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ALBANY Bronx Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie, bypassing more senior members in a rapid internal power campaign, on Tuesday will become the first African-American speaker of the New York State Assembly.

Heastie, a 47-year-old Democrat first elected in 2000, was unanimously endorsed by his fellow Democrats during a closed-door conference at the Capitol on Monday evening. That followed a furious behind-the-scenes campaign effort by Heastie, who pushed ahead for the top Assembly post while many lawmakers thought they had signed on to a more deliberative process that was not to conclude until a floor vote next Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Heastie will take over for Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, who led the chamber since 1994 but lost the confidence of his Democratic Conference after last month being charged with corruption by the U.S. Attorneys Office in Manhattan.

Silver, 70, to the amazement of some lawmakers, not only came to the Capitol on Monday, but also attended the private meeting among Democrats in which they embraced a new speaker. Lawmakers said Silver, who has insisted he will remain on as a member of the Assembly, also voted in private for Heastie.

The full Assembly is set to vote on Heastie on Tuesday morning, but with 105 members of the Democratic Conference in the 150-member house, selection of Heastie during those proceedings is a mere formality.

Heastie declined to speak to reporters Monday after the Democratic vote but said he was humbled by the support.

After an earlier private meeting with Assembly Democrats who created a self-proclaimed reform caucus to push for structural changes with the chambers operations, Heastie was also his characteristic no-comment self. It wouldnt be a private conversation if I told about the conversation, he said when asked about the meeting.

The judgment of the conference is I lost, said Assemblywoman Catherine T. Nolan, D-Queens, who joined the Assembly 30 years ago. On Monday afternoon, during the middle of the private Democratic Conference, Nolan became the last of four other veteran lawmakers interested in the speakers post to step aside in the face of the political juggernaut put together by Heastie.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo chose to stay away from Albany on Monday and use a speech at New York University to again highlight the Capitols ethical lapses. He laid out a set of proposals, some of them already previously made, to try to improve the reputation of the state government or, more precisely, the Legislature.

Cuomo accused unidentified lawmakers of going to Albany to make money through extra per diem payments on top of their salaries and said there should be further restrictions on how politicians can spend their campaign account funds. He said there needs to be total disclosure of lawmakers outside incomes, such as any connections their law firm clients might have to the state, and to end pensions for politicians convicted of corruption charges. Some of these proposals have been made by lawmakers and outside groups for years, but never gained traction among top Albany officials.

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Democrats unanimously back Heastie for speaker

Vice President Biden insists he's thinking about running for president. As we've written before, this is probably a fool's errand.

Yes, Democrats like Biden just fine. In fact, a new Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll of the Iowa caucuses shows Biden's popularity among likely Democratic caucus voters is almost as high as President Obama's and Hillary Clinton's (at least on its surface). While Obama is viewed favorably by 86 percent of these folks and Clinton is at 84 percent, Biden is at least in the same ballpark, at 78 percent.

What's more, Biden is the first or second choice of 35 percent oflikely Democratic caucus-goers when it comes to the 2016 contest.

But to truly understand just what Biden's 2016 problem is, you have to go a little deeper. Yes, His favorable rating among Iowa Democrats is 78 percent, but the picture for Biden is much less promising when you break that number down.Of that 78 percent, 53 percent say they have a "mostly" favorable view of him; just 23 percent say they have a "very" favorable view.

By comparison, Clinton's "very" favorable number is 46 percent and Obama's is 49 percent. Even Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), whose name ID is considerably lower than Biden's, has 30 percent of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers who view her "very" favorably.

Suchis Biden's problem. He's a likable enough guyfor Democrats,but he's not the guy they see as their 2016 standard-bearer and a future president. He's not the guy who's getting anybody fired up about the 2016 campaign.

We got at thisa little a while back. A Quinnipiac poll at the time asked people whether they thought Biden would make a good president. Just 51 percent of Democratsand 19 percent of independents agreed with that statement. Thirty-eight percent of Democrats answered in the negative.

This same pollster, we would note, has shown Biden's favorable rating among Democrats about where it is in the Iowa poll -- 73 percent favorable vs. 18 percent unfavorable in June 2014. Again, a popular guy, but not onewho is lighting fires in the hearts of voters.

Why does this matter? Well, if Clinton runs for president, it probably doesn't. That's because neither Biden nor anybody else would probably have a great shot to beat her.

But even when you're talking about the small chance that an alternative would have -- or Biden's odds were Clinton to bypass a run -- these numbers suggest he would have a very difficult time being that second option for Democratic voters.

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The Fix: Joe Bidens Uncle Joe issue

Is Syriza #39;s Victory in Greece Good News for U.S. Progressive Democrats?
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Is Syriza's Victory in Greece Good News for U.S. Progressive Democrats? - Video

In the last 24 hours, the public debate over whether vaccinations for children should be mandatory has been overlaid with partisan politics, with both President Barack Obama and possible 2016 GOP candidate Gov. Chris Christie weighing in with different takes on the issue. In a pre-Superbowl interview with NBC News, Obama urged vaccination skeptics to "know the facts," while Christie had to backpedal after telling reporters he believes parents should have "a measure of choice" in the matter.

While vaccination skeptics don't fit into a single political categorization, a deeper dive into poll data can show us a little bit more about how Americans from both parties look at this issue.

A survey released last week from the Pew Research Center showed that 68 percent of US adults believe that vaccinations of children should be required, while 30 percent say that parents should be able to decide not to vaccinate their kids.

Education level, gender and income don't seem to make too much a difference in how Americans view vaccinations. But age does matter: 41 percent of young adults say that parents should have a choice about vaccinating their kids, while just 20 percent of seniors say the same.

Republicans and independents are more likely than Democrats to advocate against required vaccinations.

Thirty-four percent of Republicans and 33 percent of independents told pollsters that parents should be able to decide about vaccinations, versus just 22 percent of Democrats who said the same.

And, within the past five years or so, Republicans have become LESS likely to say vaccinations should be required, while Democrats are now MORE likely to advocate for the mandatory shots.

In 2009, 71 percent of both Democrats and Republicans said vaccinations should be required. By last August, that number decreased to 65 percent for Republicans, but it's increased to 76 percent for Democrats.

The scientific community falls squarely against the "choice" crowd. Pew's recent survey of scientists connected with the American Association for the Advancement of Science found that 86 percent advocated for required vaccinations.

First published February 2 2015, 10:14 AM

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Republicans, Democrats and the Vaccination Debate

Less than halfway through Virginias annual legislative session, many of Democrats top priorities are already dead.

Attempts to regulate gun possession, roll back abortion restrictions, better enforce equal-pay laws and codify gay marriage have failed, most without a vote on either the House or Senate floor.

With Republicans in control of both legislative chambers, the frustration of progressive policies isnt a surprise. The only question is whether, in a year when every lawmaker will face voters in a state growing more liberal, Democrats will win outside the Capitol what they could not win inside by forcing votes on issues some Republicans would just as soon ignore.

Virginia is purple and moving blue for statewide elections, said Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Jones. It appears to me that these are things that play out differently in localities than they do in the General Assembly.

In contrast with past years, Democrats are the ones aggressively pushing these hot-button issues. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) highlighted all three in his first State of the Commonwealth address, making a particularly forceful push for gun legislation. It was a reminder of the liberal-oriented campaign that brought him to office in 2013.

While conservative Republicans have filed a smattering of bills to expand gun rights, limit abortion, block undocumented students from receiving in-state tuition and allow government employees to refuse to perform gay marriages, the party has done nothing to amplify those ideas.

Weve had a lot of discussion down here that you should really deal with kitchen table issues, said House Majority Leader M. Kirkland Cox (R-Colonial Heights), a conservative who co-sponsored the states 2006 marriage amendment.

Democrats, by contrast, have organized news media conferences and sent reams of news releases highlighting what they call Republican obstruction.

In a memo circulated to members before the session began, House Minority Leader David J. Toscano (D-Charlottesville) encouraged his caucus to create dilemmas for our Republican colleagues, especially those in targeted seats.

Republicans are crying foul, saying the other side is too focused on the elections this fall. Three moderate senators are retiring from seats that will probably have hot competition from both parties, and Democrats are hoping to gain a few seats in the overwhelmingly Republican House.

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For Virginia Democrats, will short-term losses in Capitol mean long-term gains outside it?