Spitzer's Plan to Flip the Senate
In this week's (stunningly attractive!) redesigned Observer, I wrote about a plan from the Spitzer people to panic Republicans Senators into defecting to the Democrats.
The idea would be not only to install a friendly majority in the Senate but to diminish the influence of Sheldon Silver, who has emerged as Spitzer's Moriarty-type nemesis in Albany.
According to a senior administration official, the contrast between the Senate Dems and the Assembly Dems would "make clear that there is a reform wing of the Democratic Party and a status quo wing of the party a reform wing of the Democratic Party and a status quo wing of the party."
Also in the paper, Felix Ortiz criticizes the establishment.
And Adolfo Carrion looks at the 2009 mayoral field and laughs.
-- Azi Paybarah
Not to quibble with your story, but isn't it a 2 seat majority? The LG casts the deciding vote in a tie.
Tom Suozzi will NEVER run for the State Senate in 2008 against Carl Marcellino. It would be too much of a blow to his trememdous ego to go there. If anything, Suozzi runs against Congressman Pete King in 2008.
Sigh. Absent constitutional reform, it's still three men in the room. The Senate isn't more powerful than the Assembly - it will just mean that party control of one chamber will change.
The budget and all other legislation still needs to be approved by all three entities - the Senate, Assembly and Executive. Two out of three is not enough. It will certainly help in the public sphere, but the law isn't going to change.
If the governor is really serious about reforming New York's governmental operations, he should consider getting behind the constitutional convention question on the ballot this November, and take his steamroller approval ratings for a spin (over the status quo).
And Nell, Tom isn't going to Congress.
I remember people saying during Spitzer's campaign that the worst thing for Shelly is if he wins. Others said, Nah, this is his chance to really get things done. But Silver is clearly still in the opposition leader mode, notwithstanding that the governor is his fellow Dem.
I like the plan, but I'd like a part-two.
Clearly a partisan Democrat like Spitzer is most interested in the ethical recovery of his own party through the re-creation of a reform wing. But I think he should reach out to fair minded Republicans as well.
Much as it might benefit the Democrats to have the Republicans wallow in the mire, the state would benefit from a viable two-party system. Then again, but cutting the Republicans off from their last source of patronage, Spitzer could chase off those whose main goal is to get paid, leaving a vaccume for others to move into.
2008 will be a totally different year, a lot of it will depend on who is running for President, depending on the match up the Republicans can pick up a couple of seats in certain areas
Sorry Azi, but I gotta disagree. First, Spitzer's plan for the Senate isn't so secret. It became pretty obvious as soon as he hired Balboni and started pushing for Johnson.
Also, the person that will most benefit from a Democratic Senate is Shelly Silver and the Assembly Democrats. It would put them right back in the advantageous position of being the roadblock and frustrating Spitzer. In turn, he'll have the leverage to get whatever he wants in order for Spitzer to get what he wants.
I can identify 2 candidates who are prepared for a State senate take over at a moment's notice, and both have lifted their game: Brian Keeler of The Albany Project and Albert Baldeo, who annouced his candidacy for 2008 last December, and heads his own Democrat club and district wide voter registration program I think Keeler got 42% and Baldeo 49% last elections. Baldeo's first up, I would think! He has Serph running scared, as Gotham recently reported. Serph recently resigned as Republican County Chair, as Baldeo keeps up the pressure on him. Serph's district has changed demographically, and Baldeo is well positioned to beat him.
Albert Baldeo won't even make it out of the democratic primary next time around
Of course, that's if he makes it in to the primary.