Bay Ridge’s newest legislator cast her first vote this week — re-electing the Assembly’s minority leader then spinning it as a vote for change.
Assemblywoman-elect Nicole Malliotakis (R–Bay Ridge) earned our coveted “Press Release of the Week” award after calling herself a “Hero of Reform” because she voted to re-elect Assemblyman Brian Kolb (R–Canandaigua) to a post that he’s held for more than a year.
“He has been a strong advocate for reform measures, such as independent redistricting and a constitutional convention so we can change the way business is done in Albany,” Malliotakis said in the statement. “He has been very critical of politics as usual.”
It’s the first vote — and first press release — since Malliotakis wrested the seat from two-term Democratic Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer.
Press Release of the Week
Delivering on her Campaign promise to be a “Hero of Reform,” Assemblywoman-elect Nicole Malliotakis voted for Assemblyman Brian Kolb, who was re-elected by current and incoming members of the Assembly Republican Conference as Minority Leader by a unanimous vote on Monday.
“I am glad to have been able to share my fresh perspective with my colleagues at our first conference meeting,” said Malliotakis. “I am fully prepared to deliver on my agenda of government reform, including capping state spending, creating an independent redistricting commission, and convening a people’s constitutional convention. I am eager to start the Legislative session and begin working to provide a brighter future for the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn.”
“I am proud to say that I have used my first vote as a public official to champion the reform measures that I advocated for in my campaign by selecting Assemblyman Brian Kolb to lead us in our commitment to these reform measures,” said Malliotakis. “I look forward to voting for him as Speaker of the Assembly to replace Sheldon Silver, who has been labeled as the biggest enemy of reform by Former Mayor Ed Koch’s New York Uprising campaign.”
