Stephanie Miner – Be honest. Before Tuesday, had you ever even heard of Stephanie Miner? Though Miner has long been acclaimed as a rising star in Central New York, where she’s been mayor of Syracuse since 2010, she was largely unknown across the rest of the state until Governor Cuomo plucked her from obscurity this week and named her co-chair of the NYS Democratic Party along with Manhattan Assemblyman Keith Wright. While even Miner admitted to being “a little bit” surprised by her high-profile selection, she won’t have a moment to catch her breath, taking the reins of the party in the height of campaign season, with critical electoral battles like the Buerkle-Maffei rematch going down in her backyard.

Mike Gianaris – Word on the street is the Democratic Senator from Queens got the most laughs at this year’s LCA show, with a bit making fun of the Senate Dems’ failed bid at an independent redistricting process this year. It’s not always easy to make fun of yourself, especially on an issue that wasn’t very funny to Gianaris when the gerrymandered district lines were being passed in the Senate during the Big Ugly. (Who can forget Gianaris telling Republican Sen. Mike Nozzolio to take his map and “shove it?”) The video itself, produced by the Parkside Group, was slick, funny, an appropriate length and it outshone the Governor’s video effort, leading everyone to wonder whether Parkside shouldn’t give up trying to elect Democrats to the Senate and just scoot on out to Hollywood instead.

Charlie Rangel – So what if Rangel was absent for another debate and his campaign flip-flopped on his lame excuse for ditching? The Harlem congressman made up for it with a strong showing in the endorsement race this week, racking up nods from key Latino leaders Rep. José Serrano and Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, not to mention scoring high-powered labor support from the UFT. The incumbent legislator even won over his erstwhile rival, Adam Clayton Powel IV, whose father Rangel defeated to first get to Congress way back in 1970. All in all, Rangel hasn’t been sitting this pretty since that Punta Cana Resort photo the Post loves running so much.

Solomon Kalish – The Post hed said it all: “Kruger Bag Man Gets Big Fat Break.” Kalish, one of former Sen. Carl Kruger’s co-conspirators in the wide-ranging bribery scheme, got a light sentence for his role in the scam this week, in inverse proportion to his size, which has caused him health problems in the past. The extra weight gutted Kalish’s prison term by half, Judge Jed Rakoff said during sentencing. We don’t envy anyone’s poor health, but it may make Kalish a free man faster than any of the other Kruger cohort.

Nik Wallenda – The death-defying Niagara Falls tightrope walk that funambulist Nik Wallenda planned became slightly less death-defying this week, after officials insisted he wear a harness to prevent him from plummeting to his death in the event of a misstep. This renders the feat less impressive we suppose, but we like to think he’s a winner because, hey, at least it’s less likely that he will plummet to his death.

LOSERS

John Sampson – What could be worse for John Sampson than The Daily News reporting that regardless of whether the Dems win or lose in December he’s out as Minority Leader? The follow-up article from Ken Lovett revealing that when Sampson brought up the piece in a closed-door meeting with his conference later in the day, not a single member stood up to defend him. In fact, according to Lovett, the criticisms of Sampson only grew more severe. With friends like that… Eh, John?

David Soares – There’s never a good time to be censured when you’re supposed to be the face of law and order, but when a State Appeals Court censured Albany County District Attorney David Soares yesterday for his mishandling of a 2010 case, it came at a particularly bad time, because Soares is facing his most credible threat in years in the form of Lee Kindlon. Soares is supposed to be watching Albany and its occasionally troubled politicians, but who’s watching him?

Michael Bloomberg -  At this point in his political career, it was already too late for Hizzoner to shake his reputation as an out-of-touch billionaire, but when it came out this week that the Mayor regularly flaunted the 34^th Street Heliport’s weekend curfew, the perception that Bloomberg is self-important was propelled to new heights. Shirking the rules once or twice – that’s understandable. But eight times in a single weekend? Even the Mayor’s top-shelf press team couldn’t explain that away. Kudos to the concerned citizens that exposed the chief exec’s excesses. We hope now you can finally get some peace and quiet.

Sheldon Silver — The Speaker staked this legislative session on the minimum wage hike, a measure he announced his hopes for quite specifically at the State of the State address earlier this year. And although the wage issue still seems dynamic, with several weeks left to go in the legislative session as scheduled, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s suggestion that passing a $1.25 increase in the minimum wage would be more difficult than passing same-sex marriage was last year certainly tamped down expectations for Silver’s biggest gamble.

Richard Hanna – The Oneida County Rep. flew the Tea Party flag when he ousted Mike Arcuri in 2010 and has made “fiscal responsibility” his mantra over his first term in Congress. So how has Hanna been husbanding our precious tax dollars? Apparently, by sending 461,281 pieces of mail at the bargain price of $190,766. The freshman’s affinity for snail mail not only ranks him the #1 franker among the state’s congressional delegation, it stamps him as 25^th out of the nation’s 435 Reps. in abusing the system. Hanna’s spokesperson tried arguing that all those newsletters were essential for keeping up with his constituents, but that alibi was returned to sender when the numbers revealed that 7 of his fellow New York members (6 Dems and Republican Michael Grimm) spent a whopping $0 on franking.

To vote for the top winner (and loser) of the week on City & State click here.

By Alan S. Chartock

A long, long time ago, I spent the summers on Fire Island with my family. My best friend, now passed, was Jon Lipsky, who went on to develop a tremendous reputation as a teacher and a playwright of the first order. His older brother, Michael, became an eminent professor at MIT and a formidable administrator at the Ford Foundation. Their younger brother, David, became a scientist and was largely responsible for the New York City water supply. Their father, Eleazar, was the author of many important novels and an assistant district attorney in the office of the legendary DA Frank Hogan. My friend’s cousins included the son and daughter of a publicist, “Uncle David.” Publicist David Lipsky’s daughter, Lisa, ran the Fire Island movie house. The youngest son, young enough for me not to have really known him, was Richard Lipsky. I just remember Richard as a little kid with his stomach hanging out over a bathing suit, walking barefoot in Ocean Beach. For a while it looked like Richard would follow in the footsteps of his distinguished cousins. He did well at college and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in political science.

The next time I heard about Richard Lipsky, I was publishing The Legislative Gazette in Albany and teaching at SUNY New Paltz and Albany. Instead of sticking with an academic career, Richard became a lobbyist and enjoyed some success. He was terrific at gaming the press. He would call the editors and offer them tidbits and stories. Like his dad, he had a temper. Eventually, his success as a lobbyist began to wane, and he fell in with Carl Kruger, the man I have always called the “Bad Kruger.” The “Good Krueger” is Sen. Liz Krueger, a brilliant public servant who seems earnestly devoted to the public good. The Bad Kruger is a complicated man, apparently shaped by a very hard childhood. Today he is seemingly uncommitted to contemporary ethical standards. As you probably know by now, the Bad Kruger took a turn for the worse when he deserted his professional responsibilities and went on the take. People would go to a designated lobbyist—none other than the kid in the bathing suit, Richard Lipsky—and give him money to put the fix in with the Bad Kruger, who would make things happen. When the FBI apprehended Richard Lipsky, there was money all over his home at the prestigious Normandy apartments on the West Side.

This is all a matter of public record. Both the Bad Kruger and Richard Lipsky were caught so red-handed that denial was impossible. They both pleaded guilty and are off to prison. Both made a public show of remorse. At his sentencing, the lawyer for the Bad Kruger made the defense that his client wasn’t as bad as some of the others in politics. I am sure that this did not sit well with the members of the Legislature. The U.S. district judge in the case, Jed S. Rakoff, took note of the good things that the Bad Kruger had done and let him off with a lighter sentence than the federal prosecutors were seeking. Richard Lipsky, the little kid in the blue bathing suit, will also go to prison.

I guess the point is that when you see some kid on the beach, maybe sucking his thumb, it’s possible that 50 years later that kid may turn out to be a brain surgeon or he may turn out to be a crook. The whole thing gives me the shivers. When I talked to my best friend Jon just before he passed and mentioned what was happening to his cousin Richard, Jon said, “Yeah, I know.” I’ve been wondering whether he saw it coming.

Unlike others who have no empathy, I just hate to see this happen to anyone. If you look into the childhoods of Carl Kruger and Richard Lipsky, you might find some clues about what was going to happen.

Alan S. Chartock is president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio and an executive publisher at The Legislative Gazette.

The seven-year sentence is less than the 9 to 11 years the U.S. Attorney’s Office asked for in its sentencing memorandum, which cited the “venal” nature of the offenses Kruger had committed. Kruger pled guilty to two counts of honest services fraud and two counts of bribery in December of last year, for accepting bribes from lobbyists and hospital administrators eager to influence the course of legislation in Albany. Kruger funneled the bribes through sham companies that enriched the Turano family, a mother and two sons with whom Kruger developed a close, familial relationship.

Kruger’s defense attorney Benjamin Brafman argued the former senator deserved leniency both because of the “good deeds” he had done in public office and because the bribery schemes, despite the amount of cash involved, did not seem to enrich Mr. Kruger, who still lived in a modest home and carried a passport with no stamps.

“I will never be able to figure out much of the psychology in this case,” Brafman said to the Judge Jed Rakoff as he made a plea for gentle sentencing even as he admitted his client probably deserved jail time. Kruger had, Brafman argued, developed his bribery scheme to help the Turanos, who were the only family Kruger had.

“But for the fact that it has a horrible end, it’s sort of a nice story,” Brafman said of the closeness between Kruger and the Turanos.

“The issue of motivation is, in this case, a puzzlement,” Rakoff conceded. He asked the government’s attorneys, ” Is it your view Mr. Kruger performed these acts out of greed or ungovernable emotions?”

Prosecutor Michael Bosworth replied, “Both.”

Kruger, in a departure from previous emotional court appearances, read evenly from a prepared statement before the sentence was delivered.

“Your honor, I’m going to read this verbatim because I’m emotional,” Kruger said, holding an index card with his statement on it.

“My message is simple: I’m sorry,” he said. “I worked hard for my community as a State Senator. Now my actions will forever overshadow whatever legacy I managed to achieve,” he said. “Worst of all, I destroyed the brilliant medical career of Michael Turano. I destroyed the lives of the people I love. My prison sentence hasn’t yet started, but my punishment is well underway. I have noone to blame but myself, and that reality will haunt me for my whole life,” he said.

Prosecutor Michael Bosworth sought to show the harm in Kruger’s crimes. “He got caught,” Bosworth said, seeking to undermine the defense claim Kruger had shown genuine remorse for his crimes. “The evidence was overwhelming. Of course he’s experiencing shame now.”

In response to Brafman’s comment that there would now be an “empty fourth seat” at the Turano family’s table, Bosworth said the table in question wouldn’t have been there without Kruger’s scheme.

“The baccarat table and chairs were purchased with bribe proceeds,” he said.

“I do believe Mr. Kruger deserves some credit,” Rakoff said, after hearing defense attorney Ben Brafman’s account of his client’s public works, including helping a man with cancer and a woman whose restaurant in his district burned to the ground.

Rakoff added, “Such credit must be tempered by the glaring fact that Mr. Kruger entered into substantially long-lasting bribery schemes that frankly sent daggers into the heart of government.”

“It is difficult to overstate the evils that are wrought when public officials succumb to bribery,” Rakoff said.

“We have only to look at other countries to see that once corruption takes hold, democracy becomes a charade, justice becomes a mere slogan, camouflaging a cesspool of self-interest.”

To read the full article at City & State click here.

Top city and state Republicans are setting up fundraising and paperwork for NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly to jump into the mayor’s race in 2013, without Kelly’s involvement.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn is reportedly trying to force Manhattan Borough president Scott Stringer to drop out of the mayor’s race.

NYC mayors have come from Manhattan for nearly 40 years, something a couple candidates are hoping to change.

Brooklyn

The special election in Brooklyn to replace former Sen. Carl Kruger is costing $1 million, 25 percent more than anticipated.

Could Simcha Felder end up running with both Republican and Democratic support?

Queens

The NY-6 race features a slew of ballot challenges.

James Sanders registered a campaign committee for his run against Shirley Huntley.

Manhattan

The Times looks at Harlem’s racial shift and the effect on political power there.

Adriano Espaillat is starting to rack up endorsements in his congressional race.

One of them came from Sen. Gustavo Rivera, who is himself getting a challenge.

Elsewhere

There’s a likely Democratic primary to replace Rep. Jack McEneny.

To read more from City & State click here.

Wendy Long

WINNERS

Liz Benjamin – What a happy two-year anniversary present for Capital Tonight superblogger Liz Benjamin: a “dossier” of her “generally snarky” blog posts from the Cuomo administration, helpfully gift wrapped by Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith. Not that Benjamin needed evidence that she was getting under the governor’s skin; we’re sure she’s received more than a few of those infamous off-the-record phone calls from you-know-who. And her response to the news that everyone else in New York politics was tripping over themselves to Tweet? Barely a shrug. More like generally unflappable.

Maggie Brooks – The Republican Monroe County executive’s congressional bid got off to a strong start: she raised over a quarter million dollars in under two weeks, outdoing her Democratic opponent Rep. Louise Slaughter, and earning the designation as a promising “Young Gun” candidate by the NRCC. Meanwhile, the 82-year-old Slaughter has had to defend herself on questions about her health and fitness to run. Brooks has even been able to deflect questions about national issues, though the local press has started taking her to task for staying mum.

Hakeem Jeffries – It’s one thing to end up winning a campaign by default when your opponent drops out if you’re not a great candidate, but for Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, who has run a gracious campaign against incumbent Ed Towns, the news that Towns would decline to run for re-election was just icing on a well-run campaign cake. Jeffries has made an impressive fundraising haul already, with $390,000 cash on hand. If he doesn’t spend it all running against Councilman Charles Barron, it’s just added muscle for future runs.

Sheldon Silver – The Assembly speaker got two bits of good news this week. First, the seating of Didi Barrett as the 101st Democratic member of his conference gave Silver back his veto-proof majority in the Assembly. And public polls show that voters continue to support his push for an increase in the minimum wage. And with the passage of Senate-approved mixed-martial arts bill hanging in the balance, he may have the necessary chits he needs to make a deal. And that’s where all that’s Silver turns gold.

David Yassky – The Taxi and Limousine Commission passed rules to put into place the far-reaching agreement between Cuomo and Bloomberg on expanding taxi service in the outer boroughs, a win for Yassky and his boss, Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Owners of the city’s yellow cabs are irate and they’re suing to block the plan, but the development means more business for livery cabs and a big influx of cash for New York City from the sale of the new permits.

LOSERS

Jeffrey Gottlieb — Jeffrey, we hardly knew ye. And yet, we wouldn’t have known you at all but for your controversial, late entry into the NY-6 congressional race in Queens, where you were immediately pegged as a “plant” by Assemblyman Rory Lancman — allegedly running at the behest of Assemblywoman Grace Meng. Of course, the New York Post took things to the next level by rifling through the personal lives of an obscure congressional candidate, and finding a history of arson and mental hospitalization. It all ended yesterday when Gottlieb withdrew from the race and threw his signatures to Stephen Green. Hope your record’s clean, Mr. Green.

Carl Kruger – The former Senator’s plea for leniency was sadder than an abandoned baby in a cardboard box, sadder than a dead puppy, sadder than a blank passport belonging to someone who never got to go anywhere in his life. It’s sadder than all these things because it contains all three and more, in a maudlin retelling of Kruger’s life that would have been more effective told straight. As it is, the overkill in the 77-page sentencing memo might be indicative of just how worried Kruger is the judge in the case will throw the book at him, especially considering the federal prosecutors’ plan to ask for nine-years in jail for the former senator, sad life story notwithstanding.

Wendy Long – GOP Senate hopeful Wendy Long knew her race against Kirsten Gillibrand would be an uphill battle. And with the release of her FEC filings this week, the public can see what an uphill battle costs – more than half of what she has managed to raise so far. Long was incensed by the publicizing of her publicly available campaign finance filings, and dubiously claimed that Gillibrand’s camp was responsible. But her fingers would probably be better served punching donor phone numbers than pointing at rivals.

To read the full list and vote for this week’s ultimate political winner and loser visit City & State by clicking here.