Politics
Democrat Carl Heastie Elected Speaker of New York Assembly

Newly-elected Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, holds his daughter Taylor after his election at the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, in Albany, N.Y. Heastie is the first African-American speaker, who will lead a chamber that has been rocked by scandal. He succeeds Sheldon Silver, the longtime leader who resigned after being charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The new leader of the New York state Assembly promised to focus on ethics and integrity after colleagues elected him Tuesday as the first African-American speaker, replacing a lawmaker whose two-decade reign ended with federal corruption charges.
Democrat Carl Heastie vowed to create a new office of ethics compliance and take other steps to clean up Albany’s tradition of corruption and backroom dealing.
“We will change the cynicism into trust,” Heastie said. “Our state deserves a government as good as its people.”
Sheldon Silver, who held the speakership for 21 years, is charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. The Manhattan Democrat has said he expects to be exonerated and intends to keep his seat in the Assembly. Silver attended Tuesday’s session, casting a vote for Heastie from his new desk in the Assembly’s back row.
Democrats hold a more than two-thirds majority in the chamber, and Heastie easily won the post over Republican Minority Leader Brian Kolb.
The Assembly’s only other business Tuesday was passage of a resolution honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Heastie noted the coincidence.
“Thank you, Dr. King, for making this day possible,” said Heastie, also the first speaker from the Bronx.
The speaker is one of the most important positions in state government. Heastie will direct the flow of legislation, set committee assignments and direct budget negotiations with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Republican-controlled state Senate.
Four other lawmakers initially sought the speakership but quickly backed out as Heastie locked up support.
The 47-year-old Heastie was first elected in 2000 and has led the Assembly’s Labor Committee for the past two years. He is a former budget analyst in the New York City Comptroller’s Office. He also leads the Bronx Democratic County Committee, a post he has said he will leave now that he is speaker.
On Monday, Heastie outlined his reform proposal, calling for a new Office of Ethics and Compliance led by a non-legislator, new limits on how much outside income lawmakers can earn, and greater reporting of outside income and legislative stipends. Outside pay is a central issue in the case against Silver.
He also said he would look for ways to decentralize Assembly power so rank-and-file lawmakers have more input.
Cuomo has suggested his own proposals including full disclosure of outside income. He announced Monday that he wouldn’t sign a state budget unless lawmakers pass reforms to restore public confidence in the Legislature.
“After all the headlines, I can see why they have questions of trust,” Cuomo told reporters during an event in Buffalo.
While the vote to elect Heastie speaker was overwhelming, managing the competing and in some cases conflicting goals of lawmakers — while negotiating with Cuomo and the Senate’s Republican leaders — is likely to prove more challenging.
Heastie is the latest in a long line of speakers from New York City — a tradition that many city leaders had insisted must be continued. As Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement hailing Heastie’s election, “New York City needs a strong voice in Albany.”
But Heastie will face pressure from upstate lawmakers too. Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Rotterdam, said he supported Heastie for speaker after he promised to address ethics and listen to the needs of upstate New York.
“I wanted a commitment that upstate New York would be a part of the conversation,” he said.
Heastie said he plans to visit upstate soon and listed several priorities for the Assembly including a higher minimum wage, extending financial aid to students in the country illegally and a legislative package known as the women’s equality agenda that contains measures to protect abortion rights and to combat sex trafficking, domestic violence and workplace discrimination.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
Remembering George Floyd
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire
“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.
The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”
In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.
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Politics
Democrat Carl Heastie Elected Speaker of New York Assembly

Newly-elected Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, holds his daughter Taylor after his election at the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, in Albany, N.Y. Heastie is the first African-American speaker, who will lead a chamber that has been rocked by scandal. He succeeds Sheldon Silver, the longtime leader who resigned after being charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The new leader of the New York state Assembly promised to focus on ethics and integrity after colleagues elected him Tuesday as the first African-American speaker, replacing a lawmaker whose two-decade reign ended with federal corruption charges.
Democrat Carl Heastie vowed to create a new office of ethics compliance and take other steps to clean up Albany’s tradition of corruption and backroom dealing.
“We will change the cynicism into trust,” Heastie said. “Our state deserves a government as good as its people.”
Sheldon Silver, who held the speakership for 21 years, is charged with taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. The Manhattan Democrat has said he expects to be exonerated and intends to keep his seat in the Assembly. Silver attended Tuesday’s session, casting a vote for Heastie from his new desk in the Assembly’s back row.
Democrats hold a more than two-thirds majority in the chamber, and Heastie easily won the post over Republican Minority Leader Brian Kolb.
The Assembly’s only other business Tuesday was passage of a resolution honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Heastie noted the coincidence.
“Thank you, Dr. King, for making this day possible,” said Heastie, also the first speaker from the Bronx.
The speaker is one of the most important positions in state government. Heastie will direct the flow of legislation, set committee assignments and direct budget negotiations with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Republican-controlled state Senate.
Four other lawmakers initially sought the speakership but quickly backed out as Heastie locked up support.
The 47-year-old Heastie was first elected in 2000 and has led the Assembly’s Labor Committee for the past two years. He is a former budget analyst in the New York City Comptroller’s Office. He also leads the Bronx Democratic County Committee, a post he has said he will leave now that he is speaker.
On Monday, Heastie outlined his reform proposal, calling for a new Office of Ethics and Compliance led by a non-legislator, new limits on how much outside income lawmakers can earn, and greater reporting of outside income and legislative stipends. Outside pay is a central issue in the case against Silver.
He also said he would look for ways to decentralize Assembly power so rank-and-file lawmakers have more input.
Cuomo has suggested his own proposals including full disclosure of outside income. He announced Monday that he wouldn’t sign a state budget unless lawmakers pass reforms to restore public confidence in the Legislature.
“After all the headlines, I can see why they have questions of trust,” Cuomo told reporters during an event in Buffalo.
While the vote to elect Heastie speaker was overwhelming, managing the competing and in some cases conflicting goals of lawmakers — while negotiating with Cuomo and the Senate’s Republican leaders — is likely to prove more challenging.
Heastie is the latest in a long line of speakers from New York City — a tradition that many city leaders had insisted must be continued. As Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement hailing Heastie’s election, “New York City needs a strong voice in Albany.”
But Heastie will face pressure from upstate lawmakers too. Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Rotterdam, said he supported Heastie for speaker after he promised to address ethics and listen to the needs of upstate New York.
“I wanted a commitment that upstate New York would be a part of the conversation,” he said.
Heastie said he plans to visit upstate soon and listed several priorities for the Assembly including a higher minimum wage, extending financial aid to students in the country illegally and a legislative package known as the women’s equality agenda that contains measures to protect abortion rights and to combat sex trafficking, domestic violence and workplace discrimination.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
Remembering George Floyd
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire
“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.
The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”
In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
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Activism3 weeks ago
After Two Decades, Oakland Unified Will Finally Regain Local Control
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Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of May 14 – 20, 2025
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Activism3 weeks ago
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Barbara Lee3 weeks ago
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-
Activism3 weeks ago
East Bay Community Foundation’s New Grants Give Oakland’s Small Businesses a Boost
-
Bo Tefu3 weeks ago
Gov. Newsom Highlights Record-Breaking Tourism Revenue, Warns of Economic Threats from Federal Policies
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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System
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