Assemblyman Steve Sanders, the chairman of the body's powerful education committee, has announced he's serving his last term, and a Politicker source says he's likely to join the lobbying firm of Crane and Vacco.

Which, in Albany, is considered a promotion.

Anyway, this would seem to pave the way for a return to public life for City Councilwoman Margarita Lopez.

CORRECTION: A reader who knows his way around the Assembly writes in: "He's actually resigning on 1/1/06 and not even finishing his term. That means there will likely be a special election next year."