The contest to succeed longtime New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was supposed to give lawmakers two weeks to mull their options. Instead, a decision between two candidates may be made before Silver's resignation from the post.
Silver steps down effective Monday night. Waiting in the wings: Bronx Assemblyman Carl Heastie, who would become the first African-American speaker in New York, and Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan of Queens, who would be the first female speaker in state history.
A speedy appointment would dash the hopes of some lawmakers and reformers had hoped for a more transparent, open selection process, which would be a departure from Albany's usual backroom politics.
