The line is hardly ever faster. Those "security people" at Newark (Gateway, I believe?) normally do all they can to ensure the Elite line is as crowded with non-status Y pax as possible, usually children or elderly, most with foreign passports, to slow the ID check down to a crawl.

As far as assigning an ELR seat, that's definitely a mistake. When in Europe, or anywhere CO has contract staff overseas, I try to track down the BF concierge if I have any issues. They are usually the most informed of anyone working the flight. If you try to speak to a contract agent (Servisair, Menzies, LH, or whomever) they often only know the bare minimum possible to fulfill their responsibilities, and, in my experience, are rarely willing to let you educate them about the intricacies of CO's operation. "No" is just a lot easier.

This problem isn't unique to CO, however.