Welcome, Speaker Heastie

It took six agonizing days for the New York State Assembly Democrats to ditch Sheldon Silver from the speakership. Fortunately, they didn’t have to pry it from his cold, dead hands.

And since politics loathes a power vacuum, new leadership stepped forward to keep the whole enterprise from falling apart. I give my former colleagues a lot of credit for not descending into a real life version of William Butler Yeats’ poem, “The Second Coming.” To the chagrin of critics, they made the center hold.

After a few days of political wrangling to whittle down five potential successors to my former colleague and Bronx party boss, Carl Heastie.

As it became evident that Heastie—a heretofore little-known Bronx assemblyman—had the votes to become the speaker, a sense of pride and trepidation came over me. I was happy someone I knew ascended to the highest rank within the Assembly. I was also worried that a top African American politician had drawn a bull’s eye on himself for zealous prosecutors, crusading editorial boards and cynical critics of the Legislature to target.

In a recent New York Post column, I noted that Speaker Heastie was “an imperfect messenger” because of the questions raised about his per diems and campaign expenditures by City & State and other members of the media. He hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing and seems to operate within the parameters of flawed but legal rules.

In brief remarks shortly after being elected, Heastie identified several areas where he will break with the past. He called for greater transparency and accountability in the travel and per diem reimbursement system. And he called for severely restricting outside income in exchange for higher pay to attract the best and brightest to legislative service.

He also vows to democratize the chamber. Early in his career, like many junior backbenchers, Heastie chafed under the seniority-based system. In private and in his public remarks, he promises to recognize and reward talented members and give them more input in policymaking as well as which bills come to the floor.

No one benefits from a disempowered speaker but all agree that his power should not be despotic. While Carl promises inclusion and a listening ear to all members, he will rely on his lieutenants to maintain discipline in the ranks.

At 47, Heastie also comes from a generation unencumbered by the sexism and prejudices of the past. This generational shift will benefit the young women who work on central staff and in district offices. His promise of zero tolerance for sexual harassment and misconduct must ensure we have no repeat of the Vito Lopez and Micah Kellner cases.

In recent public statements, the Southern District’s crusading U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has excoriated the “three men in a room” budget-making process. One of his recent taunts—“Do they always have to be white?”—has been refuted by Heastie’s election.

Also, Bharara has pointedly asked how voters can trust what emerges from that meeting room. Speaker Heastie needs to forthrightly answer that query by revealing publicly all the issues agreed upon and dissolving the secret slush funds controlled by each house and the governor. Disbursements from all fund accounts must be disclosed, credited and signed off by the state comptroller (and perhaps by the state attorney general, too).

On a personal note, I am hopeful that with two mixed martial arts supporters helming the conference that this will be the year the MMA ban will finally be lifted. I am also hopeful Speaker Heastie will commit to a more transparent and bipartisan process for getting bills to the floor for up or down votes.

Former Assemblyman Michael Benjamin (@SquarePegDem on Twitter) represented the Bronx for eight years.