 2009 – Hiram Monserrate, Carl Kruger, Malcolm Smith, John Sampson, Tom Libous, Dean Skelos – who ended up under investigation or even behind bars. Espada had a brief shining moment as the Senate’s temporary president during that infamous 2009 coup, and then became Senate majority leader after returning to the Democratic fold. But the glory was short lived, as he lost his 2010 election bid and eventually was convicted of embezzling from his own nonprofit.  

Vito Lopez – As the long-serving Brooklyn Democratic boss, he had everybody from Bill Clinton to George Pataki come to North Brooklyn to kiss the ring. While accusations of misspent funds at his neighborhood nonprofit didn’t bring him down, his career collapsed in 2013 amid lurid allegations of sexual harassment – like rubbing female staffer’s thighs and telling one to feel his cancerous tumors. When Lopez died in 2015, a little bit of the worst brand of old school politics died with him.

Sheldon Silver – Two years ago, Silver could have been on a list of the decade’s biggest winners for maintaining control of the Assembly since 1994. Before Andrew Cuomo was elected governor, the gnomic Silver had arguably been the most powerful Democrat in the state. Then Preet Bharara shocked the New York political world by exposing Silver as corrupt – not to mention a philanderer – who may very well spend his last years in a federal prison.

Eliot Spitzer – The “Luv Guv” was once beloved by liberals and on a trajectory that might have made him the first Jewish president. But it was hard to reconcile his hard-charging, sheriff of Wall Street persona with the caricature of a governor who supposedly kept his socks on during a rendezvous with a high-priced call girl. After resigning in the wake of the 2008 prostitution scandal, Spitzer made a failed comeback bid for New York City comptroller in 2013. These days he only makes the papers for things like alleged assault of a female companion.

Anthony Weiner – Three strikes, and he’s out! In 2011, after initially insisting he had been hacked, Weiner admitted a lewd photo on his Twitter feed was, indeed, posted by him, and resigned from Congress. In 2013, a promising comeback campaign for mayor was derailed by revelations that he had not ended his sexting ways. And in 2016, when Weiner was exposed again, his wife, Huma Abedin, announced she was leaving him, while the city’s child welfare agency dropped by to investigate his parenting.