Court documents released last week suggesting that former Democratic Bay Ridge Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer was one of the corrupt Sheldon Silver’s illicit lovers didn’t rattle Bay Ridge political insiders who say it was clear she was off doing something else, because she was never around.
“My dissatisfaction with her is that she was ineffective as a local leader, and it looks like she was busy doing other things,” a Republican source said.
The married Hyer-Spencer represented Bay Ridge and Staten Island from 2007 until 2010, when Republican Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis unseated her.
The allegations may explain why she was scarce around Bay Ridge — when she was notably missing from events in Brooklyn, folks thought she was on the other side of the Narrows repping the Rock, but now some are rethinking that supposition.
“People were assuming if she’s not in Brooklyn then maybe she’s really busy in Staten Island,” a Democratic insider said.
No one ever caught the two between the sheets, but it was pretty obvious something was going on because she stood out like a sore thumb, sources say.
“She was terrible,” a source said. “She would have a picnic and she would show up in high heels. She was out of touch, never really fit in. She just stood out. And people got very critical.”
It was also no surprise when Hyer-Spencer took a few high-paying jobs up in Albany — allegedly with Silver’s help. There was no obvious spark between the two — especially with Silver being 20 years older than the former beauty queen — besides his political connections, sources said.
“I don’t how they took a liking to each other,” a source said. “Janele knew exactly what she was doing trying to hook up with Shelly, and he would look out for her.”
