Weinstein To Head Powerful Budget Writing Committee
Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein (D – Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn) was chosen by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D – Bronx) to be the next chair of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.
Most recently, the chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, Weinstein, 65, is the fifth most senior member in the 150-member lower house, having first been elected in 1980. Weinstein becomes the first woman to chair the committee. She has been a member of the Ways and Means Committee since 1993.
“Helene personifies the image of what an elected official should be,” noted Jeff Leb, a veteran lobbyist and president and founder of the firm Capitol Consulting. “She is honest, ethical, and just, and is a true advocate for her constituents.
“As chairwoman of the Judiciary committee in the Assembly, she passed groundbreaking laws to make our state better,” Leb told The Jewish Press. “Furthermore, Helene is a true friend of the Jewish community and the nonpublic school community. The Jewish community couldn’t have hoped for a better chair of Ways and Means and community leaders are elated that Helene was elevated to this prestigious position,”
The Ways and Means Committee is responsibility for all matters pertaining to the adoption of a state budget. In addition, the committee has jurisdiction over all legislation introduced in the Assembly that would impact spending or revenues at the state or local level.
Post-Primary Comings and Goings
Members in the state Assembly are reeling from the deaths of Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz (D – Electchester, Queens) and 31-year old Lauren Morelle, the daughter of Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle (D – Rochester). The mother of two young children died on August 31, succumbing to an 18-month battle with breast cancer.
There is an entire row of seats in the Assembly that will change names next year. In addition to the untimely death of Simanowitz, three-term Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj (D – Bronx) won his five-way race for the New York City Council and will be the first city councilman of Albanian descent.
In western New York, Assemblyman Michael “Mickey” Kearns (D – Buffalo) is vying to become the next Erie County clerk. He won the Conservative, Independence, and Reform party primary races earlier this month. Kearns, an enrolled Democrat, is running on the GOP line as he is persona non grata among the local Dems.
Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin (R – Troy, Rensselaer County) eked out a victory for county executive. He faces a Democratic opponent in November but Republicans tend to rule in countywide races.
Back in New York City, winning a five-way race and also moving on to the New York City Council is Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., (D – Soundview, The Bronx), much to the relief of many of his Senate colleagues on the Democratic side of the aisle who felt he was too conservative.
Another new face on the 51-member New York City Council will be Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D – Jackson Heights, Queens). He handily defeated former state Senator Hiram Monserrate.
It seems it’s no fun being in the minority party. Four other Assembly Republicans are seeking to leave the lower house. And Senate Democrat George Latimer (D – Rye, Westchester County) is seeking a county executive post. He won his primary and an opportunity to take on two-term incumbent county executive, Rob Astorino, a potential gubernatorial candidate in 2018.
Returning to Albany will be Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez (D – East Harlem, Manhattan) who fell short of his quest for a seat on the New York City Council.
Senator Phil Boyle (R – Bay Shore) is also returning to the Senate chamber after losing his bid for Suffolk County Sheriff.
Matilda Cuomo Inducted Into Women’s Hall Of Fame
Matilda Raffa Cuomo was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls.
Her son, Governor Andrew Cuomo, bestowed heaps of praise on his 86-year-old mother.
“My mother did it all,” said Cuomo. “She raised five kids basically on her own. My father was always busy doing what he was passionate about. She did it with no help. These were five kids, besides me, they all brought their own difficulties. And she was a phenomenal mother.
“And on behalf of all the kids, Mom, we are proud of everything that you have accomplished. We’re inspired by what you do for other people. We’re grateful for what you have done for us. But we love you for who you are.”
Mrs. Cuomo was inducted into the prestigious hall for being the founder of the Mentoring USA program.
“In 1984 she found her passion, which was mentoring and providing the support services for young people who really didn’t have that base of support,” her son recalled. “She used mentoring as a vehicle to do it. She started the program in New York State and it is still her passion. Over 10,000 children have been mentored by the program that she’s run.”
The governor recalled a recent conversation he had with his mother about settling down and not doing so much. She told him, “I have much too much work to do with mentoring. There are too many children who need help for me to do anything else.”
“And that’s the stage of life that she’s in now,” he told the audience of more than 100 attendees at the induction.
Besides Mrs. Cuomo, nine other women were inducted into the hall, three posthumously, in a celebration of the centennial anniversary of women securing the right to vote in New York. The first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls in 1848. Founded in 1969, the Women’s Hall of Fame has inducted a new class of women every two years since in 1973. This class of inductees brings to the total number to 276, 10 of whom identify as being Jewish.