This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

In Mayor Mamdani’s New York City, even the Queens Democratic machine will back a socialist. This week, the county party selected Diana Moreno, the former co-chair of Queens DSA, to be the Democratic nominee in the special election to succeed Mamdani in the Assembly. With the Democratic ballot line and endorsements from Mamdani, DSA and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, there’s little doubt Moreno will be the next Assembly member from The People’s Republic of Astoria.

One down, two to go. Well, sort of. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan that broadly sketches out a path towards universal child care, ticking off one of Mamdani’s three major campaign proposals after just over a week on the job. The actual work of passing it – and making it anything close to universal – still lies ahead, as the plan would start with child care for just a couple thousand 2-year-olds in New York City and scale up.

Move over Zellnor Myrie, the state Senate Zellnor/Zellner caucus is about to double. In a true power move, Erie County Democratic Party Chair Jeremy Zellner was nominated by the county committee he leads to run in the special election to succeed Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan in the Senate. Zellner is the front-runner against Republican Dan Gagliardo in a district where Mother Teresa would face hurricane force headwinds if she were the Republican nominee. 

Oh, how far the not-so-mighty have fallen. Though even a few months ago, the odds of New York City Council Member Joann Ariola remaining leader of the chamber’s now-five-member minority were not in her favor. She lost her bid to continue leading the caucus to Council Member David Carr, and the cherry on top of the most dramatic saga for the most undramatic office in the City Council? Instead of losing by an expected 3-2, she lost 4-1, after her own minority whip, Council Member Vickie Paladino, flipped to back Carr. Ouch.

Tenant organizer Cea Weaver felt the white hot glare of the national spotlight when her edgy, radical postings on X – think “homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy” – caught the attention of Mamdani haters. The mayor defended his longtime ally and newly appointed director of tenant protection. After all, he had some edgy, radical tweets himself. Though Mamdani said she was getting results, her first big splash ended up dry – when the city lost its bid to delay the capitalistic sale of a bunch of rent stabilized units at auction.

Did you hear? Pinocchio’s not a real boy and John Sarcone’s not a real U.S. attorney! A federal judge recently disqualified the supposed leader of the Northern District of New York from overseeing investigations into Attorney General Letitia James. Why? Because oops, turns out the Department of Justice didn’t properly follow procedure last year after judges declined to extend Sarcone’s tenure.