35. Joseph Mondello

Plenty of insiders (and outsiders) have been tolling the bell for his leadership, but the old fox still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Knowing that Democrats will be Democrats, the GOP leader was able to throw a few monkey wrenches into the Nassau Democratic Party wrangle for top legislator. Although unsuccessful at the end of the day, Democrats should be warned that the fight is still there and the fat lady hasn’t sung a note yet. Also not to be overlooked is the fact that the GOP still controls plum patronage jobs in the two largest towns in Nassau. While the Republicans weren’t able to upset the apple cart in the last election cycle, they didn’t lose any ground during a period where being a Republican isn’t necessarily where it’s at in New York. Now, having said all of that… a succession plan would be nice.