ALBANY—As lawyers pressing for Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith to retain his control State Senate argue a suit (above) in court today, one of the defectors who started this whole thing stood apart.
According to one Democrat involved in the talks, negotiations with State Senator Hiram Monserrate were "slow, hard, and ongoing." Monserrate met with fellow Senate Democrats yesterday.
Still a prime consideration, as I reported Wednesday when Monserrate asked for more time before entering the Senate chamber with Republicans, was whether Malcolm Smith would be the Democratic leader. His removal would allow Monserrate, if he were to resume caucusing with the Democrats, that he was doing so because his concerns about leadership had been met—instead of, say, that he was doing so because the Democrats had scared him into realizing that his career was going to be over after 2010.
Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who also chairs the Brooklyn Democratic Party, acknowledged to reporters Thursday that Smith's leadership is under consideration, and a "restructuring" may be needed.
"The majority of the State Senate Democrats have to make that decision, and since there is two people leaving, and their reasoning behind them leaving is Malcolm, that's what's caused the problem, so I think that that's going to be a major discussion issue over this weekend," said Lopez. If he had to go out on a limb, he said State Senator John Sampson would be the logical pick for leader.
But the Democratic source involved in the talks said this wasn't a firm condition. The source said Monserrate was having some "buyer's remorse" about his decision, and a person close to negotiators for the Republicans confirmed that issues over the legislative agenda are at the heart of talks with Monserrate.
"There are some issues to iron out in terms of what legislation is going to be brought forward, but he's with the conference," the Republican source said late Thursday.
"I'm confident he'll do the right thing. In his heart, he's a Democrat, and I think he's starting to realize he doesn't really fit in with them. We're hopeful he'll do the right thing," the Democratic source said late Thursday.
So there you have it.
Were Monserrate to de-defect, it would split the Senate chamber in a 31-31 tie, with the president pro tempore arguably casting the tie-breaking vote. (I say arguably because this has never been done before; normally the tie is broken by the lieutenant governor, but the last guy to hold that office is named David Paterson and you know all about how that happened. The president pro tempore serves as the acting lieutenant governor for succession purposes, and the case will no doubt be made he gets to cast and extra, tie-breaking vote.)
Which brings us to court today. Democrats are seeking to have a judge declare that Smith, duly elected in January, remains the president pro tempore and majority leader. A judge Thursday issued a temporary restraining order declaring that State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., who Republicans swore into the office Monday, could not perform the duties afforded the temporary president under the constitution pertaining to succession.
In an earlier hearing, Republicans argued that a judge has no jurisdiction over the legislative process; Democrats argued there is a constitutional crisis, caused by Republicans acting in violation of Senate procedures.
Most people around the Capitol are at this point just hoping for some type of resolution, noting with some dread that the legislative session will almost undoubtedly be extended this year.
Follow Jimmy Vielkind via RSS.
