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New York State

The Lobbyist Dating Carl Heastie Was Just Laid Off. He Was Not Pleased.

Rebecca Lamorte was let go by her employer in June, prompting the Assembly Speaker to place an upset call to her boss.

Chris Bragg   ·   July 17, 2024
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie at his desk in the state Capitol
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie's romantic relationship with a legislative lobbyist has drawn scrutiny. | New York State Assembly
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The lobbyist who has been dating New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie was recently laid off from her job at a construction labor-management partnership, New York Focus has learned.

The decision prompted Heastie to place an upset call in late June with the labor group that employed her, according to two people briefed on the conversation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss a sensitive matter involving Heastie and the labor movement. On the receiving end of his ire was Mike Hellstrom, co-chair of the Greater New York Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Trust.

Hellstrom emphasized during the call with Heastie that Rebecca Lamorte’s departure “was the result of an organizational decision to move away from lobbying” and “had nothing to do with her personal life,” according to a spokesperson for LECET.

New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie speaking at a press conference in 2021

“Rebecca Lamorte’s recent departure was part of a larger restructuring of Greater NY LECET that impacted several employees,” the spokesperson, Dan Morris, said. “Rebecca was given a generous severance package, and the organization wishes her the best.”

Neither Heastie’s office nor Lamorte responded to requests for comment.

In March, Heastie adopted a recusal policy in light of his relationship with Lamorte, which was revealed that month by New York Focus. That policy barred Heastie from meeting with officials from LECET and several affiliated organizations.

Heastie’s phone call raises ethical concerns, according to John Kaehny, executive director of the government reform group Reinvent Albany.

“On a personal, emotional level, you could understand it,” Kaehny said. “But whenever somebody has that much power over an interest group — one that relies on his goodwill — it could easily be construed as a threat.”

“It could easily be construed as a threat.”

—John Kaehny, Reinvent Albany

State policies significantly impact building trades unions and the construction industry. LECET works to advance the shared interests of building trades unions and the contractors that employ their members in the greater New York City area.

In June, LECET finalized the decision to get rid of its lobbying division, which had been viewed internally as duplicating lobbying by the Mason Tenders District Council, the labor branch of LECET.

Lamorte was the only one of the three members of the eliminated division left without full-time employment. Another was recently elected to a leadership position at the Laborers Local 66 on Long Island, while the third was transferred to a different role at LECET.

Lamorte’s romantic relationship with one of the state’s most powerful lawmakers, and the scrutiny it brought, had raised concerns within the organization.

After Lamorte informed her employer of the relationship this year — several months after she’d begun dating Heastie — she was directed to cease lobbying the Assembly. But she soon began pushing to reverse that prohibition.

New York State Assembly speaker Carl Heastie stands in front of a tile wall with TV microphones.

After New York Focus reported on the relationship and recusal policy in late March, LECET leadership grew concerned about the state of its own relationship with the speaker, who was furious with the group for confirming his ties to Lamorte.

LECET’s executive director, who had authorized the public disclosure, resigned days after the story’s publication. The group then reversed course and allowed Lamorte to return to lobbying the Assembly, including Heastie’s staff.

In the final months of this year’s legislative session, LECET achieved its two top priorities in Albany: a mandate requiring major SUNY construction projects to include union-friendly project labor agreements, and labor-requested provisions in a housing package hashed out by the legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul.

During the first four months of 2024, the group spent more than $23,000 on lobbying in New York, according to state records.

The session ended in early June. Three weeks later, LECET’s lobbying arm was eliminated.

Chris Bragg is the Albany bureau chief at New York Focus. He has done investigative reporting on New York government and politics since 2009, most recently at The Buffalo News and Albany Times Union.
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