Our Man in Albany: NY Judge Blocks
 Paterson's Pick as Lieutenant Governor

By Vesselin Mitev
New York Law Journal
New York Lawyer
July 22, 2009

A state judge has temporarily enjoined Richard Ravitch from serving as lieutenant governor. In a decision late yesterday, Supreme Court Justice William R. LaMarca of Nassau County barred Mr. Ravitch from exercising "any of the powers of the office." He also ruled that the legal battle over whether Mr. Ravitch was constitutionally appointed by Governor David A. Paterson will occur in Nassau County, and not Albany, as Mr. Paterson had requested.

Senators Dean G. Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, and Pedro Espada, D-Bronx, had challenged the July 8 naming of Mr. Ravitch as the state's second-in-command. Mr. Paterson appointed Mr. Ravitch, a former head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, as a way of breaking a monthlong leadership deadlock in the state Senate.

Justice LaMarca said the senators demonstrated a "likelihood of success on the merits for their claim that neither the constitution nor legislative enactment authorized the governor to make the appointment." He noted that the governor's legal team conceded at oral arguments last week that Mr. Ravitch is "presently performing the duties of lieutenant-governor," including serving as president of the Senate and as a member of various committees. Were Mr. Paterson "to die, resign, or be removed from office, Mr. Ravitch, if allowed to remain in office, is next in the line of succession," Justice LaMarca wrote. He concluded that allowing an allegedly "illegally appointed lieutenant-governor to act as governor of the state would clearly constitute irreparable harm."

A conference in the case is set for August 25. Skelos v. Ravitch, 13426/09, will be published tomorrow

Now What in Albany?

Editorial
The New York Times
July 11, 2009
 

Another flip-flop by the spectacularly self-serving state senator from the Bronx, Pedro Espada Jr., has now given the Democrats a working majority in the Senate. This means that senators can start doing what they’re paid to do: legislate. Their bitter, five-week standoff has already exacted far too high a toll on the lives of New York’s citizens and on the state’s tattered reputation.

The Senate immediately passed a bunch of mostly noncontroversial bills, showing that it has a pulse. But as far as we — and we suspect most New Yorkers — are concerned, the senators all deserve to be ridden out of town on a rail.

The next election is more than a year away. If this gang wants to change voters’ minds, it must fundamentally reform the corrupt system that made this mess inevitable: the disgraceful campaign finances, the safe seats, the lack of transparency. We’re not optimistic.

Instead of conceding buffoonery, Democrats tried to pass off their misbehavior as little more than a family feud. Republicans busied themselves with trying to reverse Gov. David Paterson’s appointment of Richard Ravitch to fill the vacant post of lieutenant governor.

To recap: Mr. Espada, an ambitious Democrat, had been siding with the Republicans, leaving the Senate in a 31-to-31 tie, depriving it of leadership, crippling state government. That persuaded Mr. Paterson to appoint a lieutenant governor to end the paralysis.

On Thursday, Mr. Espada recanted, putting the Democrats back in the majority and allowing business to resume. Mr. Espada said he was persuaded that the Democrats were committed to changing rules he found unfair. A less charitable explanation was that Mr. Espada feared that one or more factors — Mr. Ravitch’s arrival, a power-sharing deal — could leave him out in the cold.

This slippery mediocrity managed to get himself named as majority leader. Self-respecting Democrats must hope that his office turns out to be ceremonial.

The Senate has a lot to do. It needs to extend mayoral control of the New York City school system and legalize same-sex marriage. There is a big hole in the state’s budget, which may require a summer session. Beyond that are the even bigger issues of governance like campaign finance reform and equitable redistricting. Until New York has cleaner, more competitive politics, the Pedro Espadas of the world will continue to run Albany, and all New Yorkers will suffer.

 

With Democrats Back in Control, First Bills Are Passed

By Danny Hakim
The New York Times
July 11, 2009

ALBANY — The bitter standoff that has paralyzed the New York Senate for nearly five weeks ended on Thursday, when a senator from the Bronx who had defected to the Republicans returned to the Democratic fold, giving the party the majority it needed to re-establish control.

Senate leaders, sounding by turns apologetic, fatigued and self-congratulatory, started Thursday night to pass more than a hundred bills they had neglected during the leadership struggle.

The senators stayed until about 2 a.m. Friday to pass bills that were largely noncontroversial but often critical to balancing the budgets of cities and counties across the state. They concluded by passing a sales tax increase for New York City after a vigorous debate, increasing the tax by one-half of a percentage point, to 8.875 percent.

Sen. Pedro Espada Jr.’s defection on June 8 threw the Senate into turmoil and hobbled the state government, making the body a national laughingstock as the feuding factions shouted and gaveled over each other in simultaneous legislative sessions. It led Gov. David A. Paterson to take the extraordinary step this week of appointing a lieutenant governor, Richard Ravitch, to clarify the state’s line of succession, though it is far from clear that the governor had the authority to do so. Republicans are challenging the appointment.

On Friday, a state judge in Nassau County adjourned a hearing on the legitimacy of Mr. Ravitch’s appointment until the middle of next week. However, a restraining order put in place in the early hours of Thursday morning has since been rescinded, leading the governor’s legal team to declare Friday that Mr. Ravitch, at least for the moment, is the state’s lieutenant governor.

The Senate stalemate had prompted anger from voters and local officials, and denunciation from newspapers across the state.

"To all 19.5 million people in the state of New York, we apologize," Senator John L. Sampson, a Brooklyn Democrat, said at a news conference. "Sometimes you have a dysfunctional family, dysfunctional family members, but at the end of the day, we understand that we are all one family and we are all home now. Home to stay."

On Thursday and into Friday, senators were still in a feisty mood in the aftermath of their battle for the chamber. Some railed against Governor Paterson for taking an unusually hard line against them over the last month. More surprisingly, the Senate took the rare step of actually voting down a bill, rejecting by 34-28 legislation backed by Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli that would have allowed local governments to borrow money from the state to pay their pension bills, a controversial proposal.

The defeat, however, was widely seen as having little to do with policy. Mr. DiNapoli, at the governor’s urging, had withheld the paychecks and travel vouchers of Senators in recent days, arousing anger. There was broad laughter in the chamber after his bill was defeated.It remained unclear when the body would return to take up more high-profile bills that were held up in the dispute that deadlocked the Senate, including a measure that would extend mayoral control of the New York City school system and, potentially, same-sex marriage. Lawmakers expected to come back on their own by next Tuesday.

As they resumed the majority, the Democrats announced a new leadership arrangement under which Mr. Espada will be given the title of majority leader. Mr. Sampson will serve as leader of the Democratic caucus, and Malcolm A. Smith of Queens will be the Senate’s president for what several senators described as a transition period of an undetermined length.

The duties of the three leaders were still unclear Thursday evening.

With the Senate feud over, however, attention shifted from Mr. Ravitch’s appointment. Mr. Espada said he had ended his 31-day alliance with the Republicans because he had become convinced that Democrats were committed to overhauling the Senate and making it operate more fairly and efficiently. He characterized the intense battle that had consumed the Capitol as a family feud.

"Sometimes best friends fight," Mr. Espada said, adding: "I never left home. I had a little leave of absence. My brothers and sisters welcomed me back, and we come back stronger than ever."

But it appears that Mr. Espada may have been driven to make a deal to return as majority leader out of fear of being marginalized, because a separate Democratic faction was moving to establish a power-sharing deal with the Republicans.

Indeed, the Democrats have become increasingly polarized, often along racial and ethnic lines. Mr. Espada and other Hispanic senators have pushed for more influence from Mr. Smith and Mr. Sampson, who are black.

Separately, the faction of seven white Democrats, led by Senator Jeffrey D. Klein of the Bronx, that had sought the power-sharing deal with the Republicans is especially uneasy with Mr. Espada, who faces investigations related to nonprofit health clinics he runs, his campaign finance practices and whether his primary residence is in the Bronx. Any arrangement they reached with Republicans would probably have pushed Mr. Espada aside.

Faced with that possibility, Mr. Espada returned to the Democrats in exchange for a job whose power, beyond its title, is difficult to discern. The titles of Senate president and majority leader have traditionally been combined; the president is vested with special powers in the state’s Constitution, and the majority leader is not.

As majority leader, Mr. Espada will receive a bonus on top of his regular legislator’s salary.

Senator Hiram Monserrate, a Queens Democrat who initially sided with the Republicans along with Mr. Espada, played a major role in persuading his colleagues to allow Mr. Espada to return.

Dean G. Skelos, the leader of the Senate Republicans, speculated that the Democratic caucus would break apart again.

"This is my prediction," Mr. Skelos said at his own news conference, his caucus surrounding him. "Within a few months, maybe six months, there is going to be so much discord within that conference that we’re going to be running the Senate, all right?"

He added: "There are so many factions there that would like to, quite honestly, slit the other factions’ throat. I think it’s going to be very, very difficult to lead and govern."

The month of inaction has been frustrating in Albany. New York City lost $60 million in tax revenue because the Senate did not pass a planned authorization for a sales tax increase. The bill was passed Friday morning after a number of Democrats criticized the measure as unfairly burdensome to the poor.

"A sales tax is among the most regressive taxation schemes," Mr. Monserrate said in a speech Friday morning on the Senate floor.

Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, said the Senate should defer to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to balance the city’s budget.

"We, as we know, have our own headaches here running our state government," she said. "I’m not sure we’re up to taking on, solving the problems of every local government."

Senators were uncertain Thursday when or whether several high-profile issues stalled by the leadership battle, including same-sex marriage and changes in rent control laws, would be taken up. The regular legislative session ended on June 22.

Mr. Paterson has kept the Senate in special session each of the last 17 days, including the Fourth of July, in an effort to increase pressure and end the stalemate. He also encouraged the state comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, to withhold senators’ pay.

"I’m very happy, as the senators are, that they’ve reached an end to their conflict," the governor said late Thursday. "We are going to have to restore that to even attempt to win back the trust of the people of this state."

Mr. Paterson also raised the specter of calling the Legislature back again this summer to address the latest hole in the budget, which he said could be $500 million to $800 million. That underscored the reality that the Senate’s deadlock took place amid a particularly perilous financial climate.

Even as the stalemate ended, disputes continued among the parties about how the Senate should be run. Democrats were noncommittal Thursday about adopting rule changes Republicans had tried to pass, but by early Friday morning the two sides issued a joint statement saying that they would work together to enact rules to make the body operate more fairly. "I believe there is a success story to be told," Mr. Skelos said, "that we made them focus in a lot more on the rules changes we made."

Some Democrats are skeptical of claims of reform from a party that had hoarded resources during the more than four decades it controlled the Senate. As Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Manhattan Democrat, put it, "When you sell your soul and the check bounces, that’s a bad day."

Amid Impasse, Paterson Picks a Lieutenant Governor

By Danny Hakim
The New York Times
July 9, 2009

ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson named Richard Ravitch, a Democratic lawyer with a career in government dating back a half century, as the state’s lieutenant governor on Wednesday.

Mr. Paterson said Mr. Ravitch, 76, would bring stability to the capital and help him end what he called the "crisis in governance" that for more than a month has paralyzed the Senate during its 31-to-31 split. The governor wants Mr. Ravitch to preside over the Senate, cast tie-breaking votes on leadership and other procedural votes and succeed him if necessary.

Mr. Paterson’s move was intended to end the turmoil in the capital, but it seemed chiefly to intensify it, drawing threats of legal challenges even before the governor announced his decision on television at 5 p.m.

The lieutenant governor’s office has been vacant since Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned last year and Mr. Paterson succeeded him; the State Constitution does not provide for filling the office in the event of a vacancy.

Mr. Ravitch is best known in New York for serving as chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from 1979 until 1983, and he also ran for mayor in 1989, losing in a primary to David N. Dinkins. He was chief labor negotiator for Major League Baseball from 1991 to 1994, and last year the governor called on him to develop a financial rescue plan for the authority.

Mr. Paterson’s aides said they expected him to take over the role as soon as Thursday. They also made it clear that he would not be a candidate for the office in 2010 and that Mr. Paterson planned to pick someone else to run with him next year.

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, the state’s top legal officer and a Democrat, like Mr. Paterson, said this week that naming a lieutenant governor would be unconstitutional and entangle the governor "in a political ploy that would wind through the courts for many months."

Leaders of the Republican-dominated Senate coalition said that the governor’s move would only further complicate the fight for control of the Senate and that they were preparing a legal challenge.

The governor had his own political calculus. He and his staff believe that he can rebuild his diminished standing in the polls if he is seen to be rising above the Senate fracas and acting boldly. His campaign began making automated calls across the state publicizing the Ravitch selection shortly after his speech.

In picking Mr. Ravitch, Mr. Paterson is turning to one of the stewards of New York City’s financial rescue in the 1970s at a similar time of economic peril. Mr. Ravitch, who has agreed to forgo a salary, is a well-regarded public servant, who began his career working in Washington for the House Government Operations Committee in 1959.

He was chairman of the state’s Urban Development Corporation under Gov. Hugh L. Carey before leading an overhaul of mass transit financing while he was chairman of the authority.

In his televised address Wednesday, Governor Paterson said, "This, I believe, is the right thing to do, I have no doubt of that," and added, "At a time of unparalleled fiscal difficulty, the appointment of Richard Ravitch today will bring the governor a successor, the Senate a presiding officer and will help to alleviate this crisis."

Senator Dean G. Skelos, the leader of the Republican caucus, said in his own address, "Sadly, once again, the governor has put his political career ahead of you, the public." He added: "Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has already said it’s unconstitutional for the governor to appoint a lieutenant governor, and I agree."

Senate Democrats welcomed the move. "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary action," said the Senate Democratic leaders, John L. Sampson and Malcolm A. Smith, in a joint statement.

The Senate has been deadlocked since June 8, when Senator Pedro Espada Jr., a Democrat, defected to the Senate’s 30 Republicans, leaving the 62-member chamber evenly divided.

Whether Mr. Paterson can legally appoint a lieutenant governor has been a matter of much debate this week. One view, advanced by Democrats and government watchdog groups, is that a provision of state law allows the governor to fill an elected office on his own, if there is not otherwise a process laid out in law for filling the vacancy.

The governor argued that the appointment could solve several problems, among them the state’s tangled line of succession. The combination of an empty lieutenant governor’s office and the Senate battle has created confusion about who would take over if the governor were incapacitated. The Senate president is next in line to succeed the governor after the lieutenant governor, but both the feuding Republican and Democratic factions are laying claim to the position.

Assemblyman Michael N. Gianaris, a Queens Democrat, said, "It would guarantee a line of succession should something happen to the governor, and it would give the Senate a presiding officer to help get it out of the quagmire it’s been in for the last month."

The State Constitution speaks at some length about what is to happen if the office of lieutenant governor is left vacant, but it makes no mention of the possibility of appointing a replacement.

Perhaps most important, the Senate’s rules indicate that the lieutenant governor cannot be counted as part of a quorum, a key issue since neither faction has the 32 votes needed to constitute a quorum.

"If he can’t vote on that, then the rest becomes moot," said Gerald Benjamin, a professor of political science at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

There is also the lack of precedent. Before the stalemate, Mr. Paterson had not sought to fill the position, nor have previous governors done so in other instances when the office was empty.

Even proponents conceded that the governor’s decision was not sure to make it through the courts.

"This is not a slam-dunk," said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a watchdog group that has backed the proposal. But he added, "There needs to be some risk-taking in order for us to break the stalemate."

There is another unspoken rationale for the governor to appoint Mr. Ravitch. His aides believe that it may smooth the way for a power-sharing deal between Senate Democrats and Republicans by removing something Democrats have said they cannot abide: the idea of Mr. Espada being next in line to succeed Mr. Paterson.

The governor’s office considered whether to make the appointment for about three weeks.

The governor has not traveled out of state since the dispute began to avoid any confusion about who is running the government.

"If something happened to me, it is not known who would act as governor," Mr. Paterson said Wednesday. "That would throw the entire state government into the chaos that is being experienced in the Senate now."

Jeremy W. Peters contributed reporting.

Finest Feeling Albany Freeze

By David Seifman in New York and Brendan Scott in Albany
New York Post
July 7, 2009 --

Reacting to the state Senate's mind-boggling fifth week of do-nothing deadlock, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday ordered an immediate citywide hiring freeze that will block 250 recruits from attending the Police Academy tomorrow.

EDITORIAL: CUT, MIKE, CUT

MAC DONALD: DON'T CUT COPS

The mayor also delayed 770 other public-safety hires for as long as a $900 million city tax package is held hostage to the Senate stalemate. It was scheduled to take effect July 1.

In another action designed to get the attention of the dug-in Senate, Bloomberg put a hold on all "non-essential" city contracts, including those with local nonprofit and community groups.

The mayor has gone out of his way not to choose sides in the upstate showdown, where a 31-31 Democratic-Republican split has had the Senate at a standstill since June 8.

But he said fiscal prudence dictated the city act now, since it's losing $60 million a month just on Albany's failure to approve a half-point increase in the sales tax, which would have boosted it from 8.375 percent to 8.875 percent.

"I thought they'd solve their problems two or three weeks ago," the mayor said.

"I don't think anybody expected this to go on. Yet it does."

Veteran Albany watchers, as dumbfounded as everyone else by the stalemate saga, weren't ready to predict that the mayor's move would spur the warring factions to compromise.

David Weprin (D-Queens), chairman of the City Council Finance Committee, praised the mayor for acting responsibly, but warned that the Senate was now divided by "raw politics" and unlikely to be affected.

"It's not like you're talking about layoffs; it's just a hiring freeze," he observed.

Peter Vallone (D-Queens) was more grim. "The state Senate's inability to function may literally result in blood on the streets," he maintained, reacting to the NYPD hiring delay.

Sources said half of 250 police recruits were cadets already enrolled in the academy, taking prep courses.

The bad news that their jobs were indefinitely postponed was delivered to many of the cadets during classes.

Later this month, the city is scheduled to hire 90 new emergency medical technicians.

In August, 151 traffic agents; 150 school crossing guards and 175 school safety agents are supposed to join the payroll.

Another 150 firefighters are expected in the fall.

All those hirings are now frozen. Officials said exceptions would be made in cases of "extraordinary needs."

In Albany, meanwhile, Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) argued that a little-noticed section of state Public Officers Law allows Gov. Paterson to appoint a lieutenant governor -- an act scholars have long thought would have to wait until the next election.

The office has been vacant since former Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in March 2008, and his lieutenant, Paterson, took over.

Paterson said the power cited by Gianaris has "been under review for some time" by his counsel. But Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo -- a potential Paterson rival -- argued the proposal was "not constitutional."

The end of the Albany circus can't come too soon.

There was a blow-up over the holiday weekend in a closed-door powwow between Senate Democratic leaders and the governor.

"We asked the governor to stop blaming us and start blaming the [Sen. Pedro] Espada coalition for not passing this legislation, and he agreed," said Sen. Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx) after the meeting.

Additional reporting by Sally Goldenberg and Larry Celona

 

Senate Inaction Is Hurting Many Towns Across State

By Nicholas Confessore
The New York Times
July 2, 2009

ALBANY — New York City marshals can no longer enforce financial judgments. The City of Yonkers cannot send out property tax bills to homeowners. And in the Town of Deerpark, in Orange County, local officials cannot issue bonds that the town is counting on to balance its budget.

As the stalemate in the State Senate stuttered through its fourth week, a crucial deadline came and went: June 30. It was the expiration date of more than a dozen statutes that authorize local governments to carry out their everyday duties, from planning budgets to collecting taxes. And as Democrats and Republicans in the Senate continued on Wednesday to argue fruitlessly over who controlled the chamber, officials around the state were left to ponder contingency plans that they never thought they would need.

"I won’t be able to extend this out much further," said Gary W. Flieger, the town supervisor of Deerpark, who said property taxes would need to be raised if the bond authorization did not come through. "I’m very concerned about it. It sounds like everyone in Albany wants this to happen; they just have to get it together."

For some, like the city marshals, the missed deadline has had an immediate effect. The marshals, who earn commissions for enforcing liens and other judgments on behalf of creditors, can no longer take such assignments, which for most of them are a primary source of income, because the law granting them those powers expired.

"That’s big business for them in New York City," said Peter R. Kehoe, executive director of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association.

For others, the impact will unfold less immediately, but no less ominously.

In Yonkers, officials require the state comptroller to certify the budget before it can issue property tax bills. But the comptroller cannot do that until the Legislature re-authorizes the city’s income tax surcharge for the fiscal year that began on July 1.

"The practical effect is that the city will run out of money in the next few weeks," said David Simpson, a spokesman for the mayor, Philip A. Amicone. "The only way we can get money is to send out new property tax bills. We only have weeks before we will have to shut down services."

Some of the upheaval predicted by Gov. David A. Paterson and other critics of the Senate stalemate has yet to take place. The expiration of the law granting Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg control over the New York City school system, for example, has not produced the chaos that Mr. Bloomberg warned: Allies of his were placed on the newly reconstituted Board of Education, and so his policies are most likely to be kept in place until a more permanent solution emerges.

But other problems are approaching. A major concern of lawmakers — including the senators currently feuding — is the state’s Power for Jobs program, which provides rebates or low-cost power for businesses and nonprofit groups that promise to keep certain jobs in the state.

Currently, the program provides about $125 million in benefits, pegged to the retention of more than 300,000 jobs. But because that program expired on June 30, those businesses — roughly 550 — will lose rebates in the coming weeks and months, effectively increasing their power costs by thousands of dollars a month in the middle of the summer, at a time when many businesses are already struggling.

"Business needs stable and predictable government," said Kenneth Adams, president of the Business Council of New York State. "These are big issues and long-term issues."

Sales taxes, which provide the bulk of revenue for most county governments, are also pressing. In most cases, the laws that authorize the counties to levy sales taxes will not expire until November. But without extensions that were due to be passed by the end of the regular legislative session, that revenue is in question, making it difficult for budget planning, a process that normally begins in the summer.

Senators met again on Wednesday in a session called by Mr. Paterson, but gaveled out without conducting any business. And while both sides have pledged to continue to talk about a way forward, those negotiations have produced little but theater so far.

On Wednesday morning, Dean G. Skelos, the Republican Senate leader, arrived at a lofty hearing room in the legislative office building with Senator Pedro Espada Jr., a Bronx Democrat allied with the Republicans, for what was billed as a public negotiation to hammer out a power-sharing agreement.

But the Democrats did not show. So instead, shortly after the Republicans entered the hearing room, the lights went down and a video showed scenes from the Senate floor on June 8, the day they staged a takeover that has thrown the chamber into tumult. A Republican lawyer began narrating, explaining to a restive press corps why the Republicans made all the right procedural moves in electing Mr. Skelos majority leader and Mr. Espada Senate president.

Mr. Skelos and Mr. Espada, their hands folded in front of them, looked on raptly as they were sworn in.

Danny Hakim and Jeremy W. Peters contributed reporting.

 

State Senate Convenes, Then Adjourns

By Nicholas Confessore
The New York Times
June 30, 2009

ALBANY — For the first time in a week, Senate Democrats and Republicans gathered together on Tuesday in the same room, at the same time, in relative peace — if not quite harmony.

Bowing to a judge’s ruling on Monday that all senators of both parties were compelled to enter the chamber at the same time during an extraordinary session called by Gov. David A. Paterson, Republicans filed into the chamber about 10 minutes after Democrats graveled in, as the Democrats’ parliamentarian was reading through a list of senators who were absent.

But that was where the cooperation ended. The Republican leader, Dean G. Skelos, refused to recognize the Democrats’ presiding officer, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, addressing her as "Senator" rather than "Madame President." Politely but forcefully, he moved for the Senate to adjourn.

Democrats tried to read a resolution containing their power-sharing proposal, stirring rumbles and protests from Republicans, who insisted that Mr. Skelos’s motion required a vote. The Democratic leader, Malcolm A. Smith, after conferring with Mr. Skelos, also moved to adjourn the Senate, and both sides filed out.

And with tonight’s deadline approaching for everything from mayoral control of the New York City schools to much-need sales taxes extensions for localities around the state, the Senate once again conducted no business of substance.

Republicans came to the chamber after a state appeals court judge, Bernard J. Malone Jr., refused to confirm an automatic stay that they had sought of a Monday ruling by a lower-court judge compelling them to attend the unified session. Democrats, who like Republicans had originally argued that Mr. Paterson could not force the two sides to convene together, have chosen not to appeal.

A five-judge panel will take up further arguments in the case this afternoon. But Senate Democrats have already called a regular Senate session for noon. It is unclear whether Republicans will attend, and if they do, whether it will resemble the chaotic free-for-all that embarrassed both sides last Tuesday

Paterson Ratchets Up Efforts to Get Senate to Break Stalemate

By Jeremy W. Peters and Nicholas Confessore
The New York Times
June 27, 2009

ALBANY — As Republicans and Democrats in the State Senate failed again on Friday to reach an agreement to divide power, Gov. David A. Paterson continued to test the limits of his constitutional authority to compel both sides to compromise.

Mr. Paterson asked a State Supreme Court judge in Albany to order all 62 senators back into session immediately, arguing that the back-to-back sessions that have taken place this week — with only 31 senators in the chamber at a time — are in violation of the State Constitution because no quorum was established. The judge, Justice Joseph C. Teresi, did not immediately rule on the governor’s petition and ordered lawyers for the governor and the two warring Senate factions back in court for arguments at 4 p.m. on Monday.

Mr. Paterson also called the Senate back into session at 1 p.m. on Saturday to consider nominations to various state boards and commissions, a move meant to force senators to convene by turning their own legal argument against them.

Senate leaders have said that the governor can convene a so-called extraordinary session of just the Senate only when nominations are at issue. The Senate sessions the governor called earlier this week were all to address legislation, and the Senate argued that this was an unconstitutional use of his power.

And in another move meant to press the Senate, Mr. Paterson’s office on Friday said it had put a hold on nearly $19 million in earmarked funding for projects in senators’ home districts. That move, however, appeared to have only limited practical impact because it applies only to projects from previous years. Though Mr. Paterson said he would halt the disbursement of funding for all such projects, known as member items, their funding for the 2009-10 fiscal year has already been held up since June 8, when a coup threw the Senate’s leadership into disarray. Without a functioning Senate, there is no way to approve member-item funding.

Still, Mr. Paterson has appeared intent in recent days on demonstrating that he will use whatever power he can to force senators to negotiate — or at least to make it as unpleasant for them as possible if they choose not to.

"They’re telling you that they’re meeting, that they’re very close to an agreement," Mr. Paterson said at a news conference, repeating his pledge to call the Senate into session on weekdays, weekends and holidays until they resolve their differences. "No. They’re very close to the weekend. "

Senators were preparing to convene at 1 p.m. on Saturday, but it did not appear that Mr. Paterson’s attempt to bring them all into the chamber at once by putting forth a nominations-only agenda was going to produce a different result. Both Democrats and Republicans said they intended to do the same thing they have done since Tuesday: open an extraordinary session and then quickly adjourn in separate sessions.

The Senate was initially split 32 to 30 after two Democrats defected to join forces with 30 Republicans and passed a vote to oust Democrats from power. Since then, one of the dissident Democrats, Hiram Monserrate, has gone back to his party’s side, leaving the Senate divided 31 to 31. Republicans have insisted that the vote that left them with a majority should be recognized, while Democrats have insisted on a power-sharing agreement that recognizes the 31-to-31 split.

Negotiations on Friday to resolve those differences made little progress.

"June 8 elected Pedro Espada Jr. president pro tem," said Mr. Espada, the other Democrat who joined in the coup. "We’re not stepping back from that."

Democrats continued to push for an agreement that would let them share the presidency of the Senate. "I think the only way we’re going to get down to business," said Senator Jeff Klein, the deputy Democratic leader, "is a true bipartisan coalition government."

                 Albany Festers, and Voters Don’t Clean House

By Danny Hakim
The New York Times
June 27, 2009

Senator John J. Bonacic has been a New York state legislator for nearly 20 years. For him, competition is not a problem. Mr. Bonacic, a Republican from the Hudson Valley, received 66,736 votes and faced no opposition as he cruised to a sixth Senate term last year.

Across the aisle, Senator Carl Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat, had no more trouble winning an eighth term, crushing his third-party opponent in a landslide.

Albany, as the spectacle of the deadlocked Senate has shown vividly over the last month, is afflicted with many problems: lawbreaking leaders, feuding factions and powerful special interests.

But for those wondering how Albany could have sunk to the level it has, with the State Senate unable to function, one good answer is the extraordinary comfort among the state’s legislators that comes with knowing that they will almost never be voted out of office.

Many people inside and outside state government agree that such a comfort level has bred a kind of arrogance among the legislators about the costs of even profound embarrassments.

Last year, more than half of the 212 legislators in the Senate and Assembly won with more than 80 percent of the vote. Fifty-seven ran unopposed, according to the New York Public Interest Research Group. The average senator has served for nearly seven two-year terms.

Signs of frustration among voters — or indifference — abound.

Both Mr. Bonacic and Mr. Kruger, for instance, were given a tough time by voters who went to the polls but did not vote for a senator as they chose candidates for other offices — and were thus recorded as ‘blank’ by the state’s Board of Elections. If ‘blank’ were a candidate, he or she would have beaten Mr. Bonacic by several hundred votes. Mr. Kruger would have held off ‘blank,’ but only by a 50-to-47 margin.

There is a growing belief that Albany does not have to be that dysfunctional. Of late, everybody seems to have a fix in mind.

Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, in an Op-Ed article in The New York Times this week, called for a constitutional convention to initiate a broad government overhaul. Gov. David A. Paterson said that a convention would inevitably be run by "the same special interests that have come to dominate establishment Albany," and suggested passing campaign finance reform legislation.

Others have called for Senate leaders to resign. Rick Lazio, a Republican weighing a race for governor, said that the state should scrap the entire Legislature and begin anew with a single house.

Certainly, the comfort of incumbency has made reforms — those previously proposed and those now being floated daily — difficult. It would seem to limit a governor’s ability to scare lawmakers into shape; it frightens away potential rivals. And young lawmakers say it creates a stagnant culture in which they are left frustrated by their irrelevance.

"People wouldn’t behave this way if they thought their jobs were at stake," said Gerald Benjamin, a professor of political science at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

A variety of measures have been suggested to increase competition. Professor Benjamin supports public financing of elections, a step backed by a range of good-governance groups. That, however, would be difficult in the midst of a fiscal crisis.

Another is to curtail the Legislature’s power to redraw its own districts after every census, carving out neighborhoods or cities to preserve lawmakers’ seats.

Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director of the League of Women Voters of New York State, once said the 51st Senate District, which radiates out from Otsego County in three elongated spokes, looked like "Abraham Lincoln riding on a vacuum cleaner."

Ms. Bartoletti and others have long called for setting up a nonpartisan commission to handle redistricting — "for years and years, decades now," she said — but legislators have been reluctant to cede power.

"No matter who is in power, they want to draw their lines to maintain their incumbency for the next decade," she said.

The high rate of re-election for state legislators is not distinctive to New York. But experts — and even the legislators themselves — acknowledge that incumbents in New York, in part because of their power over drawing districts for elections, are among the best-protected in the country.

A study of 2002 legislative elections by the National Conference of State Legislatures, for instance, found that only two states had senates with a lower turnover rate than New York. Only three statehouses had lower turnover rates than the New York Assembly.

Another factor dampening interest in running for the New York Legislature is that there is not much for rank-and-file lawmakers to do. The legislative leaders wield enormous control over the process of governing; committees have a shadow of the autonomy exerted by Congressional committees.

"It makes it very difficult to recruit public-spirited people on either side of the aisle," said John J. Faso, the Republican candidate for governor in 2006 and a former minority leader of the Assembly.

"People would basically look at having to come spend six months, three days a week, in Albany, look at the leadership control of the system, and basically say, ‘My efforts can be more productively spent elsewhere,’ " he said. Even on such weighty matters as the state budget, lawmakers are kept in the dark, typically handed thousands of pages of legislation at the 11th hour.

"I think many of us arrive in the Legislature full of ideas and with a lot of energy and enthusiasm," said Michael N. Gianaris, 39, first elected in 2000. . "It takes some time to come to terms with the fact that we can’t change things as individuals."

The comfortable atmosphere has bred a certain way of doing business. Lawmakers police their own ethics and allow themselves to exist relatively free of scrutiny. Ethics laws require lawmakers to disclose ranges of income they earn from outside jobs, but those figures are deleted before the forms are made public.

Take the case of Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker and a lawyer who works for Weitz & Luxenburg, one of the largest personal-injury law firms in New York City. He has never been willing to disclose details of what he does for the firm or how much money he makes or turn over records of Weitz’s dealings with the Assembly. The firm’s two named partners are both on the board of the New York Trial Lawyers Association, giving its lobbyists a powerful ally in the Legislature.

Joseph L. Bruno, the longtime former Senate majority leader, was indicted on federal corruption charges this year, accused of reaping millions of dollars from companies seeking business from the state and from labor unions with matters pending before the state. He has denied any wrongdoing, but if his consulting firm’s clients had been disclosed on ethics forms, the disclosure would probably have raised questions long before his indictment.

Whether the electorate’s choices improve as a result of the current chaos remains to be seen.

Consider the curious case of Assemblyman Anthony S. Seminerio of Queens. Last year, Mr. Seminerio, 74, received 14,262 votes on the Democratic line, 353 votes on the Independence Party line and 568 on the Conservative Party line. Republicans? Mr. Seminerio had that covered too, winning 4,674 votes on the Republican line.

Not a bad showing for an incumbent of three decades, considering he was indicted on federal corruption charges also linked to consulting work two months before his re-election.

"I want to apologize to my colleagues and my constituents," he said this week after pleading guilty, and resigning.

Leaders Say Agreement Is Near to Unfreeze New York Senate

By Nicholas Confessore and Jeremy W. Peters
The New York Times
June 26, 2009

ALBANY — After more than two weeks of stalemate, Republicans and Democrats in the State Senate appeared close to a power-sharing deal on Thursday that would let normal legislative business resume.

Details of the evolving agreement were held in close secrecy, with few staff members or rank-and-file lawmakers privy to even a broad outline. But leaders on both sides said on Thursday that they expected to reach a consensus soon and perhaps a normal legislative session by Monday.

"We acknowledged that we’ve together, through this process, brought obviously a lot of disrespect to this institution," Senator Pedro Espada Jr., the Bronx Democrat whose alliance with the Republicans has left the chamber deadlocked, said on Thursday morning. "It’s something we don’t want to continue. I think there’s a great spirit of cooperation."

But with no agreement yet reached, the Senate remained at a virtual standstill throughout the day, and performed no substantive business at the special session called by Gov. David A. Paterson. The Democrats held a session lasting less than four minutes before leaving the chamber. Mr. Espada and the Republicans then held a brief session of their own, departing after less than three minutes.

In response, Mr. Paterson announced that he was calling a fourth extraordinary session for Friday and would also seek to block the senators from receiving their regular salaries or per diems. "Once again, the Senate has done no work," Mr. Paterson said at a news conference in the afternoon.

The governor said he would bar the Department of Taxation and Finance from issuing per diem allowances and travel reimbursements because the senators had not performed any work and because there was no duly recognized Senate president to request the money, as required by the State Constitution.

He also sought an opinion from the comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, regarding whether the senators should be paid their regular salaries. A spokesman for Mr. DiNapoli said that the comptroller’s office was reviewing the request.

According to several people with knowledge of the discussions, the apportionment of leadership positions remained a major sticking point.

One possibility would allow Mr. Espada to serve as president pro tempore, while Senator Malcolm A. Smith, the Democratic leader, would get the title of vice president, and Senator Dean G. Skelos, a Republican, the title of majority leader. In that plan, the three men would share power as a kind of triumvirate, making decisions collectively.

But Democrats have balked at allowing Mr. Espada to be Senate president, in part because it would leave him next in line to succeed the governor. Another possibility would have Mr. Smith as president and Mr. Espada as vice president, while Mr. Skelos and John L. Sampson, the Democratic conference leader, would lead their respective caucuses on the floor.

Whether near or far from true power-sharing, Senate Republicans and Democrats did manage to find one area of harmony: their bitterness toward Mr. Paterson, who has been implacable in his criticism of the Senate.

Senator George H. Winner, a Republican from Elmira, said Mr. Paterson "was making a fool out of himself."

Senator Rubén Díaz Sr., a Bronx Democrat, called the extraordinary sessions a farce. "Don’t try to look like a macho man," he said of Mr. Paterson.

But Senator Kevin S. Parker, a Brooklyn Democrat, went furthest. In comments reported by the Politicker, a political blog, and heard by several journalists, Mr. Parker called Mr. Paterson a "coke-snorting, you know, staff-banging, you know, governor" — a reference to the governor’s past admissions of cocaine use and adultery with a state government worker. That was apparently too much for Mr. Smith and Mr. Sampson, who quickly issued a joint statement calling for calm.

"Obviously this is an extraordinary situation and tempers are flaring, but we must maintain a level of civility and decorum befitting a senator and representative of the people of New York," they said.

Defying Paterson, New York Senators End Session

By Jeremy W. Peters and Danny Hakim
The New York Times
June 25, 2009

ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson raised the possibility on Wednesday that the State Police could be summoned to compel state senators to return to work if necessary, after they defied him and refused to take any action during a special session he convened.

Senate Democrats, who in a rare rebuke of Mr. Paterson, their party leader, spent only five minutes in the Senate chamber on Wednesday afternoon and then announced that they would be going home.

They later backed off their threat to leave and said they would return for another session that the governor has called for 3 p.m. Thursday. But the governor’s threat clearly left many of them embittered.

In an angry, lectern-pounding appearance outside his office in the Capitol on Wednesday evening, Mr. Paterson also threatened to file a suit to force senators to come back to work, and said he would look into whether he could direct the state treasury to withhold their pay indefinitely.

"You’re not going home," he fumed. "You’re not getting paid. And you’re not going to disrespect the people of New York anymore." Then he announced Thursday’s session.

While the governor does not have the unilateral authority to order state troopers to round up truant senators and force them to come back to the Capitol, he can go to court and ask for an order compelling senators into session. If such an order is issued and they refuse, Mr. Paterson said, the State Police could be called in.

The stalemate in Albany has not reached that point yet, but the situation on Wednesday continued as a back-and-forth of political shots.

After Mr. Paterson issued his ultimatum, Senator Kevin S. Parker, a Brooklyn Democrat, criticized the governor and complained that he had not done more to defend fellow Democrats in their leadership struggle with Senate Republicans.

"He’s a coward," Mr. Parker said. "His idle threats about holding our paychecks and those other things, which he certainly has no authority to do under either the Constitution or any other law, is mean-spirited and without basis."

Mr. Parker then took a shot at Mr. Paterson’s low job-approval ratings: "He will not be returning as governor, I’m fairly sure."

The coalition of 30 Republicans and one Democrat who have challenged the Democrats’ control of the Senate also took aim at the governor, who has called the last two days of Senate action a farce.

Senator Pedro Espada Jr., the co-leader of the coalition, said the governor was only feeding the chaotic atmosphere in Albany by calling the Senate back into session.

"Why do it? It’s good drama. It fills the tabloids with pictures of clowns and what have you. Certainly, from my perspective, I don’t want to participate in another day of that kind of embarrassment to the institution."

While Democrats held an abortive Senate session on Wednesday in which they skipped over key items on the governor’s agenda like same-sex marriage, the Republicans stayed out of the chamber altogether.

But a Republican spokesman said on Wednesday that they would attend Thursday’s session.

The Senate has been in legislative deadlock since June 8, when two dissident Democrats joined 30 Republicans to vote the Democrats out of power.

One of the Democrats later reversed himself and rejoined the Democratic conference, leaving the Senate split 31 to 31. Despite two weeks of negotiations, the two parties have been unable to agree on how to govern the chamber.

Wednesday was another day of drama in the Capitol. Democratic senators entered the chamber at dawn and guarded the rostrum in shifts to prevent any Republicans from coming in and seizing control of the gavel. They locked the doors, thereby preventing Republicans from taking procedural control.

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, went to court on Wednesday morning to try to block Democrats from presiding over Senate business.

But Justice Thomas J. McNamara of State Supreme Court in Albany, who has repeatedly refused to intervene in the leadership dispute, rejected the Republicans’ appeal for temporary relief; he said he would consider the merits of the case on Friday morning.

The events in Justice McNamara’s courtroom were not the only legal issues on Wednesday.

Senate Democrats questioned the constitutional validity of the sessions Mr. Paterson has called, arguing that the Constitution allows governors to convene a session of the Senate alone only when gubernatorial nominations — not legislation — are at issue.

Citing an 1821 opinion from Martin Van Buren, the future president who served as a New York State Senator and the state attorney general, Democratic leaders Malcolm A. Smith and John L. Sampson wrote a letter to the governor that read in part, "We have been unable to find any legal precedent where only one house was called into extraordinary session and successfully passed legislation."

Mr. Paterson pointed to Article IV, Section 3 of the State Constitution, which states, "The governor shall have power to convene the Legislature, or the Senate only, on extraordinary occasions."

In his remarks on Wednesday evening, Mr. Paterson said, "Martin Van Buren is rolling over in his grave."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/nyregion/25albany.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print

Dueling Sessions Cast Doubt on Any
Action by New York State Senate

By Jeremy W. Peters and Danny Hakim
The New York Times
June 25, 2009

ALBANY — Senators defied Gov. David A. Paterson on Wednesday and refused to take up any of the 10 issues he put on the schedule for a legislative session, indefinitely postponing votes on same-sex marriage and other signature items of the governor’s agenda.

But Mr. Paterson responded by saying that if senators did not show up at the Capitol tomorrow, he would go to court to compel them to convene, setting the stage for a historic constitutional fight between the executive and legislative branches.

Democrats gaveled the session to order at 3:02 p.m. After a few short speeches in which they said the governor’s proclamation for a so-called extraordinary session had constitutional and legal problems, they adjourned at 3:07 p.m.

"Our members will be going home," said Malcolm A. Smith, one of the leaders of the Senate Democratic conference.

Republicans, who have been feuding with Democrats for control of the Senate for the last two weeks, stayed out of the Senate chamber entirely.

At a news conference before the 3 p.m. session, which Mr. Paterson called with the intention of forcing senators to work out their differences, Republicans and the lone Democratic dissenter who has joined their voting bloc, Pedro Espada Jr., criticized the governor for calling a session that they said was nothing more than a political stunt.

"The governor needs to lead," said Mr. Espada, of the Bronx. "He has failed to do so."

The abortive Senate session and Mr. Paterson’s legal threat were the latest twists in the constitutional morass that has left Albany paralyzed. Earlier on Wednesday, the governor’s counsel, Peter J. Kiernan, told reporters that he doubted the legality of any of the bills passed in a set of dueling Senate sessions on Tuesday.

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, went to court on Wednesday morning to try to block Democrats from presiding over Senate business. Democrats entered the Senate chamber at dawn and locked the doors, thereby preventing Republicans from taking procedural control.

But Justice Thomas J. McNamara of State Supreme Court in Albany rejected the Republicans’ appeal for temporary relief; he said he would consider the merits of the case Friday morning.

Justice McNamara, who has repeatedly declined to intervene in the Senate affair, continued to implore the sides to resolve their dispute on their own.

"This has to be resolved by you, no matter what I do or don’t do on Friday," he told the sides in court, adding: "I guess I’m talking like a human being, but I don’t understand what’s going on. You guys have to resolve this."

Though gay rights supporters were initially pleased that the governor had placed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on the agenda, many gay rights advocates were saying on Wednesday that they did not believe a vote would accomplish anything. There are myriad legal questions clouding any piece of legislation that the Senate takes up, and supporters of same-sex marriage are wary of seeing their issue turned into a political football.

"Nobody wants it to pass under a cloud, so it will be immediately subject to legal challenge," said Assemblyman Daniel J. O’Donnell, a Democrat from the Upper West Side who sponsored the same-sex marriage bill that passed the Assembly last month.

The Empire State Pride Agenda and the Log Cabin Republicans, two gay rights groups, backed off their calls for an immediate vote on the bill. "We expect that marriage will be at the top of the agenda when the stalemate is over and the Senate resumes its business," said Alan Van Capelle, the pride agenda’s executive director. "The bill must be handled respectfully and given its due debate so that senators can vote their conscience on this vitally important issue."

Jeff Cook, a legislative adviser for the Log Cabin Republicans, said, "The Senate must take up marriage equality as soon as possible when the bill can be debated with full respect and dignity for the families whose rights are at stake."

With the Democrats ensconced in the elegant Senate chamber and prepared to give no procedural ground to Republicans, another day of legislative mania was all but guaranteed. Everyone had been bracing for a frenzy.

Senator Dale M. Volker, 68, a Republican from the Buffalo area who is a former police officer, joked while he was riding up an elevator, "I might have to start carrying my sidearm again."

But the session ended in a rather anticlimactic fashion.

That was hardly the case on Tuesday, when New York did not have just one State Senate. It had two.

Democrats sneaked into the Senate chamber shortly after noon, seizing control of the rostrum and locking Republicans out of the room. Republicans were finally allowed to enter about 2:30 p.m., but when they tried to station one of their own members on the dais they were blocked by the sergeants-at-arms.

So then something extraordinary — and rather embarrassing — happened.

The two sides, like feuding junior high schoolers refusing to acknowledge each other, began holding separate legislative sessions at the same time. Side by side, the parties, each asserting that it rightfully controls the Senate, talked and sometimes shouted over one another, gaveling through votes that are certain to be disputed. There were two Senate presidents, two gavels, two sets of bills being voted on.

"This is turning into the worst reality TV show ever: ‘I’m a Senator, Get Me Out of Here,’ " said Thomas R. Suozzi, Nassau County executive and former Democratic candidate for governor. "Jon and Kate are fighting less than these guys "

Mr. Paterson had called the senators to the Capitol Tuesday, urging them to find a way to end a 31-to-31 standoff that had halted legislative action for more than two weeks. Mr. Paterson said the Senate’s behavior "disgusts me."

"I have been a public servant here for over 20 years," Mr. Paterson said, adding, "The conduct today was farcical."

Dueling Sessions Cast Doubt on Any Action by State Senate

By Jeremy W. Peters and Danny Hakim
The New York Times
June 25, 2009

ALBANY — The governor’s office said the legality of legislation passed in dueling sessions of the State Senate on Tuesday was dubious, casting further uncertainty over state government and raising doubts about whether any action the Senate takes now could withstand legal challenges.

With the Senate scheduled to vote a long list of banner social issues Wednesday afternoon — from same-sex marriage to expanding health insurance for young adults — it remained unclear whether any votes taken would be more than empty political gestures.

It also remained uncertain whether the Senate would even manage to hold any votes on Wednesday. Though Gov. David A. Paterson has called all 62 senators back to the Capitol for a second day of voting, by late morning the Senate had not begun printing any of the bills on the governor’s agenda.

When asked whether Senate Democrats planned to be in the Senate chamber this afternoon for the governor’s 3 p.m. session, a spokesman, Austin Shafran, said senators were still debating their options. "It’s difficult to speak on their behalf. But we can certainly confirm that we received their bills," Mr. Shafran said.

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, went to court on Wednesday morning to try to block Democrats from presiding over Senate business. Democrats have occupied the Senate chamber since dawn and locked the doors, thereby preventing Republicans from taking procedural control.

Senate Republicans had also not decided whether they would attend the 3 p.m. session. Under the State Constitution, the governor has the authority to call legislators into session. If the senators do not respond, he could order the State Police to summon them into the chamber. But it was unclear whether the situation would get that serious, and Mr. Paterson has not threatened to go that far.

Though gay rights supporters were initially pleased that the governor had placed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage on the agenda, many gay advocates were saying on Wednesday morning that they did not believe a vote would accomplish anything. There are myriad legal questions clouding any piece of legislation that the Senate takes up, and supporters of same-sex marriage are wary of seeing their issue turned into a political football.

"Nobody wants it to pass under a cloud, so it will be immediately subject to legal challenge," said Assemblyman Daniel J. O’Donnell, a Democrat from the Upper West Side who sponsored the same-sex marriage bill that passed the Assembly last month. Even if the Senate did pass the bill the governor put on his agenda for Wednesday, and the legal issues were not so complicated, Mr. O’Donnell said same-sex marriage would still not be legal because the governor’s bill would have to be passed again by the Assembly.

"If I thought this were going to happen today, I’d be driving up there in my car right now," he added, noting that he was working from New York City on Wednesday.

With the Democrats ensconced in the elegant Senate chamber and prepared to give no procedural ground to Republicans, another day of legislative mania was all but guaranteed. Everyone, it seemed, was bracing for a frenzy.

Senator Dale M. Volker, 68, a Republican from the Buffalo area who is a former police officer, joked while he was riding up an elevator, "I might have to start carrying my sidearm again."

On Tuesday, New York did not have one State Senate. It had two.

Democrats sneaked into the Senate chamber shortly after noon, seizing control of the rostrum and locking Republicans out of the room. Republicans were finally allowed to enter about 2:30 p.m., but when they tried to station one of their own members on the dais they were blocked by the sergeants-at-arms.

So then something extraordinary — and rather embarrassing — happened.

The two sides, like feuding junior high schoolers refusing to acknowledge each other, began holding separate legislative sessions at the same time. Side by side, the parties, each asserting that it rightfully controls the Senate, talked and sometimes shouted over one another, gaveling through votes that are certain to be disputed. There were two Senate presidents, two gavels, two sets of bills being voted on.

"This is turning into the worst reality TV show ever: ‘I’m a Senator, Get Me Out of Here,’ " said Thomas R. Suozzi, Nassau County executive and former Democratic candidate for governor. "Jon and Kate are fighting less than these guys "

Mr. Paterson had called the senators to the Capitol Tuesday, urging them to find a way to end a 31-to-31 standoff that had halted legislative action for more than two weeks. Mr. Paterson said the Senate’s behavior "disgusts me."

"I have been a public servant here for over 20 years," Mr. Paterson said, adding, "The conduct today was farcical."

By the end of the day, Democrats had passed 14 bills and Republicans had passed 85. But not even the governor could say whether any of the votes were valid, or who was in charge of the Senate.

Mr. Paterson has vowed to keep calling a special session every day until the sides resolve their differences.

Most of the bills taken up Tuesday were local or routine: Democrats approved a hotel tax increase in Tioga County; Republicans designated May 17 as Thurgood Marshall Day.

But Mr. Paterson is urging the Senate to grapple with more major issues, and added the legalization of same-sex marriage to a list of bills on the agenda for Wednesday.

The day’s events leave Albany in an unprecedented legal and political morass, experts said, as there is little case law or historical precedent to determine which dueling session — if either — was legitimate, or even who has the authority to make that judgment.

Because all 62 senators were present in the chamber at the beginning of the sessions, each side claimed that it had the necessary quorum to conduct business and said the other side was voting yes by not voicing opposition to any of its bills.

Patricia E. Salkin, director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School, said, "There is no right answer because there’s no precedent, because this hasn’t happened before."

The galleries at the Capitol were packed for Tuesday’s session, with aides, lobbyists and others watching rapt as the bizarre scene unfolded. Democrats scored a tactical victory by seizing the official Senate gavel, which is large and made of black walnut, its whack echoing through the chamber with authority.

Senator George H. Winner Jr., who was presiding over the Republican session, was left to peck the table in front of him with a small gavel used by Republicans for their private conferences.

"It’s better than the eyeglass case I was using before," Mr. Winner said.

At times, the proceedings grew heated. After Democrats declared the chamber "at ease," or on a break, Mr. Winner called a Democrat, Ruth Hassell-Thompson, out of order for standing and speaking to a colleague.

She whipped around.

"Don’t you dare tell me I’m out of order," Ms. Hassell-Thompson, who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, shouted several times at Mr. Winner.

"Easy, Ruth," a Democratic colleague called out.

At the same time, Senator Dean G. Skelos was trying to speak from the Senate floor, complaining that the Senate’s staff would not provide them with the bill "jackets" — the official bills used to conduct Senate business.

Kevin S. Parker, a Brooklyn Democrat under indictment on charges that he attacked a newspaper photographer, faced Mr. Skelos.

"If they were actually in charge, they would have the bill jackets," Mr. Parker bellowed to fellow Democrats while Republicans tried to silence him. "We’re at ease!"

A few other Democrats moved between him and Mr. Skelos.

"Calm down," Senator John L. Sampson, the leader of the Democratic caucus, said aloud.

The dispute in the Senate began on June 8, when two Democrats joined 30 Republicans to oust Malcolm A. Smith as majority leader, leaving Mr. Skelos and Pedro Espada Jr., a Bronx Democrat, as co-leaders in a power sharing agreement. One of the dissident Democrats, Hiram Monserrate of Queens, later changed his mind, leaving the Senate evenly split.

Negotiations to break the impasse have sputtered.

Early Tuesday, Republicans seemed as surprised as the rest of the Capitol when Democrats took over the chamber. Some Republican staff members rushed to the chamber to peek through small windows to watch the Democrats congregating. Some reporters were able to gain access to the locked chamber through the office of Mr. Espada, hurrying through a side room where Mr. Espada’s grandson was parked in front of a television, watching the Cartoon Network.

Despite the condemnation from the governor, newspaper editorialists and civic groups, senators of both parties seemed strikingly unworried about, or perhaps insulated from, public anger over the events. Several said that they have noticed only a slightly more-than-average volume of calls coming into their district offices lately, and that only a small percentage of the calls were negative.

And some members seemed to almost enjoy the chaos, calling it memorable and recording it for posterity.

Senator Craig M. Johnson, a Long Island Democrat, took pictures of reporters who sneaked into the Senate’s gallery with his BlackBerry camera after the Democrats had locked the chamber doors. Later, Senator Kemp Hannon, a Long Island Republican, raised his Nikon D300 to capture his colleague, Mr. Winner, speaking before a throng of cameras.

Turning to a reporter, he said, "We’re never going to see this one again."

N.Y. Senate Talks Fail Miserably, Chaos Ensues

Dems Refuse To Recognize Espada As President Pro Tem, Don't Stand For Pledge Of Allegiance During Special Session

Republicans Fail To Take Podium, Pass Bills By Acclimation

Marcia Kramer
CBSTV
Jun 23, 2009

ALBANY (CBS) The battle for control of the New York State Senate got even more bizarre Tuesday.

After talks of a power-sharing arrangement broke down, Democrats locked themselves in the Senate chamber, Republicans tried to conduct business on their own and none of the "people's business" got done.

As incredible as it may seem, pictures obtained by CBS 2 HD are of the Democratic senators who locked themselves inside their chamber so they could be "first in" for Gov. David Paterson's special session. The pictures, shot through the window of a Senate door, seem to show that it was all about taking possession of the podium.

Yonkers Sen. Andrea Stewart Cousins is seen standing there to prevent the Republicans from taking over. The move came shortly after Democrats said talks of establishing a bi-partisan operating agreement fell through because a Republican coalition insisted the Senate president be Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada.

"We do not concede that Pedro Espada is the Senate president. We have offered to put aside the issues of whether the president of the Senate is Sen. [Malcolm] Smith or Sen. Espada," said Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan.

What happened next was equally incredible. With the Democrats in their seats, the Republicans marched in and tried to take the podium. They were rebuffed, so they held a session form the well of the chamber and passed dozens of bills by acclimation.

The odd thing was when Republican senators start the session with the pledge of allegiance. The Democrats didn't stand to participate and when one tried to stand, he was pulled down.

After the Republicans gaveled out, the Democrats gaveled in their special session. The problem was Sen. Smith said they couldn't proceed because they didn't have the governor's bills

The big question is when or if they'll ever be able to pass anything.
"At this time, no one in this chamber is holding the governor's business back, other than the governor's office not having the material needed on time," Smith said.

Paterson was furious. His aides said the bills were sent to the Senate chamber at 1 p.m.

"I've been a public servant for over 20 years and what I've seen in the last two weeks in the Senate disgusts me. Their inaction is a dereliction of duty. I pledge as governor there will be no more tolerance of these delays and these distractions."

Paterson said this week that he would call special legislative sessions every day, including on weekends and holidays, until the two sides could come to an agreement. Senators would have to attend such sessions, but they would not have to vote on any bills. Who would preside over the sessions remains unclear.

Paterson has lashed out at senators for the ongoing soap opera. It's been two weeks since the state Senate accomplished anything and the governor said enough is enough.

But his mandate seemed to make little impact considering Tuesday's madness.

Meanwhile, the Assembly adjourned at 2 a.m. Tuesday after passing hundreds of bills. Most of the measures have companion bills pending in the Senate.

Those affected by the delay include Mayor Michael Bloomberg and all New York City residents.

He's pushing for a renewal of mayoral control of city schools, citing recent favorable performance data. Like so many other local officials across the Empire State, Bloomberg is anxiously waiting for a break in the legislative deadlock.

"I think everybody understands that mayoral control really has been the key to all of this," Bloomberg said. "It has given us the ability to make the tough decisions and hold people accountable for results."

Stay with WCBSTV.com for more on this developing story.

How Does Albany Work? With Maps

By Jim Dwyer
The New York Times
June 24, 2009

All day Tuesday, as the state senators rolled around in their chamber, no one emerged to play king or queen for the day, the chance for power that an evenly split Legislature uniquely offers to its members. Instead, the senators said the Pledge of Allegiance nicely but couldn’t make it through an entire minute of silence, and proceeded to fight over the gavel, the podium and the jackets on bills.

It is hard to believe that every last senator will continue resisting the baubles that are to be bestowed for switching sides.

Two weeks ago, the Republicans got the services of a Democratic senator, Pedro Espada Jr., by agreeing to make him the president of the Senate.

Normally, Mr. Espada, a blatantly recidivist scofflaw of campaign finance laws in the state and city, would not be a sterling candidate even for what is usually the pretty meaningless job of Senate president. But it so happens that without help from a Democrat, the Republicans stood to lose power, not only for this legislative session, but for years to come, after the Legislature redraws the district maps in 2010. So they urgently needed Mr. Espada — the missing ingredient — to carry out "real change and real reform," said the Republican leader, Dean G. Skelos. And to help save their seats next year.

It also turns out that this is one of the rare moments when the job of Senate president is not so meaningless. Because the last available lieutenant governor, David A. Paterson, was needed to replace Eliot Spitzer, the next official in line to be governor is Senate president.

So far, the new age of reform promised by Mr. Skelos has amounted to nothing. However, Mr. Espada has taken a few steps. After it was pointed out that he appeared not to live in his Bronx district, but in a house in Mamaroneck, he and his wife took suitcases to an apartment they own in the Bronx, according to a neighbor’s blog, and invited a reporter and photographer to visit.

Then there was the matter of his state campaign finance filings.

Last week, the State Board of Elections asked the Albany County district attorney’s office to consider prosecuting Mr. Espada and others for failing to disclose who paid for their campaigns last year, as The Daily News reported. Two days later, Mr. Espada filed eight missing disclosure forms for last year, according to John Conklin, a spokesman for the board.

Those reports actually disclosed nothing: Mr. Espada reported "no activity" by his campaign committee, neither expenditures nor contributions, although he was in a close fight for election last year.

He also said he was going to pay a fine of about $3,200 to the board, Mr. Conklin said.

"Mr. Espada’s representative told me that they sent a check on Friday," Mr. Conklin said on Tuesday. "I checked just before 5 p.m. No check had arrived."

No matter how cynical you get, as Lily Tomlin once said, it is impossible to keep up.

Yet it is possible to pay too much attention to the machinations of Mr. Espada or any other senator who might be induced to switch sides. One reason that New York’s state government does not resemble a democracy is that it is not supposed to.

For decades, all the fiefs in Albany lived under a political truce that allowed the Democrats to have the Assembly and the Republicans to have the Senate, with the governorship up for grabs. They did this with maps.

Every 10 years, when the results of a new census came out, each party got to draw districts that suited its political needs. And governors, who could have campaigned to unseat legislators from the other party, generally sat back and did nothing to interfere with the power-sharing arrangement. (Mr. Spitzer, during his year as governor, had started to disrupt it, until he was caught paying for sexual services.)

This is how a cartel operates, not a democracy. Instead of price-fixing, it was vote-fixing. Both sides retained their seats, with the rate of incumbent re-elections hovering around 98 percent. Recent demographic changes have eroded the existing Republican districts. This year, for the first time in decades, the Democrats had a slim majority — until Mr. Espada switched sides. Other states have changed their redistricting mechanisms so they are not controlled simply by the parties in power.

Until New York changes its approach, no matter which side rises for a day, a week or a legislative session, the names in the two-party system will not be Democrats and Republicans, but Them and Us

Albany Democrats Lock Themselves in the Senate Chamber

By Danny Hakim and Jeremy W. Peters
The New York Times
June 24, 2009

ALBANY — Senate Democrats entered the locked Senate chamber through a back hallway on Tuesday afternoon and locked themselves in, pulling off a sneak attack of sorts in the ongoing battle for control of the State Senate.

The move took the Capitol by surprise, and left Republicans scrambling to plan their next procedural move. Republicans had planned to enter the chamber at 2 p.m. — an hour before the special session called by Gov. David A. Paterson was scheduled to begin. Who would be in the chamber first became a key question on Tuesday as Republicans and Democrats failed again to reach a compromise over the disputed Senate leadership.

"At this point, they refuse to enter into an operating agreement," Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat who represents the Upper West Side, told reporters just before he and his fellow Democrats sneaked into the chamber. "We hope that they will come back to the table, and that we’ll be able to agree on rules. Our view is that we cannot ignore the people’s business that the governor is calling us back to do."

Republicans seemed just as caught off guard as the rest of the Capitol. And as news of the Democrats’ move spread, some Republican staff members rushed to the Senate chamber and peered in through the windows to watch the Democrats congregating inside.

Senator George H. Winner Jr., a Republican from central New York, described the Democrats’ move as unnecessary and possibly against the law.

"It seems to me somewhat petulant and or illegal to lock the doors," Mr. Winner said.

The outer doors to the chamber were kept locked by the sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, but some reporters were able to gain access through a back door.

When asked why the Democrats had entered the chamber, Senator Malcolm A. Smith, the Democratic leader, said, "We’re getting ready for the special session," adding, "We’re going through some procedures."

Governor Paterson rejected an appeal from the State Senate on Monday to delay a special session, as leaders in that deadlocked chamber continued to negotiate toward a power-sharing agreement.

Mr. Paterson was hoping that by using his authority to call all 62 senators back to work on Tuesday, he would force the feuding parties to come to an accommodation and end a stalemate that has halted work in the Senate for more than two weeks.

The Senate was left in its first 31-to-31 tie after Republicans orchestrated a coup earlier this month and installed Pedro Espada Jr., a dissident Bronx Democrat, as the Senate’s president. The Democratic caucus has refused to return to the chamber during the last two weeks unless Republicans accept a power-sharing arrangement.

Lawmakers balked at the governor’s attempts to intercede by drafting former Lt. Gov. Stan Lundine, a Democrat, and John R. Dunne, a Republican former state senator, to act as mediators.

The sides did appear to make progress in their own negotiations on Monday. But much remained unclear as the usual tumult of rumored deals swirled in the capital.

Leaders from both sides met with the governor Monday afternoon and asked him to delay his call for a special session until Wednesday to give the sides more time to talk.

"I told them no," Mr. Paterson said. "The people’s business has been delayed long enough. We have to get to completing this session’s agenda, and it is important for us to continue and finish that job."

The Democratic caucus floated a plan calling for a rotating Senate president, with Mr. Espada holding the office one day and Senator John L. Sampson, the leader of the Democrats, the next. Among other things, the idea raised some complicated questions about succession, since the Senate president would become governor if Mr. Paterson were incapacitated.

"You can’t have musical chairs every day," Mr. Espada said. "That’s just not the way any successful enterprise works."

Republicans, however, appeared to back away from their insistence that Mr. Espada remain president of the Senate.

"We believe that he was elected two weeks ago, and that is certainly the premise we start from," said Senator Tom Libous, the deputy leader of the Republican caucus. "I think right now we’re open to any discussion."

N.Y. Senate Talks Fail Miserably, Chaos Ensues

Dems Refuse To Recognize Espada As President Pro Tem, Don't Stand For Pledge Of Allegiance During Special Session

Republicans Fail To Take Podium, Pass Bills By Acclimation

Marcia Kramer
CBSTV
Jun 23, 2009

ALBANY (CBS) The battle for control of the New York State Senate got even more bizarre Tuesday.

After talks of a power-sharing arrangement broke down, Democrats locked themselves in the Senate chamber, Republicans tried to conduct business on their own and none of the "people's business" got done.

As incredible as it may seem, pictures obtained by CBS 2 HD are of the Democratic senators who locked themselves inside their chamber so they could be "first in" for Gov. David Paterson's special session. The pictures, shot through the window of a Senate door, seem to show that it was all about taking possession of the podium.

Yonkers Sen. Andrea Stewart Cousins is seen standing there to prevent the Republicans from taking over. The move came shortly after Democrats said talks of establishing a bi-partisan operating agreement fell through because a Republican coalition insisted the Senate president be Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada.

"We do not concede that Pedro Espada is the Senate president. We have offered to put aside the issues of whether the president of the Senate is Sen. [Malcolm] Smith or Sen. Espada," said Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan.

What happened next was equally incredible. With the Democrats in their seats, the Republicans marched in and tried to take the podium. They were rebuffed, so they held a session form the well of the chamber and passed dozens of bills by acclimation.

The odd thing was when Republican senators start the session with the pledge of allegiance. The Democrats didn't stand to participate and when one tried to stand, he was pulled down.

After the Republicans gaveled out, the Democrats gaveled in their special session. The problem was Sen. Smith said they couldn't proceed because they didn't have the governor's bills

The big question is when or if they'll ever be able to pass anything.
"At this time, no one in this chamber is holding the governor's business back, other than the governor's office not having the material needed on time," Smith said.

Paterson was furious. His aides said the bills were sent to the Senate chamber at 1 p.m.

"I've been a public servant for over 20 years and what I've seen in the last two weeks in the Senate disgusts me. Their inaction is a dereliction of duty. I pledge as governor there will be no more tolerance of these delays and these distractions."

Paterson said this week that he would call special legislative sessions every day, including on weekends and holidays, until the two sides could come to an agreement. Senators would have to attend such sessions, but they would not have to vote on any bills. Who would preside over the sessions remains unclear.

Paterson has lashed out at senators for the ongoing soap opera. It's been two weeks since the state Senate accomplished anything and the governor said enough is enough.

But his mandate seemed to make little impact considering Tuesday's madness.

Meanwhile, the Assembly adjourned at 2 a.m. Tuesday after passing hundreds of bills. Most of the measures have companion bills pending in the Senate.

Those affected by the delay include Mayor Michael Bloomberg and all New York City residents.

He's pushing for a renewal of mayoral control of city schools, citing recent favorable performance data. Like so many other local officials across the Empire State, Bloomberg is anxiously waiting for a break in the legislative deadlock.

"I think everybody understands that mayoral control really has been the key to all of this," Bloomberg said. "It has given us the ability to make the tough decisions and hold people accountable for results."

Stay with WCBSTV.com for more on this developing story.

Paterson to Senate: Untangle It Yourself or in Special Session

By Danny Hakim
The New York Times
June 20, 2009

ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson said Friday that he would call a special session of the State Legislature next week if the Senate could not negotiate a way out of its two-week stalemate.

In an interview, he also said he had recommended that the Senate factions use outsiders to mediate their negotiations. Failing that, Mr. Paterson said, he would use his authority to call a special session, and would press for a third party to be brought in as a presiding officer.

Senators would be compelled to return to work if the governor calls a special session — technically, the State Police could round up senators if they did not show up. The chamber is split 31 to 31, and it is possible that both sides would send a presiding officer.

Senate Republicans said that calling a special session would not resolve the fundamental dispute and that the Senate’s leadership has already been determined. Senate Democrats supported the move by the governor, also a Democrat, and said the sides needed to come to an agreement on a presiding officer.

The governor said he saw a special session as a necessary step, since the current session is to end Monday.

"I am going to give the parties a last opportunity today, since we’ve now come to the end of their session," the governor said in the interview. "They have, heretofore, on their own in 10 days, not submitted to any third-party negotiations," he added. "And they have these wild sessions that are acrimonious and bordering on uncivilized, and I think the public deserves better."

Calling a special session, he conceded, presented its own challenges.

"Once we’re in the chamber, we have the problem of who is the presiding officer," he said. "I’ve suggested to them someone from the outside. All the person has to do is preside over the meeting. It could be Judge Lippman, Judge Kaye, someone nonpartisan."

He was referring to Jonathan Lippman, the chief judge of the State Court of Appeals, and his predecessor, Judith S. Kaye.

John McArdle, a spokesman for the Senate Republicans, said, "We’re confident enough in our position that we’d be happy to have this arbitrated," though he said agreeing on an arbitrator could be difficult. He reiterated that there was already a Senate leadership in place: Pedro Espada Jr., the Senate president, and Dean G. Skelos, the Republican leader.

Senate Democrats laid out their latest power-sharing agreement on Friday; Senator John L. Sampson, their leader, said, "Our proposal will allow us to immediately address legislation vital to millions of New Yorkers."

The latest back and forth follows the June 8 coup that had two dissident Democrats voting to change the Senate’s leadership, returning power to the Republicans. One of those Democrats, Hiram Monserrate of Queens, subsequently changed his mind after coming under intense pressure, leaving the Senate in its first 31-to-31 tie.

The governor has been exasperated as the two-week Senate feud has sidelined his agenda and effectively halted the legislative process at one of the busiest times of the year in the Capitol. It seems unlikely that the Senate will make much progress on its own over the weekend after heated discussions ended with little accomplished on Thursday. Mr. McArdle said the Republicans would work past Monday, with or without a special session.

Albany Breakdown Gives Politicians
a Taste of Their Own Bitter Medicine

Errol Louis
New York Daily News
June 18th 2009

Maybe they finally know what it feels like.

Perhaps the deadlock in the state Senate - and the resulting frustration, fury and embarrassment among lawmakers - will give Albany a lingering taste of the bitterness felt by the rest of the state as we watch them bicker, blunder and break promises year after year.

Nothing of substance in the Senate can be accomplished until a quorum of 32 senators put politics, party, ego and ambition aside and agree to run the place on behalf of the people - something they each raised a hand and swore to do earlier this year.

The faceoff between 31 Democrats and 30 Republicans (plus Dem turncoat Pedro Espada) shows no signs of ending. But if we're lucky, every senator will remember days like yesterday, when hundreds of staffers were reduced to sitting around in offices, simulating a workday while keeping a close eye on TVs, e-mail and cell phones, hoping for positive news from the back rooms where their bosses have been endlessly caucusing.

I hope we continue to hear the kind of anger expressed by longtime Albany insiders who are predicting a surge of popular anger.

"Throw the bums out," said Sen. John Sampson of Brooklyn, a Democrat with the newly minted title of conference leader, when I asked what the public could do to help get the Legislature back on track.

Sampson, who turned 44 yesterday, is no rabble-rouser, but he says - accurately - that the lawmakers now refusing to negotiate an end to the deadlock deserve condemnation and, perhaps, defeat at the polls.

That's unusual talk from an even-tempered man freshly elevated to the top of the legislative heap. But these aren't usual times.

Even Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a tough negotiator who regularly stands accused of using delay as a weapon to get what he wants, says the public won't stand for the Senate remaining inactive for months on end. Silver's house recently passed 179 bills - he calls them "hostages" to the Senate - covering everything from mayoral control of schools to state aid for cities and counties and rules governing placement of power plants.

In a worst-case scenario, the bills will all die unless the Senate takes action by the end of this year. Silver calls that inconceivable - but he also plans to send the 150 members of the Assembly home and will put the chamber on hiatus until the Senate gets back to business.

Perhaps the Assembly members, anxiously watching to see if their bill drafting, hearings and debates were in vain, will remember that the same helpless anxiety is the norm for the vast majority of the state's 19 million residents, who never learn why vitally important matters die in Albany.

Sampson and Silver are right: Fixing what's wrong with Albany rests primarily with the people of New York, who have put up with too much nonsense for far too long. A little strategic voting to remove the creators of the current mess would go a long way.

But it shouldn't take so much editorial page outrage and constituent complaints to persuade the lawmakers to honor their oaths of office. They work in a privileged place: The lobby of the New York State Senate chamber has awe-inspiring paintings and busts of former state lawmakers like Grover Cleveland, Franklin Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt who changed the course of history during the centuries since the Senate first convened in 1787.

Nearly every editorial and column about Albany these days includes the word "shame." An emotion that pols normally use as a punch line rather than a prick of the conscience.

Now, for the first time, they're feeling it. And I hope the sensation lasts.

Grand Jury Probing Embattled Sen. Pedro Espada;
Stalemate over Control of State Senate Continues

By Kenneth Lovett and Glenn Blain
New York Daily News
June 18, 2009

In the state Senate, 30 Republicans take their seats, along with just one Democrat - Pedro Espada (below), who ditched his party last week and sided with the GOP.- Benjamin for News

District Attorney Robert Johnson has already convened a grand jury to investigate embattled Sen. Pedro Espada, the Daily News has learned.

Johnson issued a subpoena to a City Hall blogger dated June 11 asking for him to provide all video recordings he made of Espada.

In particular, Johnson wanted video from a campaign event last year when Rafael Martinez-Alequin claimed he was roughed up by Espada supporters.

The subpoena, obtained by The News, calls for a witness to testify before the grand jury of Bronx County.

The name of the defendant listed on the legal document is "John Doe," but a note on the subpoena says, "Re: PE case."

The News reported Wednesday that Johnson's office last week issued a subpoena to the state Senate asking for all documents on Espada covering his current tenure as well as his previous two stints in office.

Johnson is looking into whether Espada (D-Bronx) lives within his Senate district, as required by law.

Espada owns a co-op in the Bronx but also has what he calls a second home in Mamaroneck, where he spends much of his time.

A June 2008 court document that surfaced Wednesday showed that Espada listed the Westchester address as his residence. Espada was borrowing money on the house to raise $250,000 to bail out a relative jailed in Connecticut.

Espada said he chose the Westchester house because it had more equity than the one in the Bronx.

Johnson's office is also jointly probing with state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office whether the Soundview Health Center that Espada created has misused funds to aid his political campaign.

Senate Democrats recently rejected Espada's bid for $2 million in state pork-barrel funding for two new nonprofits linked to Soundview.

Espada blasted Johnson again Wednesday for what he said is a politically motivated investigation pushed by Democrats who are upset he participated in a Republican-led leadership coup last week that left him as Senate president.

"They have recruited him, clearly, to intimidate and to try to get me back in the fold and also to demonize me," Espada said.

He argued that Johnson had all the records from his first two times in the Senate when he indicted Espada in 1998. The senator was acquitted.

Espada said Johnson had his housekeeper brought from Westchester to the DA's office for three hours Wednesday, asking her details about where he lives.

Johnson's office wouldn't comment on the Espada case.

Meanwhile, the stalemate over control of the state Senate enters its 11th day today

 

Senate Stays Paralyzed; So Do Bills Big and Small

By Jeremy W. Peters and Nicholas Confessore
The New York Times
June 18, 2009

Senator Pedro Espada Jr., who is siding with the Republicans, was the only Democrat on the Senate floor on Wednesday-Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

ALBANY — In the week since the State Senate was thrown into disarray by a coup that left Democrats and Republicans fighting over who is in charge, the Capitol has taken on the air of a tragic comedy.

There were the bolted Senate chamber gates and the senator who twisted his ankle after a demonstrator knocked him to the ground. There was even a clown.

But amid all the absurdity, it can be easy to forget that real business does go on in Albany, and that the votes lawmakers take every day can mean the difference of tens of millions of dollars for local governments across the state.

The Assembly has passed dozens of bills in recent weeks that would allow counties to charge additional sales tax. But those bills have been bottled up in the Senate, which has not taken action on a single piece of legislation since June 8.

"That’s the thing that I think is being missed by most people," said Joanne M. Mahoney, county executive for Onondaga County, which includes Syracuse. "I don’t know if they realize this has very real consequences for us on the local level. This pays for our schools, our public safety. It’s $40 million for our budget."

Onondaga County, like many others across New York, charges an additional 4 percent sales tax on top of the 4 percent charged by the state. But in order to do that, it needs permission from the Legislature every two years.

With the recession pinching the budgets of local governments, sales tax revenue is especially critical this year. And many county leaders are beginning to worry that the Senate stalemate will hurt their budgetary bottom lines.

"This would not be the time for that to happen," said James E. Eisel Sr., the chairman of the Delaware County Board of Supervisors, who estimated the county would lose $5 million a year if the tax were not renewed. "We need it. There’s no question about it."

Revenue bills, of course, are not the only items thrown into uncertainty by the Senate leadership dispute. Major issues like governance of New York City schools, which the Assembly approved on Wednesday, and same-sex marriage are up in the air.

So are smaller-impact bills the Assembly has passed, like one that would designate May 17 as Thurgood Marshall Day, and one to rename a portion of State Route 38, which runs through the Finger Lakes region, as the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Highway of Valor.

Senate Republicans have tried to vote on these and other bills but could not take any action because Democrats have refused to take their seats in a show of protest, claiming that the Republican coup was illegal.

The Senate has been split evenly at 31-31 since Senator Hiram Monserrate, one of two Democrats who initially sided with Republicans to oust Democrats from power, flipped back to the Democratic side of the aisle. Without a majority vote of 32, the Senate cannot act.

The stalemate has spawned some creative suggestions and legal theories.

Senator Pedro Espada Jr., the other Democrat who sided with Republicans and was elected as the new Senate president in last week’s overthrow, said on Wednesday that the State Constitution allowed him to cast two votes in the case of a tie: one as senator, and one as acting lieutenant governor, who is empowered by the Constitution to cast a vote in the event of a tie. (Because the lieutenant governor’s office is vacant, that office’s powers fall to the Senate president.)

The constitutional language in question is vague, and any such move would probably lead to litigation by Democrats.

Mr. Espada also said that should the Democrats not return to the chamber on Thursday, his two votes, added to 30 votes from Republican senators, would be sufficient to provide the legal equivalent of a quorum.

"We’re maintaining that if there are 31 members present, and ready to vote, those 31 members can ask for a tie-breaking vote to be cast," Mr. Espada said.

Democrats blasted Mr. Espada’s theory as absurd.

"That’s like asking to get a vote for every district you supposedly live in," said Austin Shafran, the spokesman for the Senate Democrats.

He was alluding to the continuing investigations by the state attorney general and the Bronx district attorney into whether Mr. Espada, who has a residence in Westchester County but represents the Bronx, spends enough time at his home in his district.

Albany Madness Creates an Opening for Profound Reform

By Laura Seago and Larry Norden
New York Daily News
June 17, 2009

As strange as it may sound, the chaos that has engulfed the state capital the last week could be the best thing to happen in Albany in years - if rank-and-file members seize the moment.

We at the Brennan Center have produced three separate reports detailing Albany's dysfunction, under which party leaders make all major decisions, back-room deals are routine and open debate is virtually nonexistent.

Time and again, rank-and-file legislators who admit there is a problem respond with some variation of the line, "I'd love to help, but my hands are tied," blaming the ultrapowerful majority leader or their minority party status as preventing them from getting reforms enacted.

Last week, Sens. Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate proved that two junior legislators could turn Albany upside down. We don't condone what they did, but we must note that in the process of shaking up Albany, they managed to help get some important reforms made to the Senate's backward rules.

So in their own bizarre way, Espada and Monserrate gave fellow legislators the opportunity and a road map for reform. They proved that ordinary senators can no longer blame "three men in a room" for the shameful state of affairs. They must take matters into their own hands.

And they must not delay. With Monserrate's switch back to the Democrats, the chamber is now tied with 31 members in each conference.

Yesterday's dismissal of the Democrats' lawsuit doesn't change the fact that, no matter which party has official "leadership" of the chamber, it takes a quorum of at least 32 members to even call the Senate into session. To get anything done, members will have to break rank with their conferences.

With power dynamics still in flux, ordinary senators who have presented themselves as reformers - both Republican and Democrat - can dictate the terms to their leadership. The rules changes that the "bipartisan coalition" passed last week were an important step, but in a time of crisis for the state, first steps are no longer enough.

Committee members are still not required to read the bills under their consideration, or to show up to vote on legislation. The majority leader still wields extraordinary control over the administration of the chamber. And nothing in the legislative rules prevents leaders from negotiating the state budget in total secrecy, as occurred this year.

Rank-and-file senators must demand immediate and profound procedural reform. To start, the Senate needs a rules resolution that requires committees to hold hearings on major legislation, read bills for amendments and produce reports showing their work on the bills they pass. The Senate needs to fix the budget process to increase transparency and access by both the public and rank-and-file legislators of both parties.

And no matter who ends up being majority leader, the Senate must loosen the office's stranglehold on the legislative process by allowing committee chairmen to hire and fire their own staff and by converting administrative positions to nonpartisan Civil Service jobs.

In short, the Senate needs to start operating like nearly every other state legislative chamber in the country (the New York State Assembly excepted, of course).

These changes can be accomplished in a single rules resolution - one that could be passed today - if at least one senator is willing to work with the opposing conference.

That's all it takes to tip the balance in favor of thorough reform. And judging by the number of senators who have presented themselves as reformers over the years, there would seem to be a long list of candidates for the job.

So, to the senators who have repeatedly expressed opposition to the way things are run in Albany, we say: Don't let Espada and Monserrate be the only ones to stir things up. Stop the excuses and demand real reform.

Norden is senior counsel and Seago is a research associate at the Brennan Center for Justice. They are co-authors of "Still Broken: New York State Legislative Reform 2008 Update."

From Halls of Montezuma to Floors
 of Albany, Something Went Awry

By Clyde Haberman
The New York Times
June 16, 2009
 

The best thing about spending time on the D-Day beaches in Normandy last week was that the cartoon antics that pass for politics in Albany appeared nowhere on our radar.

No, that’s not right. The best thing was the D-Day
Senators John L. Sampson,  Hiram Monserrate and Malcolm A. Smith beaches themselves. On
at a news conference on Monday, another topsy-turvy day in the New   One could not stand on
York State Senate. Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times                Omaha Beach and the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, or walk among the 9,387 headstones of the fallen who lie in the American military cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, and not be moved to tears by the valor of those who fought the good fight in World War II.

They gave their lives to free others from tyranny. They died in the name of democracy.

One can only imagine how they might feel were they to know that, 65 years later, democracy as practiced in the capital of the self-aggrandizing Empire State rests unsettlingly in the hands of two unreliable state senators. One, Hiram Monserrate of Queens, is charged with slashing his girlfriend’s face with a broken glass. The other, Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx, has been the target of more investigations than an Enron executive.

We’ve strayed exceedingly far, have we not, from the selfless heroics of D-Day.

New Yorkers are running out of ways to describe Albany as a political version of clown school. Perhaps it is time, then, that they examine what the state of the state says about them. If one believes that people in a democracy get the government they deserve, then we in New York should be unable to look in the mirror without cringing.

We overwhelmingly elected a governor, Eliot Spitzer, who turned out to be hooked on prostitutes. His replacement, David A. Paterson, was never thought of as governor material and now has approval ratings at Cheney levels, somewhere in the subbasement. Albany under Governor Paterson is reminiscent of Afghanistan: nominally commanded by a weak leader, but with powerful warlords ascendant.

We elected a state comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, who was forced out of office by scandal. Now, some of his closest associates have been indicted on charges of bribery and grand larceny. A reasonable person may infer that Mr. Hevesi either knew about these shenanigans or was out of touch to the point of dereliction.

To boot, we have an appointed United States senator, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who immediately upon taking office swiveled on so many major issues that you could have suffered whiplash trying to keep up.

Yes, we New York voters have a lot to account for in our choices. Nor is the reckoning limited to statewide officials. The roster of lower-level politicians who have sat in the back of police cars or worn orange jumpsuits has grown depressingly long.

The former State Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, has been indicted on federal corruption charges. Former State Senator Guy J. Velella of the Bronx went to jail because of his sticky fingers. Former Assemblyman Clarence Norman Jr. of Brooklyn is in prison for crimes that include extortion. Former Assemblywoman Diane M. Gordon of Brooklyn is also in prison, for bribe-taking. Ditto for former Assemblyman Brian M. McLaughlin of Queens, for racketeering.

But wait, as they say on late-night television, there’s more.

Assemblyman Anthony S. Seminerio of Queens is charged with bribery. Former State Senator Efraín González Jr. of the Bronx pleaded guilty to mail fraud, and former Assemblyman Roger L. Green of Brooklyn to larceny. Former Assemblywoman Gloria Davis of the Bronx did time for bribery.

An assortment of charges, including drunken driving and assault, have stained State Senator Kevin S. Parker of Brooklyn, Assemblymen Karim Camara of Brooklyn and Adam Clayton Powell IV of Manhattan, and former State Senators Ada L. Smith and John D. Sabini, both of Queens.

And as we said, to further make New Yorkers proud of their choices, we now have the much-investigated Mr. Espada and Mr. Monserrate, he of the night of the broken glass.

By the way, Mr. Monserrate is a Marine reservist. He has described himself as a Persian Gulf veteran, even though the only Gulf he may have seen was a gas station. He was on active duty during the Persian Gulf war, but his military records show that he never left the United States.

Had he been in uniform stateside in June 1944, he might well have felt entitled to call himself a D-Day veteran. We can safely guess what the heroes resting through eternity in Normandy would have said about his presumptuousness.

Monserrate’s Flip Creates Tie in Senate

The New York Times
By Danny Hakim and Jeremy W. Peters
June 16, 2009

ALBANY —A week after Republicans wrested power of the State Senate away from Democrats, their thin majority collapsed on Monday, leaving the chamber in a tie for the first time in state history.

Democrats said they would seek
Senator Hiram Monserrate in Albany on Monday.                  to form a power-sharing arrangement with Republicans, as Senator Hiram Monserrate, one of two Democrats who initially sided with Republicans to give them a 32-to-30 majority, said he was switching his allegiances again and reaffirmed himself as a member of the Democratic caucus.

But it was unclear whether an accord between the two sides could be reached, or even who was currently in charge of the chamber. The leader of the Senate Republicans said he would not join a power-sharing arrangement. It also remained unclear whether much progress could be made on a number of legislative issues that remained unresolved in the waning days of the legislative session, from mayoral control of New York City’s school to same-sex marriage.

The lieutenant governor traditionally breaks ties in the Senate, but the office was left vacant when David A. Paterson ascended to the governorship last year amid Eliot Spitzer’s prostitution scandal.

Adding to the confusion, Democrats installed a new leader on Monday, Senator John L. Sampson of Brooklyn, in a concession to Mr. Monserrate, who had insisted that Democrats oust the majority leader, Malcolm A. Smith. But because they no longer have enough votes to vote in Mr. Sampson as president of the Senate and majority leader, Democrats named Mr. Sampson "caucus leader" and left Mr. Smith as their titular leader.

"Clearly, after what happened last week, we have to make some adjustments in how we operate," Mr. Smith said during a news conference held by Senate Democrats on Monday morning. "You can look at John Sampson as C.E.O.," he added, saying that Mr. Sampson would run the caucus’s "day-to-day business."

Pressed to explain how he would share power with Mr. Sampson, Mr. Smith said, "It is what it is."

Mr. Smith said he and Mr. Sampson were seeking to meet with Dean G. Skelos, the leader of the Senate Republicans. Mr. Skelos said he and Pedro Espada Jr., the Bronx Democrat who claimed the title of Senate president last week, would meet with the Democratic leaders late Monday afternoon.

Mr. Skelos said he was not interested in a power sharing arrangement with Mr. Sampson, since he believed the leadership vote taken a week ago was binding. "A vote’s a vote,"_ he said.

The Republicans, along with Mr. Espada, attempted to hold a session Monday afternoon, but with only 31 members present, they could not muster the 32 senators needed for a quorum. "My Democratic colleagues on this side of the aisle are boycotting their responsibilities," Mr. Espada said, speaking on the Senate floor, adding that "negotiations to get back to work are out of order. What’s in order is that people show up to work as they collect their pay."

Mr. Monserrate, for his part, said he was satisfied by the leadership change and had "full faith that Senator Sampson can bring this conference together." Mr. Smith looked on impassively as Mr. Monserrate saluted his "good friend John Sampson" and hailed the leadership change.

"I also want to send a message to the voters in my district, and the borough of Queens and downstate, in the neighborhoods that I grew up in throughout the city," Mr. Monserrate said. "The voters in my district sent this ex-Marine, this ex-beat cop, to come up here and shake things up, and I’m not walking away from that."

Mr. Monserrate hardly disavowed the leadership vote he took a week ago that installed his friend, Mr. Espada, as president of the Senate, and Mr. Skelos, a Long Island Republican, as majority leader.

"I took a vote, the vote was public, I believe some of you took pictures of it," he said. "I think ultimately, at this point, there is a judicial process, and that judicial process will help finalize our decisions."

Mr. Espada has insisted that he will remain with the Republicans and has been the target of withering attacks from Democrats since forging a power-sharing arrangement with Republicans.

"Senator Monserrate continues to say the vote he took Monday was legal and proper, and he still supports yours truly for Senate president," Mr. Espada said. "You can’t undo Monday."

Justice Thomas J. McNamara, who on Friday ordered the two sides to try to settle their differences, declined once more on Monday to intervene in the Senate battle.

"I am directing each of you to go to work across the street," Justice McNamara said. He put off a decision until at least 10 a.m. Tuesday. In an afternoon court appearance, he again urged both sides to resolve the issue themselves and said he did not want to get involved unless it became clear there was no other alternative.

Mr. Monserrate’s decision is the latest turn in a series of startling political developments that have left the Capitol in confusion for the last week.

After Mr. Espada and Mr. Monserrate participated in the shocking leadership coup a week ago, Mr. Monserrate would not agree to sit with Republicans and vote on any legislation, leaving them without the quorum of at least 32 members required to conduct business.

Monserrate Flips Back to Democrats

By Danny Hakim and Jeremy W. Peters
The New York Times
June 16, 2009

ALBANY — A week after Republicans wrested power of the State Senate away from Democrats, their thin majority appeared to collapse.

Senator Hiram Monserrate, one of two Democrats who initially sided with Republicans to give them a 32-to-30 majority, has switched his allegiances again and plans to reaffirm himself as a member of the Democratic caucus, two people close to Mr. Monserrate said on Monday morning.

Asked if Mr. Monserrate was reuniting with Democrats, one of his senior advisers, Wayne Mahlke, said, "That’s my understanding, yes."

Mr. Monserrate’s switch would leave the Senate split evenly at 31-to-31, suggesting an era of legislative gridlock that would be unparalleled even by Albany’s notoriously dysfunctional standards.

Pedro Espada Jr., the other Democrat who joined with Republicans last Monday in the surprise power grab, said on Monday that he had spoken with Mr. Monserrate, who confirmed to him that he was going back to the Democratic side of the aisle. But Mr. Espada, who was elected as the president of the Senate in last week’s coup, insisted that Mr. Monserrate’s defection does nothing to alter the chamber’s power dynamic.

"Senator Monserrate continues to say the vote he took Monday was legal and proper, and he still supports yours truly for Senate president," Mr. Espada said. "You can’t undo Monday."

If each side has 31 members, that means neither the Democrats or Republicans would have the 32 votes necessary to change the Senate’s leadership structure. Ordinarily the lieutenant governor would cast a tie-breaking vote, but that position has been vacant since Gov. David A. Paterson replaced Eliot Spitzer as governor in March 2008.

Mr. Monserrate’s move, which was first reported by The Daily News, puts all the more focus on a court hearing Monday in Albany, where a State Supreme Court justice is scheduled to decide whether the Republican takeover was legal. If the court rules that the new coalition — headed by Mr. Espada and Dean G. Skelos, a Republican from Long Island — is illegitimate, it could ultimately restore Democrats to power.

Mr. Espada said Monday that Mr. Monserrate was abandoning the coalition with Republicans because he was satisfied that his key concern — that Malcolm A. Smith be removed as Democratic majority leader — had been resolved. Mr. Espada said Mr. Smith would be replaced by Senator John L. Sampson of Brooklyn.

"He felt his objectives had been fulfilled," Mr. Espada said.

Mr. Monserrate’s decision is the latest turn in a series of startling political developments that have left the Capitol in confusion for the last week. Mr. Monserrate initially joined with Mr. Espada to form a bipartisan coalition that displaced the Democrats from the majority.

But when the Senate was set to convene last Wednesday, Mr. Monserrate said he needed more time to recruit more members of the Democratic Party, and the legislative session was postponed until the following day. When Mr. Monserrate returned to the Senate chamber last Thursday, he said that he still needed more time. The Senate then adjourned, and another session was scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m.

Judge Gives State Senators Weekend to Negotiate

By Danny Hakim and Jeremy W. Peters
The New York Times
June 13, 2009

ALBANY — A justice in State Supreme Court told Democrats and Republicans on Friday morning to talk throughout the weekend to try to resolve the dispute that has paralyzed New York State government since Monday.

Lawyers for the Senate Democrats were in court arguing that the move by Republicans to regain control of the chamber should be stopped and deemed illegitimate.

The justice here who will eventually rule on the matter, Thomas J. McNamara, seemed disinclined to involve himself in the case. Barring an amicable resolution — which seems unlikely at this point — Justice McNamara scheduled another court appearance for both parties at 9:30 Monday morning.

"I’ll be candid," Justice McNamara said, expressing that it was his desire "to have this matter resolved within the context of the Senate, not within the context of any court."

He added, "You really have to do this amongst yourselves."

Senate Republicans, who in a surprise vote earlier this week gained support from two dissident Democrats and forced a vote that allowed them to capture a one-vote majority, have planned a legislative session for 3 p.m. on Monday. Justice McNamara said he would issue a ruling before then.

As lawyers for both sides prepared for another round of legal sparring, Senate Democrats were planning to meet Friday afternoon in Manhattan to discuss how they can move forward after a devastating week. Support within the Democratic conference for its current leader, Malcolm A. Smith of Queens, has been eroding since the Republicans displaced the party from power on Monday.

During their meeting, senators are expected to discuss whether to remove Mr. Smith and install someone else. Support for Senator John L. Sampson of Brooklyn as leader has been building in recent days, according to some Democrats. But other senators, including Jeffrey D. Klein of the Bronx, are said to be interested in the position, said some Democrats, who spoke anonymously to discuss private internal talks.

By comparison, Friday was a sedate day in the Capitol after pandemonium reigned for most of the week.

On Thursday, Republicans used a mysterious set of keys to force their way into the Senate chamber for the first time since their leadership coup on Monday. Protesters chanted "Senate not for sale" and banged on the chamber’s windows while Republicans tried to convene. And the Republicans’ vow to resume the session fizzled after one of the two dissident Democrats they were depending on for a quorum, Hiram Monserrate of Queens, walked out of the chamber shortly after the proceedings began.

"The dysfunction and chaos in the Senate has wasted an entire week of the people’s business," a clearly irritated Gov. David A. Paterson said in a statement released Thursday. He has been largely relegated to the sidelines during the dispute.

By day’s end, it was clear that the balance of power in the state’s upper house — and the very gears of state government — continued to rest in the hands of Mr. Monserrate, who was indicted in March on charges of slashing his female companion with a broken glass.

As he was leaving the Senate chamber, a Republican staff member dashed after him, pleading, "Senator, we need you back in there." But Mr. Monserrate said he was committed to recruiting more Democrats to join the coalition and would be holding meetings all day in hopes of doing so, even as those Democrats were simultaneously trying to woo him back to their side.

"This chamber must not remain divided," he said. "You can’t have coalition government with 2 Democrats and 30 Republicans."

Attempt to Open New York Senate Falters

By Danny Hakim and Jeremy W. Peters
The New York Times
June 12, 2009

At the door to the State Senate chamber on Thursday, a sergeant-at-arms held back protesters who were objecting to the Republican-led takeover of the Senate.

ALBANY — For a fourth day, pandemonium reigned in the Capitol.

Republicans used a mysterious set of keys to force their way into the Senate chamber for the first time since their leadership coup on Monday. Protesters chanted "Senate not for sale" and banged on the chamber’s windows while Republicans tried to convene. And the Republicans’ vow to resume the session fizzled after one of the two dissident Democrats they were depending on for a quorum, Hiram Monserrate of Queens, walked out of the chamber shortly after the proceedings began.

Both sides continued to battle in court; a hearing is set for Friday morning, and Democrats will argue that the Republicans’ coup was illegitimate.

"The dysfunction and chaos in the Senate has wasted an entire week of the people’s business," a clearly irritated Gov. David A. Paterson said in a statement released Thursday. He has been largely relegated to the sidelines during the dispute.

By day’s end, it was clear that the balance of power in the state’s upper house — and the very gears of state government — continued to rest in the hands of Mr. Monserrate, who was indicted in March on charges of slashing his female companion with a broken glass.

As he was leaving the Senate chamber, a Republican staff member dashed after him, pleading, "Senator, we need you back in there." But Mr. Monserrate said he was committed to recruiting more Democrats to join the coalition and would be holding meetings all day in hopes of doing so, even as those Democrats were simultaneously trying to woo him back to their side.

"This chamber must not remain divided," he said. "You can’t have coalition government with 2 Democrats and 30 Republicans."

There were many other developments throughout the day.

The Senate’s new president, Pedro Espada Jr., a Bronx Democrat sharing power with Republicans, tried to lure his former Democratic colleagues back to the chamber by offering to bring same-sex marriage legislation to the Senate’s floor next week, for the first time in the Senate’s history.

His comments prompted the Senate’s only openly gay member, Thomas K. Duane, to say he was open to abandoning the Democratic caucus, a day after his staff insisted he was staying put. "Today, I’m in the Democratic conference, and I’m a Democrat," he added. "There’s no way to predict what’s going to happen tomorrow, let alone what’s going to happen when everyone comes back on Monday."

Democrats also huddled behind closed doors to decide the fate of their leader, Malcolm A. Smith, whom many blame for losing control of the first Democratic Senate majority in four decades after just five months. Senator John L. Sampson, a Brooklyn Democrat, is seen as Mr. Smith’s most likely potential successor, though Democrats cautioned that they were not yet prepared to depose Mr. Smith.

Further complicating matters, Mr. Monserrate reiterated his support for Mr. Espada, but would not answer when asked repeatedly if he still supported Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican who was named majority leader on Monday, in a power-sharing deal with Mr. Espada.

Certainly, the rising political fortunes of Mr. Espada and Mr. Monserrate have given many pause. Mr. Monserrate has his pending criminal case. Mr. Espada has been fined more than $60,000 for failing to disclose his campaign contributions; the attorney general is investigating whether a nonprofit group he founded misappropriated money, and the Bronx district attorney is investigating whether his primary residence is in his district.

As Senate president, he would become governor if David A. Paterson were incapacitated, though a court temporarily blocked Mr. Espada from becoming second in the line of succession Thursday.

If he remains president, it appears that the State Constitution gives Mr. Espada the authority to issue pardons even if Mr. Paterson is merely traveling out of state — potentially even to himself — though there is some dispute about the legal fine points.

The unlikely alliance has left Republicans on the defensive.

"It was all right when they were the 31st and 32nd vote on that side," said Senator Martin Golden, a Brooklyn Republican who was, only weeks ago, calling for Mr. Monserrate’s resignation. "All of a sudden, they’re criminals? When they join us, they’re criminals."

But Mr. Golden admitted to feeling a little queasy.

"Do I feel a little uncomfortable? The answer is yes," he said, adding that if Mr. Monserrate was "found guilty in a court of law, he should pay the price."

Lawmakers continued to ignore the governor’s pleas to return to work. The governor said in an appearance on WNYC that he doubted how successful the Democrats’ court challenge could be because they appeared to lack the votes needed to maintain a solid majority.

"Even if you’ve won the court battle, as soon as you go back into session, if you don’t have the votes, if somebody calls a vote, you lose," Mr. Paterson said.

He also cast doubt on the Democrats’ legal argument that Mr. Smith could not be forced out in the middle of the session because he was elected by his colleagues for a two-year term, saying "power has been changed in legislative bodies for centuries."

But his spokesman denied a statement by Mr. Espada that the governor "duly recognized" him as the Senate president during a phone call. "That’s false," said Peter Kauffmann, a Paterson spokesman.

The Senate has already forfeited a week of its legislative session during one of the busiest times of year, the traditional rush before the close of the session on June 22. The governor threatened to force lawmakers to extend the legislative session, though it is not clear when a clear leader will emerge. Republicans said they would attempt to resume the session Monday afternoon. In the meantime, many issues have been sidelined, including mayoral control of the schools in New York City.

While the Senate was a carnival of dysfunction, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver kept the trains running in his chamber in almost plodding defiance, passing 129 bills in four days, including legislation that extended wage protections to farm workers and a bill that allowed a Long Island church to apply for a property tax exemption.

"Eventually, we have to govern here," the gravel-voiced Mr. Silver said this week. "We’re trying to do it on a daily basis."

Nicholas Confessore contributed reporting.

Senators Hiram Monserrate, left, and Pedro Espada Jr., the lone Democrats in the new coalition, made their appearance in the Senate chamber.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most Democratic seats remained empty as a new Senate coalition tried to meet on Thursday.

 

Albany Held Hostage

Editorial
New York Post
June 11, 2009

On Day Three of Albany's agony, David Paterson went before the cameras to plead piteously for lobbyists, and the bidding was brisk for Hiram Monserrate's -- dare we even say it? -- soul.

"Think of the lobbyists who have invested in themselves [sic] to try to persuade legislative leaders and legislators on issues," he beseeched.

Now, most lobbyists have invested in legislators -- and paid a pretty price, too. No wonder they're upset by Albany's post-coup paralysis.

Monserrate -- who Monday joined with fellow Democrat and serial ethics-violator Pedro Espada Jr. in an as-yet-unresolved attempt to deliver control of the body to the Republicans -- was hinting that he might be up for switching back.

If the price was right.

Hey, once for sale, always for sale, we say. It's the Albany way.

As the Sun set over the capital city, there were only two certainties:

* Lewis Carroll himself, on his best day, couldn't conjure a rabbit-hole adventure more bizarre than the reality in Albany these past few days.

* And it's only going to get worse.

Meanwhile, no progress has been made on such critical issues as mayoral control of New York City's public schools and the housekeeping bills Mayor Mike's budgeteers need to complete their work.

Nor will there be any time soon.

Gop Opens Senate Chamber

By Brendan Scott in Troy and Fredric U. Dicker in Albany
New York Post
June 11, 2009

Republicans unlocked the doors to the state senate chamber this morning for the first time as the majority party after Monday's historic coup -- but said the Democratic conference they overthrew had locked away bills and withheld the official stenographer needed to conduct business. As GOP lawmakers, along with rogue Democratic Sens. Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens, opened the chamber in order to go into session, an upstate judge refused to stop the power-grab. PEYSER: BIZARRE BIG TOP NEEDS RINGLEADER SILVER SIGNS OFF ON MAYORAL SCHOOL CONTROL EDITORIAL: ALBANY HELD HOSTAGE Democrats, who had locked the doors following the coup that forced the ouster of State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), went to court to challenge the coalition that claimed it seized control of the 62-member chamber -- giving the GOP a 32-30 majority. Both Espada and Monserrate were on the chamber floor today as GOP legislators huddled with them amid a sea of chanting protestors. In yet another bizarre move, Monserrate announced that he won't vote for any bill the coalition tries to bring up, bringing the brief session to an end. Instead, he said he would try to bring a compromise that includes members of the Democratic conference who are boycotting the session. That leaves the coalition with a 31-seat bloc. A state Supreme Court judge in Rensselaer County, meanwhile, heard initial arguments, but refused to block the takeover and ordered more legal arguments. State Justice George Ceresia denied the Democrats' request to stop the coalition from opening the Senate and running its first session. He told lawyers for the Democrats to return to court on Friday to argue why Espada isn't the legal head of the chamber.

Latino Black Rivalry Helped Fuel
G.O.P.’s Takeover of State Senate

By Nicholas Confessore and Danny Hakim
The New York Times
June 11, 2009

ALBANY — When two Democratic state senators, Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate, joined Republicans on the Senate floor Monday to kick off their surprise takeover of the chamber, almost every other Democratic senator in the room walked out in anger, shock or disgust.

But as Mr. Espada stood to be sworn in as the new president of the Senate, several other Latino lawmakers, all members of the Assembly, filed into the room and stood behind him, beaming like proud parents.

"There are over two million Latinos in the State of New York; they are looking to be included in a partnership," Assemblyman José Rivera, a Bronx Democrat, said later. "I don’t know if that’s going to last, but yeah, it’s a proud moment — a Latino making waves."

Lurking just underneath the partisan battle that broke out this week is an uglier, longer-running rift within the Democratic Party. For years, Latino lawmakers have resented playing junior partner to the state’s powerful black establishment, which has supplied New York with a mayor for its largest city, a governor, and, last winter, the first black Senate majority leader: Malcolm A. Smith, who held that post until Mr. Espada and Mr. Monserrate defected this week.

Now, while other Democrats have denounced Mr. Espada as a crook and a turncoat, some Latino lawmakers view his ascension as a rightful and long-overdue assertion of their growing power and influence in state politics.

"If you were to poll the Latino members of the Legislature, you’d get a rah-rah response," said Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera, who is also from the Bronx (but is not related to his colleague José Rivera). "There are a whole bunch of Latino officials who are concerned about representation."

Because black lawmakers have worked together as a unified bloc within the Legislature, they have been well represented among the leadership in both the Senate and the Assembly. They have long dominated the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, which has elected only one Hispanic chairman since it was founded in the 1960s.

In the Senate, black lawmakers’ unity was key to the election of Mr. Smith, first as the Senate minority leader and then as the majority leader — a position he gained in December only after promising perks and titles to Mr. Espada and Mr. Monserrate in exchange for their votes.

Latino lawmakers, meanwhile, have long complained of being shut out of top positions. They were angry that no Hispanic candidate was put forward when a vacancy opened up on the State Court of Appeals earlier this year, and even angrier when Gov. David A. Paterson did not appoint a Hispanic to the United States Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton this year.

"There is a black and Latino alliance that at times has been tenuous and at times has been robust," said Hakeem Jeffries, a black assemblyman from Brooklyn. "This could make it more tenuous."

Perhaps mindful of these divisions, Mr. Espada has conspicuously wrapped himself in the garb of Latino empowerment, speaking of his new position as a victory for the broader community. Other Democrats, however, note that before defecting, Mr. Espada had demanded from Senate Democrats — and been denied — extra staff members, expensive office space and potentially illegal pork-barrel spending. And on Wednesday, as a group of Senate Democrats negotiated with Mr. Espada and Mr. Monserrate to come back to the Democratic fold, a sticking point, according to people familiar with the discussions, was whether a black senator would remain the majority leader.

"You’re seeing the ugliest side of identity politics," said one Democratic lawmaker, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of fears that he could anger his colleagues. "In the name of community liberation, people are negotiating for better jobs for themselves or their children."

Some Latino lawmakers bristled Wednesday when the Rev. Al Sharpton, an ally of Mr. Smith and Mr. Paterson, organized a demonstration in Mr. Monserrate’s Queens district to pressure him to rejoin the Democratic caucus, though Mr. Monserrate and Mr. Espada remain Democrats. Mr. Sharpton, accompanied by black and Hispanic lawmakers from Queens, said Democrats "cannot to afford to break the coalition" between the two groups.

Viewing Mr. Sharpton’s comments as presumptuous, Assemblyman Peter Rivera said, "It’s kind of disappointing to see race being used to toe the line."

The divide is not as simple as black and brown, however. Those Latino lawmakers praising Mr. Espada and Mr. Monserrate are mostly fellow Puerto Ricans. Nearly all represent powerful Bronx political dynasties that have dominated Hispanic politics for years but have recently lost ground to elected officials of other Latino backgrounds, most prominently Dominican.

Those changes have been mirrored, in part, in the evolving name of the minority caucus, once known merely as the Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus. That shift has also been reflected in voting patterns. Where once Puerto Ricans represented an overwhelming majority of Hispanic voters in New York City, migration from Mexico and South America has steadily diminished their clout.

Today, according to census figures, Puerto Ricans represent only about half of registered Hispanic voters in the city. Some Hispanic lawmakers from other backgrounds questioned whether Mr. Espada’s alliance with Republicans was aimed at empowering Latinos.

"Latino empowerment is empty if it does not contain an agenda to move us forward," said Assemblyman José R. Peralta, a Queens Democrat of Dominican descent. "There are going to be some individuals who are trying to galvanize this as a lightning rod to mobilize people, when what they are really after is personal power."

Colin Moynihan contributed reporting from New York.

Feeling Slighted, Rich Patron Led Albany Revolt

By Danny Hakim and Nicholas Confessore
The New York Times
June 10, 2009

ALBANY — In early spring, Tom Golisano went to Albany from his home in Rochester to meet with Malcolm A. Smith, then the Senate majority leader.

Mr. Golisano, a billionaire business executive, had spent heavily to help Mr. Smith and other Democrats win control of the Senate in the November election, and was angry to hear they were now planning to raise taxes on the wealthy. He expected an audience befitting a major financial patron.

Instead, he said, Mr. Smith played with his BlackBerry and seemed to barely listen.

"I said, ‘I’m talking to the wall here,’ " Mr. Golisano recalled in an interview on Tuesday.

That meeting led to the dramatic collapse Monday of the Democrats’ grip on the Senate majority as a frustrated Mr. Golisano secretly planned with Republicans to persuade two Democrats to join them in ousting Mr. Smith.

The revolt has thrown Albany into an almost surreal scene of confusion; on Tuesday, both Mr. Smith and the Republican Senate leader, Dean G. Skelos, were claiming to be the majority leader. Democrats locked the doors of the Senate chamber, preventing Republicans from gathering there, and refused to turn over the keys, prompting Republicans to threaten to hold a legislative session in the park outside.

Gov. David A. Paterson vowed not to leave the state during the crisis and said he still considered Mr. Smith to be the majority leader.

Mr. Golisano, asked by reporters about the legal troubles of Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate, the two Democrats who had joined with the Republicans to oust Mr. Smith, said: "Don’t talk to me about ethical background in Albany," adding, "We have a governor who stood on a podium on national television and said he had extramarital affairs and used cocaine."

Mr. Espada said the Republicans had promised him and Mr. Monserrate that the Senate would be run in a bipartisan way, and predicted that other Democrats would eventually join the power-sharing coalition.

"This cannot become a circus," said Mr. Espada, faced with the prospect of starting his career as Senate president being locked out of the Senate chamber. "We won’t force our way into any locked chambers. This is childlike, taking home all the marbles."

"If we’re blocked from the room, we’ll do it outside in the park if it’s a nice day," he added.

Along with Mr. Golisano, a key figure who helped pull off the plan to overthrow Mr. Smith was Steve Pigeon, who is not only Mr. Golisano’s top political adviser but also a longtime friend of Mr. Espada’s.

After Mr. Golisano’s fruitless meeting with Mr. Smith in March, Mr. Pigeon and Mr. Golisano returned to Albany to meet with Mr. Smith’s top aide, Angelo J. Aponte, the secretary of the Senate. Mr. Golisano insisted that there had to be a way to balance the state budget without raising taxes, and at one point snatched a pad from one of Mr. Aponte’s aides and began scrawling back-of-the-envelope calculations.

One of Mr. Golisano’s aides asked whether the state could issue billions of dollars worth of bonds. Mr. Aponte said it was unlikely the bonds would find buyers in the economic slump. (Mr. Pigeon disputed that account. "We were there to hear their presentation and they didn’t seem to have any good answers," he said.)

Mr. Golisano gave up on the Democrats and Mr. Pigeon moved quickly to set up a meeting with three top Senate Republicans. Secrecy was imperative, so they decided to meet at a small Albany rock club, Red Square, an unlikely locale for lawmakers.

"You wouldn’t find anybody there that we knew," recalled Senator George D. Maziarz, a Republican from western New York who attended. Within days, the trio — Mr. Maziarz, Mr. Skelos and Senator Tom Libous of Binghamton, went to Rochester to meet with Mr. Golisano. The meeting was a chance for Mr. Skelos to meet Mr. Golisano for the first time.

Mr. Pigeon soon set to wooing Mr. Espada, a Bronx Democrat who had once caucused with the Republicans. Mr. Pigeon and Mr. Espada had a long relationship, going back to Mr. Pigeon’s days as a counsel to the Senate Democrats. Mr. Espada drafted Mr. Monserrate, one of his close friends in the Senate, to join him in his defection.

Mr. Espada has said he joined the effort because he wanted to change how Albany does business. Indeed, shortly after taking power on Monday, Republicans enacted new rules for the Senate, including one imposing six-year term limits for the Senate’s leaders and another equalizing distribution of the $85 million the Senate allocates annually for legislative earmarks.

But Mr. Espada was said to have grown frustrated about power and money.

Mr. Espada has been fined more than $60,000 for ignoring state law requiring disclosure of campaign contributions. A nonprofit organization that he ran for decades, Soundview HealthCare Network, is being investigated by the attorney general on suspicion of having misappropriated funds. And the Bronx district attorney is investigating whether he lives in the Bronx district he represents.

After he agreed earlier this year to back Mr. Smith, Mr. Espada requested perks that he believed should accompany his title as vice president of the Senate for urban policy. He asked for the use of the Capitol office adjoining his, close to $100,000 for rent for his district office — more than twice the amount allotted to other senators from New York City — and a dozen extra staff members. Mr. Aponte denied the requests.

Mr. Espada also clashed with Mr. Smith over housing legislation that the Democrats had promised tenant advocates they would pass. For months, Mr. Espada, the chairman of the Housing Committee, had delayed introducing the legislation. Landlords increasingly viewed him as one of their only defenders among the Democrats.

Mr. Espada sought more than $2 million in earmarks this year for two groups with links to Soundview.

State records indicate that the groups were created just days before Mr. Espada put in the requests, which Senate Democrats rejected in early April, saying they could not confirm that the groups were legitimate nonprofit organizations.

For example, Mr. Espada requested $1.3 million in grants for the Bronx Human Services Council Inc., which registered with the state on March 26. The council’s headquarters are at the same Bronx address as a clinic that is part of Soundview. Its chairman is one of Mr. Espada’s Senate staff members.

In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Espada described the concerns raised by Senate Democrats as "character assassination" and said the groups were "new organizations that were formed because these are volunteers, lawyers and doctors, that want to help their communities."

In the weeks leading up to Monday’s revolt, Mr. Espada and the Republicans he planned with kept their plans remarkably quiet, especially for leak-prone Albany.

The senators and Mr. Pigeon met repeatedly at Mr. Espada’s house in Albany — located across from the governor’s mansion — and ordered pizza so often that some of the senators started to complain.

Among his fellow Democrats, Mr. Espada said, only Mr. Monserrate knew of the discussions.

Mr. Pigeon kept Mr. Golisano, who recently moved his primary residence to Florida, apprised of the progress, and Mr. Pigeon told him last Thursday the deal "was real solid," Mr. Golisano said.

Even Roger Stone, the omnipresent Republican operative with a tattoo of Richard Nixon’s head on his back, was rumored to have played a role. Mr. Pigeon at first said Mr. Stone was not involved, but when pressed, he acknowledged that Mr. Stone, who did not return a call for comment, had known about the coup in advance.

Mr. Golisano later watched the proceedings unfold from Mr. Espada’s Senate office, then moved to the Senate balcony after Mr. Libous called for a vote to install new Senate leaders and Democrats briefly turned off the lights in the chamber. The coalition the group had hoped for — Mr. Espada, Mr. Monserrate and 30 Republicans — held together, creating a new majority.

That night around 9, Mr. Espada, Mr. Monserrate and members of their staffs adjourned to Salsa Latina, a restaurant in Albany, to wind down. Mr. Skelos briefly stopped by to congratulate them. They quietly recounted the day, and began planning for what would happen next.

Albany’s Madhouse

Editorial
The New :York Times
June 10, 2009

By the time the dysfunctional body that passes for a Legislature in New York State gets through the 2009 session, calling someone an Albany reformer will be an insult. In a display of chutzpah that startled even old political hands, the Senate Republicans and two of the least-reputable Democrats in a deeply disreputable place brazenly declared themselves to be a reform coalition and staged a palace coup against the Democratic majority.

We’re still puzzling out how these defections came about and what tawdry promises were made. But make no mistake: Reform and bipartisanship had nothing to do with it. Two weeks until the end of the 2009 session, lawmaking has shuddered to a maddening standstill. The passing of bills, the raising of funds, the discussion of issues have all been put far back on the back burner.

It is worth noting that the befuddled Democratic majority was nothing to wave the flag about. In many ways, it turned out to be almost as bad as the Republicans who ran the Senate for more than 40 years until January. But some Democrats, like Senator Daniel Squadron of Manhattan, were pushing for real changes that would, for example, have started to clean up the campaign finance system. And Gov. David Paterson was trying to push reform that would include some of the first independent oversight of lawmakers.

Republican leaders have their own package, some of which might improve matters in the Senate. But even the better parts of their reform are eclipsed by one slimy act: appointing State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., a Bronx Democrat, as Senate president. If that appointment stands, Mr. Espada would become governor of New York if Mr. Paterson is out of state or incapacitated.

This is the same Mr. Espada who once tried to direct more than $700,000 of state money to his own nonprofit clinic — a grant that was eventually canceled as an embarrassment by state leaders. That is the same Mr. Espada who asked for $2 million in state funds this year — a request stalled by Senate Democrats because the money appeared to be going to front groups for the health care organization that he founded.

Add to all that Mr. Espada’s repeated failure to reveal his campaign donors and the thousands of dollars in unpaid fines for campaign violations that he still faces. Mr. Paterson has done the right thing — to say the least — by promising not to go out of state for a while.

The other Democrat that Republicans appear to have enticed into their tent is Senator Hiram Monserrate of Queens, who is facing charges that he assaulted his girlfriend by slashing her in the face with a broken glass. New York Republicans have certainly come a long way since Teddy Roosevelt and Nelson Rockefeller.

It is not clear yet how New York’s Legislature untangles this mess. On Tuesday, the State Senate gates were locked, and the Democrats were holding onto the keys. Court action loomed, and some in the new Republican claque were threatening to meet in the hallways.

The real issue, of course, is whether state lawmakers can approve a workable form of mayoral control for New York City schools, whether they can finally give gays and lesbians the right to a marriage license and whether a reform package that once looked promising can finally become real. Right now, it appears that most politicians in Albany are more concerned about defending their turf than improving life and politics in New York State.