Winners & Losers
This week's biggest Winners & Losers
Who's up and who's down this week?
Being the public advocate in New York City doesn’t come with the built-in powers of other offices, but if nothing else it can serve as a stepping stone. While the current occupant is testing his office’s influence, his two most recent predecessors are have risen in the chain of command – and are now at odds with each other over the policing practices of the NYPD. This week’s Winners & Losers features other politicos who are on the rise – or on the losing end of high-profile battles.
Andrew Ansbro & Benny Boscio -
Take a closer look at top labor leaders like George Gresham and Michael Mulgrew, and you start to see just what they have in common: alliteration! We’re not saying that’s why Andrew Ansbro and Benny Boscio seized control of two powerful labor unions in the state, but a catchy name can’t hurt when the rank and file cast their votes. Boscio replaces Elias Husamudeen at the city’s correction officers union, while Ansbro ousted Gerard Fitzgerald as leader of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
David Soares -
The incumbent Albany district attorney won his high-profile battle with progressive Matthew Toporowski, a Democratic primary challenger who gained significant backing but ultimately conceded this week. Soares, who has served as district attorney for 16 years, has been criticized for becoming far less progressive since taking office – but being less progressive than Toporowski ultimately worked in his favor.
Cy Vance -
From passing on prosecuting a case against Harvey Weinstein five years ago to reportedly overruling staff on potential fraud charges against Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is headed into a reelection year with many progressive foes. Yet Vance will be able to campaign as “the guy who won access to Donald Trump’s tax returns,” thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the president must comply with Vance’s subpoena of his financial records. Vance’s move to charge Amy Cooper – the white woman who called the cops on a Black man in Central Park – with filing a false police report, could also garner some favor among left-leaning Democrats. At least among those with a short memory.
Andy King -
Even a global pandemic can't slow the string of scandals surrounding New York City Council Member Andy King. A former staffer filed a lawsuit against the lawmaker, who she says retaliated against her for cooperating in a City Council investigation against him. That investigation into harassment of staffers and use of government resources for public gain led his colleagues to suspend him for 30 days without pay and strip him of his committee assignments last year. That's to say nothing of the other ongoing council investigation opened just before the COVID-era, which King tried to delay last month by opposing holding a disciplinary hearing via Zoom.
Peter Morrisey & Ed Newman -
Shut down temporarily by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sweeping coronavirus restrictions on business activity, Ed & Peter did what any aggrieved gun seller would do: They filed a Second Amendment lawsuit against the state. However, the administration’s decision that gun retailers are not actually “essential” was upheld by a federal judge. Because guns could still be purchased elsewhere, the executives’ Long Island company, Dark Storm Industries, had their case shot down.
Donald Trump -
Teflon Don is not holding up like he used to. TikTok teens ruined his comeback rally. His poll numbers are getting downright Carteresque. His niece is spilling the beans. His hometown just painted “Black Lives Matter” on Fifth Avenue! You know things are really going badly when even the beer-loving Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is ruling against him. No, we can’t see his tax returns quite yet – but the losses are nonetheless piling up just a few months before Election Day.
NEXT STORY: (Probably) the next Queens BP