SPIN CYCLE: On the blog

After four months as Suffolk's consumer affairs commissioner, Eric Kopp will become the Levy administration's top operative at the county legislature. The move to install Kopp, who had been chief deputy to former County Executive Robert Gaffney, follows Ben Zwirn's recent exit. County Executive Steve Levy's top deputy, Edward Dumas, appeared with Kopp on Thursday to announce the move at the consumer affairs office, where Cliff Coleman temporarily takes over. Kopp will be an assistant deputy county executive at $116,000 a year - a $6,000 raise. "Eric has vast institutional knowledge and experience," said Mark Smith, a Levy spokesman. Comptroller Joseph Sawicki, a potential Levy rival in a GOP primary for county executive, praised the choice, adding: "My sense is, Eric will become frustrated very quickly since he will not be one of Levy's 'yes' men."

- Rick Brand