Bronx officials elated Heastie is speaker

The Tuesday election of the Bronx’s Carl Heastie to become speaker of the state Assembly prompted a slew of congratulations from other officials in the borough. Politicians here reveled in the prospect of having one of the most important posts in the state filled by a leader in the Bronx’s political scene following Assemblyman Sheldon Silver’s ouster as speaker amid corruption charges.

The northwest Bronx’s Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz called Mr. Heastie “a man who has displayed exemplary leadership skills and a remarkable ability to bring people together to reach consensus throughout his years in public service.”

Mr. Dinowitz went on to praise Mr. Heastie for replacing Assemblyman José Rivera as chairman of the Bronx Democratic Party during the dramatic “Rainbow Rebellion” of 2008.

“As chair of the Bronx Democratic Party, Carl has proven to be a fair, inclusive, and effective leader who understands that working collaboratively is more important than claiming credit,” Mr. Dinowitz said in a statement.

For the past two years, Bronx state Sen. Jeff Klein worked closely with Mr. Silver while Mr. Klein was co-majority leader of the Senate. Mr. Klein, who formed a caucus between his breakaway group of Democrats and Senate Republicans this year, said Mr. Heastie would be an ally as the Independent Democratic Conference pursues its agenda.

“I’ve always been impressed by his ability to bring people together and build coalitions,” Mr. Klein said of Mr. Heastie in a statement. “There is a lot of work to be done this legislative session and the Independent Democratic Conference has outlined a number of solid and sensible proposals that will keep our great state moving in the right direction… I know we will have a strong partner in Speaker Heastie as we work on these important policy initiatives.”

Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. hailed Mr. Heastie’s election as a historic occasion. Mr. Heastie is the first African-American to become Assembly speaker.

“[Mr.] Heastie has always made the people of the Bronx proud, and I know he will continue to do so as our speaker,” Mr. Diaz said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing my work with Speaker Heastie in his new role, as we enact an agenda that makes our borough, our city and our state an even better place.”