On Tuesday at 11 A.M. the New York State Assembly was called to vote for a new Speaker. Representative Carl Heastie, a democrat from the 83rd assembly district which is located in the Bronx. Heastie's appointment to the Speakership marks a historic day for he is the first African-American to hold the New York State Speakership. When mounting the podium for the first time he was taken back and only said "Wow".
Yet the celebrations are going to be short lived with many asking how to move forward with the controversy of Sheldon Silver and the allegations against him. A push for ethical reform has been established and Speaker Heastie has pushed for more democracy in the Assembly and stronger regulations on how much outside income Assembly members can receive. With this many have hope that a stronger ethics law or even an office may be put into place for the NewYork State Assembly.
The first order of business for the new Speaker is the budget process. This will be his first challenge and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds. Will we continue to see the "Three men in a room" exchange that has plagued New York State politics for 20 years now? Or will we finally get to see some transparency on certain assembly functions.
One move that will help him gain some respect and influence over his democrats and other members of the Assembly is his upstate tour. He is planning on traveling upstate New York to gain information on what are the needs outside of his distract and especially the tri-state area. With this hopefully we will see policy changes that will be for the good of upstate New York.
Time will tell if Heastie will be a breathe of fresh air for the Assembly or just another authoritative leader.
Source:http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/On-Tuesday-lawmakers-will-pick-Heastie-to-lead-6058541.php
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