Quinn’s Supporters Expected To Earn Committee Positions
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The new speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn, is scheduled to announce new committee assignments today, and council members from Queens and Brooklyn are expected to reap their rewards.
Many in government circles will be watching to see how Ms. Quinn treats the colleagues who supported her candidacy and the party bosses that tipped the election for speaker in her favor. The Queens Democratic Party was credited with playing the key role in electing Ms. Quinn, and its members will hold onto the two most powerful council committees: Land-Use and Finance.
Yesterday, a council source confirmed that Robert Jackson of Manhattan will head the Education Committee; Simcha Felder of Brooklyn will get Government Operations; Erik Dilan of Brooklyn will head Housing & Buildings, and Joel Rivera of the Bronx will take over the Health Committee.
Council Member Bill de Blasio, who was Ms. Quinn’s chief rival in the race to become speaker, is expected to keep his post as head of the Government Welfare Committee. Mr. de Blasio and Council Member Lewis Fidler, who are both from Brooklyn and have butted heads in the past, are expected to get leadership positions.
Assemblyman Vito Lopez, the new Brooklyn Party boss, said that in addition to the assignments mentioned above, Diana Reyna is expected to be the new head of the Rules Committee, David Yassky is expected to lead the Small Business Committee, which oversees the city agency with the same name, and Michael Nelson will head the Waterfronts Committee. All three are from Brooklyn.
“I believe that Brooklyn did well, definitely much better than it did four years ago when we only had five committees. Now we have 12, plus two subcommittees,” Mr. Lopez said. “It reinforces the importance of sitting at the table.”
Committee chairmanships and leadership positions in the council all come with stipends and power. Jockeying for positions has been intense over the last two weeks. The Bronx, which also played a role in electing Ms. Quinn, albeit a slightly lesser one because it backed her after the other counties decided what to do, will pick up the Health Committee under Mr. Rivera, who will also stay on as the majority leader.
“I don’t think it’s a loss for anyone,” a political consultant, Scott Levenson, said. “Nobody got hurt in this process. The people who got helped were the people who got shut out last time.”

