Congressman Vito Lopez?!?

All this talk about Hillary becoming Secretary of State has my head spinning.

If Hillary does take the job, she could single-handedly start a chain reaction that could change a good portion of the political landscape of Brooklyn overnight.

It all starts with the open U.S. Senate seat. As Liz Benjamin reported last week in The Daily News, Governor Paterson would likely appoint Brooklyn/Manhattan Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez to replace Clinton. The rationale behind the move makes sense. Paterson is under fire by a duo of rogue Democratic State Senators from the Bronx for the dearth of Latinos in leadership positions - a sharp thorn in Paterson's side given that the two State Senators are threatening to keep the State Senate in Republican hands if the Democrats don't make concessions. Elevating Velazquez to the Senate seat could go a long way to diffusing this criticism, while at the same time scoring points for Paterson with women voters.

Here's where things get crazy. If New York suddenly has Senator Velazquez, who is most likely to run for her Congressional seat?

(drum roll)

Vito Lopez!

Would any elected official in Brooklyn dare oppose him? I doubt it. And why wouldn't Vito want to be Congressman? Being a Congressman means way more money and power - the two things Vito loves most. What better promotion could he hope for?

And he could eat his cake too! Rep. Joe Crowley in Queens is both a Congressman and chair of the Queens Democratic Party. There's no reason why Vito couldn't keep his iron hold on Brooklyn's Democratic Party - and then some. Especially now that Mayor Bloomberg owes Vito big time for lining up Brooklyn's Council Members to hand Hizzoner another term.

Congressman Vito Lopez? I think I already hear Vito salivating. It finally seems appropriate that Vito left all of the Hillary for President signs up in the window of his office for weeks after Obama won the Democratic nomination. Could anyone be pulling harder for Secretary of State Clinton than Vito?

Oh, and who would run for Vito's Assembly seat if it became available? Diana Reyna? Erik Dilan? Then, would that mean more open Council seats in Brooklyn? Start your speculations now. If everything plays out according to Vito's wildest dreams, a lot of politicians' plans could be changing in the very near future.

Brooklyn Politics: Who are Brooklyn's New York City Council Members? (2008)

As Part IV of the Optimist's public service series to his fellow Brooklynites, the following is a current list of Brooklyn's City Council Members. To make the list as helpful as possible, I've linked each name to the elected officials' homepage.

If you don't know in what district you live, you can find out everything you need to know by entering your address into the New York City Board of Elections' website right here.

NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS REPRESENTING KINGS COUNTY (16 Total):

District 33: David Yassky
District 34: Diana Reyna
District 35: Letitia James
District 36: Albert Vann
District 37: Eric Martin Dilan
District 38: Sara Gonzalez
District 39: Bill de Blasio
District 40: Mathieu Eugene
District 41: Darlene Mealy
District 42: Charles Barron
District 43: Vincent Gentile
District 44: Simcha Felder
District 45: Kendall Stewart
District 46: Lewis Fidler
District 47: Dominic Recchia
District 48: Michael Nelson