While Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has yet to endorse a candidate for mayor, insiders predict he will follow Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch and back former city Comptroller Bill Thompson, who lost narrowly to Mayor Bloomberg four years ago.
Silver and Tisch are longtime friends and political allies and many on the inside say Tisch wouldn’t have endorsed Thompson last week without Silver’s approval.
“Shelly backing Billy, the only black in the race, would win him a lot of points with the African-Americans in the Assembly, who help keep him as speaker,’’ said a longtime Thompson backer.
I'm less interested in Silver's potential backing of Thompson than I am of Shelly's friendship and political alliance with Merryl Tisch.
There's little doubt that Tisch and NYSED Commissioner King have the political backing and support of Governor Cuomo as they seek to fire tens of thousands of teachers via APPR and Common Core over the next few years.
But Tisch, who like all Regents board members, is appointed by the legislature, must also have the backing of Assembly Speaker Silver as well.
No wonder she seems little worried that her ill-conceived, badly planned "reforms" will backfire on her.
She has two powerful figures backing her up.
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