12. Jay Jacobs

It has been a new party since Jacobs took over the reins five years ago, and this past year he worked hard to maintain his party’s majority in the Legislature, fighting millions of Police Benevolent Association dollars spent to throw the balance back to Republicans. He also helped newcomer Kathleen Rice (#24) topple Republican District Attorney Denis Dillon. Unfortunately, the 2006 struggle for control of the Legislature tainted November’s resounding victories, and Jacobs’ efforts to quell the infighting between Democrats almost did not work. One could argue that the result of the attempted coup, which was everything staying the same, was only arrived at because there was no other way, and it had little to do with party leadership. Let’s see how well Jacobs can do this year, with Suozzi running for governor. This is his time to step up and shine. If successful, he may be number one on every power list in the state next year.