Thanks to deep-pocketed donors, Heastie always ‘wins’

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Since becoming state Assembly speaker in 2015, Carl Heastie has raised a staggering $48 million through his campaigns and political action committee while overseeing two state Democratic fundraising arms that pocketed another $32.8 million, records show.

Along the way, the Bronx Democrat also racked up a beefy resume of going to bat for unions, trade groups and other financial backers – often pushing legislation for them that lacked gubernatorial support or could take years to secure.

“These people know where their bread and butter is — and Carl Heastie has shown their financial contributions will pay off at some point,” said one Albany insider. “There’s always numerous bites at the apple.”

Last fall, Heastie helped deliver the United Federation of Teachers, New York State United Teachers and affiliates controversial legislation mandating class-size reductions in city public schools.


New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.
Democrat Carl Heastie has raised $48 million through his campaigns and political action committee since becoming New York Assembly speaker in 2015.
AP

It was a huge win for the unions, which are currently using their influence to try blocking Gov. Kathy Hochul’s bid to bring the Big Apple more charter schools and since 2015 have donated a combined $146,000 to Heastie and another $1.3 million to the state Democratic Assembly Committee and its “housekeeping” committee.

The unions spent years lobbying Heastie and other pols for smaller class sizes because it means more teachers — and future dues-paying members — being hired.


The United Federation of Teachers.
The United Federation of Teachers and its affiliated unions lobbied state legislators hard to pass legislation lowering class sizes in New York City schools.
UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Hochul signed the bill into law in September — against the wishes of fellow Dem Mayor Adams, who argued the move will cost the cash-strapped city hundreds of millions of dollars yearly.

Hochul and her predecessor Andrew Cuomo worked well with Heastie to deliver key agenda items to top Albany donors, including immunity for health care facilities during state’s COVID-19 emergency, health care worker bonuses and a minimum-wage increase.


Lobbyist Patrick Jenkins
Lobbyist Patrick Jenkins is a longtime friend of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and does plenty of work for one of his biggest donors: New York State Trial Lawyers Association.

In 2021, state legislators began reviewing a bill to vastly expand New York’s wrongful death statute to allow survivors to sue for personal grief — not just quantifiable monetary damages – a move critics say could cause huge spikes in ambulance-chasing, frivolous lawsuits.

The New York State Trial Lawyers Association – which records show donated $56,000 from July 2021 through last October directly to Heastie and another $160,000 to the Democratic Assembly committees – successfully lobbied the speaker and other key legislators to pass the bill last year.

The “Grieving Families Act” was vetoed in January by Hochul, who raised concerns it could send insurance premiums soaring.

With his ex-college roommate Patrick Jenkins a top lobbyist for the Trial Lawyers Association, any chance of New York updating its much-maligned Scaffold Law, which critics say boosts insurance costs for transit projects and other construction by hundreds of millions of dollars, is doomed. Heastie opposes tinkering with the law.

The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council – which has donated nearly $650,000 combined to Heastie and the state Assembly committees since 2015 – lobbied legislators to pass a bill last year allowing people with felony records to work in casinos. Hochul vetoed the bill.

Messages left with Heastie, the Trial Lawyers Association, and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council were not returned.

A UFT spokesperson didn’t directly address questions about donations but said the union “was happy to add its voice to the campaign to ensure that New York City classes will be reduced to the average size of public schools classrooms across the state.”

John Kaehney, executive director of the government-watchdog group Reinvent Albany, said there’s no denying many of Albany’s top donors and other special-interest groups feel Heastie’s influence is for sale.

“If you look at the state budget and who gets the money, you have to conclude that the management-labor-hospital alliance has been hugely successful,” he added.

TOP 10 DONORS TO HEASTIE CAMPAIGNS AND PAC SINCE 2015 

1- NYSUT/VOTE-COPE:  $146,900

2- New York Hotel Trades Council: $130,400

3- LAW PAC/NYS Trial Lawyers Assn.: $123,200

4 –Transport Workers Union & PAC: $111,500

5 – 32 BJ ADF: $97,800

6 – Billionaire hedge fund manager James Simmons: $84,400

7 – Mason Tenders District Council & PAC: $88,500

8 – Empire Dental PAC: $85,400

9 – 1199 SEIU: $67,300

10- Montefiore Hospital & its CEO Phil Ozuah: $61,000

TOP 10 DONORS TO STATE DEMOCRATIC ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES SINCE 2015

1- Greater New York Hospital Association: $1,560,500

2- *NYSUT/VOTE-COPE: $1,036,917

3- Healthcare Association of New York State: $1,002,500

4 -LAW PAC/NYS Trial Lawyers Assn.: $933,115

5 -Empire Dental PAC: $833,100

6 – NYS AFL-CIO COPE: $803,400

7- Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America: $646,500

8- Carl Heastie’s campaigns and PAC: $621,500

9- 1199 SEUI: $675,000

10- Civil Service Employees Association and PAC: $590,000

*Does not include $192,300 from AFT and $124,600 from UFT.

Note: Totals include both the state Democratic Assembly Committee and the Democratic Assembly’s housekeeping committee.

Source: NYS Elections Board.

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