Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
Back when she was crusading against tolls as a town board member in suburban Buffalo, Gov. Kathy Hochul likely never imagined she'd one day debate Whoopi Goldberg on national television. But that’s what happens when you take the hot seat with the pioneers of “Hot Topics.” When the governor appeared on The View this week, Academy Award winner Goldberg challenged her on the benefits of congestion pricing. Goldberg’s point of view even won praise from New York City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli, who is no fan of The View but really dislikes congestion pricing.
Sean Patrick Maloney -
Following an awkward turf war with now fellow former Rep. Mondaire Jones that he ultimately won, Maloney lost reelection in 2022 to Republican Rep. Mike Lawler – a stinging personal defeat for Maloney, whose one job as Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair was to get Democrats elected. But Maloney landed on his feet. This week, the U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Maloney may no longer have a seat in Congress, but the food in Paris just might have a leg up on the Hudson Valley.
Janno Lieber -
There’s a new ghostbusters team on the scene. A slew of state and city law enforcement and transportation agencies are deploying a new task force to crack down on fake and obstructed license plates in New York City. Apparently used to dodge tolls and commit crimes, so-called “ghost cars” have been an increasingly big problem since the pandemic. With the MTA losing nearly $50 million to toll evasion last year, there’s a lot to potentially be gained for agency head Janno Lieber. If nothing else it’s quite a unified show of force.
Anna Kelles -
The frack is not coming back. After the state banned fracking – the injection of highly-pressurized water into rock to free the oil trapped inside – the fossil fuel industry found a loophole: using liquified carbon dioxide instead of water to break up the rock. State legislators were not amused, and the Assembly passed Assembly Member Anna Kelles’ bill to ban this new form of fracking a mere two days after the legislation was introduced.
Lamor Whitehead -
He once claimed that New York City Mayor Eric Adams was his key to the city, but Lamor Whitehead might now prefer a key to his potential jail cell. Prosecutors in Manhattan have successfully convicted the politically connected pastor of stealing the life savings from the mother of one of his parishioners, along with other fraud. Now the mayor’s close friend faces up to 45 years in prison. Unfortunately for the Bling Bishop, his ties to Adams – who was not implicated in the case – weren’t enough to save him.
Daniel Ohebshalom -
Where is rock bottom for Daniel Ohebshalom? Allegedly refusing to fix electrical problems, remediate lead paint and take care of roaches wasn’t it. Neither was getting held in contempt of court. Getting named to the worst landlord list? So maybe it’ll be jail time for the notorious slumlord. This week, the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development obtained a warrant for Ohebshalom’s arrest – and law enforcement in Ohebshalom’s home state of California is cooperating with the New York City Sheriff’s Department to bring him in. And then there’s the fines of more than $3 million. Doesn’t get much more rocky than that.
Josh Lafazan -
Another day, another abandoned race. Josh Lafazan has dropped out of his second election in under a year, suspending his campaign for state Senate in favor of endorsing fellow Democrat Kim Keiserman in the upcoming primary. This latest move comes after Lafazan dropped out of the race for the 3rd Congressional District – the seat once held by disgraced former Rep. George Santos – and endorsed Rep. Tom Suozzi. It seems like Lafazan is eager to get back into the political game after losing his seat in the Nassau County Legislature, but he hasn’t yet found a campaign where he can go the distance.