New Speaker Elected; Reforms Still Need to be a Priority

Assemblyman Will Barclay (R,C,I--Pulaski) released the following statement today after a new Speaker, Carl Heastie, a Bronx lawmaker, was elected to the position by the Assembly Majority today at 11 a.m. This is the first time a new Speaker has been elected to the Assembly in 21 years.

“While I voted for Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb (R,C—Canandaigua) to become the next Speaker, the Assembly Majority elected Carl Heastie. The decision was made by the Assembly Majority behind closed doors before this morning, and essentially made official today at the beginning of session. I hope the recent day’s closed-door decisions are not indicative of the way our house will be managed during Heastie’s tenure. It is my hope Speaker Heastie will listen to rank-and-file members and lead reforming the House. The Assembly has, once again, been marred by this most recent scandal, and the rules we have in place allowed the corruption to take root.

“I urge Heastie to embrace reform, allow rank-and-file members to bring bills to the floor, create term limits on leadership positions, and hold public hearings on legislation (so as to prevent another bill like the SAFE Act from being rammed through by leaders). I also hope Assembly resources, such as staff and technology, are more fairly distributed, and more information on committee votes are shared with the public. Heastie has admitted he is not familiar with Upstate New York. I hope that changes quickly and he takes the time to learn about our unique attributes and economic struggles. Congratulations to Assemblyman Heastie on being elected Speaker. I am open to working with him to move the Assembly forward.”