She upgraded.
State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s girlfriend has landed a new job at Albany’s largest lobbying firm after being fired from her previous job with a small labor union.
Rebecca LaMotte lost her job with the Greater New York LECET in June in what the group called a reorganization, months after her influential boyfriend angrily deflected questions about possible ethical conflicts over his relationship with a lobbyist.
LaMorte has now been bought by the $21 million New York lobbying firm Brown & Weinraub.
“It has long been a dream of mine to share my passion for both work and disability advocacy, and I am thrilled to be able to make it a reality with the team at Brown Weinlove!” LaMotte posted on her LinkedIn on Tuesday morning.
In a statement, the company said: Empire Report, “Rebecca will bring her unique experience and skillset to counseling all of our clients and will be a key advisor to the entire BW team.”
After LaMorte was fired from LECET, Rep. Heastie (D-Bronx) took the highly unusual step of calling a relatively small group.
David Weinraub, a partner and co-founder at LaMorte’s new employer, told The Washington Post that he did not speak with Heastie before hiring him.
“No, nobody talked to anyone,” Weinraub said.
Weinraub said he knew Lamolt before hiring him, as he was a frequent visitor to the State Capitol during the Legislature’s sessions, and noted it was not unusual for his firm to hire someone with ties to the state Legislature.
One of Mr. Heastie’s top aides, former state speaker aide and senior policy adviser LouAnn Ciccone, joined Brown & Weinraub last year. Retiring state Rep. Ken Zebrowski, a Democrat from the Upstate, also left to take a job with the firm earlier this summer.
Weinraub declined to say whether his company has a similar recusal agreement to the one LECET reached with the speaker’s office, which prohibited LECET lobbyists from lobbying Heastie directly.
Mike Wyland, a representative for Rep. Heastie, did not respond to questions from The Post, including whether a new resignation agreement had been reached.
“This is a marriage made in heaven for Albany,” John Caney, executive director of Reinvent Albany, told The Post about LaMort’s new job.
“[Brown & Weinraub] “You get a chance to make friends with people in high places. That’s the best thing about Albany,” he said.
But “it’s a double-edged sword,” Mr. Caney said. “People will think she got the job because of her relationship with the speaker. That may be unfair, but that’s the nature of the job.”
Several other lobbyists who spoke to The Post staunchly defended LaMorte’s professional qualifications, including his ties to the labor community.
“Rebecca was smart and well-respected long before she met the chairman, so why wouldn’t she be able to work for a great firm if she wanted to?” James “Cadillac” McMahon, a veteran lobbyist and former Brown & Weinraub employee, told The Post.
“Weinraub is like Leo Durocher — he finds smart, influential people,” McMahon said, likening the lobbying giant to the late Brooklyn Dodgers manager.
LaMorte ran unsuccessfully for New York City Council in 2021 and currently serves on Manhattan Community Board 8. She also regularly advocates on disability rights issues.
Braun & Weinraub has hundreds of clients, including NYSEG, Orsted Wind, The Dow Chemical Company, Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, Spotify and Mount Sinai Hospital. Annual Report The influential firm that is highest paid by state lobbying regulators is Brown & Weinraub, whose lobbyists made just over $21 million last year.
LaMorte did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
