This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

“Every vote counts” might seem like an oft-repeated and banal platitude , but two likely soon-to-be Assembly members proved its relevance this week. Following recounts, David Siffert won the Democratic primary to replace Assembly Member Deborah Glick by 15 votes in lower Manhattan, while Patrick Martinez won by a mere seven votes in the Democratic primary to replace Assembly Member Steven Raga in western Queens.

It’s (almost) pay day! New York City elected officials are poised to receive an 18.2% salary increase next month after the City Council approved legislation sponsored by Council Member Nantasha Williams to hike their pay. It’s been a long time coming; elected officials haven’t gotten a raise since 2016. It’ll be even longer for Speaker Julie Menin and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who are both turning down the raise.

It must feel nice to announce your reelection bid with every statewide elected official at your side. Rep. Pat Ryan launched his campaign for a new term flanked by surprise guest Gov. Kathy Hochul, as well as state Attorney General Letitia James and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. With the establishment locked down, Ryan also strengthened his progressive bona fides by voting against Israel funding. Seems like some nice groundwork for a future statewide run.

Controversial posts might not ruin your political career anymore, but they can still get you sued! Republican City Council member Vickie Paladino is being sued for defamation after she posted on X that a progressive activist hesitated to call the police after her partner was fatally stabbed because “the murderer was nonwhite and her politics dictate the police are the real evil” – which wasn’t true. Rough, but somehow still far from the firebrand lawmaker’s most controversial post.

Maybe don’t always trust lawyers. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon signed everything in a folder the county attorney handed him, including both the approval and veto of term limits legislation McMahon opposes. Since the approval reached county lawmakers 19 minutes before the veto, they said it’s approved, but McMahon says not so fast. He’s not alone. In 2013, a liberal Democratic Kansas state legislator accidentally led the charge for openly carrying guns in the state Capitol with a hastily drafted amendment no one read. Oops!

Things are not well in the Buffalo school district. Buffalo Schools Superintendent Pascal Mubenga shocked Buffalonians when he resigned after only a year on the job, without any explanation. Not long after, he was accused of sexually harassing another district official. Buffalo Board of Education member Muki Hawkins also got accused of harassing the same official, though (for now) he’s still in his post.