State Senate | The New York Observer

Assembly Colleagues Wish Ball Luck Elsewhere

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:21:54 -0500

ALBANY—Assembly Republicans are wishing Greg Ball the best in his bid for the State Senate.

"Is he? Oh, I thought he was running for Congress," Assemblyman Ron Canestrari, a Cohoes Democrat, said, referencing an already-begun race against Representative John Hall that included robocalls and town halls on health care. "As long as he's out of here I don't care."

"Greg Ball's running for State Senate. Ummm, what would you like to know?" Assembly Minority...

The Senate Unites, For Now

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:59:34 -0500

ALBANY—David Paterson has succeeded in uniting the State Senate.

"As I said, Leader Sampson and I have been working very well together, we will continue to do that," Republican Senate Leader Dean Skelos said in a joint scrum with Democratic Senate Leader John Sampson on the chamber floor. "We just need the governor to stop thinking poll-wise, and realize that our minds are there to get something done--he should be in the same room."

...

'A Two-Way Is Better Than a No-Way'

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:41:47 -0500

ALBANY—Several members of the Assembly Democratic conference let their frustrations with what they see as State Senate's inability to coalesce around a deficit-reduction agreement boil over in a closed-door conference this afternoon, sources said. Some members suggested cutting an agreement with David Paterson and leaving it on the Senate's desk. That chamber is at loggerheads with David Paterson about school cuts, which the Assembly is seen as willing to pass.

"The goal is a...

Senate Returns to Non-Session Sessions as Deficit Negotiations Drag

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:23:39 -0500

ALBANY—The State Senate just convened, and then adjourned, without doing anything.

Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson gave a two minute speech after a longer invocation by Fr. Anthony Mellace of St. John the Baptist in Rome, N.Y., which included pleas for bi-partisanship and a recitation of Emma Lazarus' poem from the base of the Statue of Liberty.

"I understand the anxiety everyone has that we need to get this done," Sampson said. The body...

The Legislature Has Left the Building

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:49:46 -0500

ALBANY—It's official -- they're gone.

The Assembly just recessed until Monday at 2 p.m. State Senators did not bother to gavel into session today; at least half a dozen of the members of the Democratic majority left last night. The Senate is expected to return to session Monday afternoon.

Republicans in both chambers have called press conferences to decry this. Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos unveiled a plan that he says is "in a...

Monday. Monday Monday Monday.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:37:08 -0500

ALBANY—The Assembly is planning to be back on Monday.

Members are recessed until 4 p.m., and have been told to prepare to return to Albany on Monday to deal with a $3.2 billion deficit.

"Theres no way we won't be back Monday," Assemblyman Bill Parment, a Democrat from western New York, told me just now. Majority Leader Ron Canestrari said as much to the Albany Business Review this morning.

I listened to...

Diaz Excuses His Absence

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:16:30 -0500

ALBANY—State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. is "sorry" he missed a vote on Leandra's Law, which cracks down on people who drive drunk with kids in their car, but he has other business to attend to.

"I am distributing turkeys to my seniors in the Bronx," Diaz told me by phone. He said he's distributing 2,000 turkeys. Last year, he was being wooed by both Republican Leader Dean Skelos and Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith in...

Smith: We're Not Going Back to Session Until There's an Agreement

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:37:56 -0500

ALBANY—State Senator Malcolm Smith said his colleagues in that chamber will not return to session until a deal is reached on a deficit reduction package, and said that the overall package could be less than the $3.2 billion figure at which David Paterson has pegged the deficit.

"We want to make sure that we do not waste any time, and we want to make sure that we put together an agenda that is acceptable...

Paterson Bristles at Soda Tax, Sees No Silver Lining in Democratic Setbacks

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:58:02 -0500

ALBANY—David Paterson was decidedly unexcited when Mika Brzezinski brought up the soda-tax idea today on MSNBC's Morning Joe, something she said he "brought to the table" in the context of a budget deficit Paterson wants legislators to address next week.

"That's actually not true," the governor replied. (He did mention the idea during a radio interview last month.) "That was something I brought to the table last year and the legislature rejected it, so...

Paterson on the Radio

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:59:25 -0500

ALBANY—David Paterson appeared on two radio programs and Fox 5 this morning, during which he compared the political situation to Bosnia, said Bill Thompson's narrow loss bodes well for him and predicted more incumbents would lose their seats in 2010.

I didn't listen, but Ken Lovett did, and filed this story. Paterson said pushback about his proposal for a special session was surprising to him.

"I'm getting some push back about even being allowed...

Senate Not Eager to Return

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:43:23 -0400

ALBANY—The State Senate, which is not known for promptness, doesn't seem eager to respond to David Paterson's call for a special joint session during the second week of November.

"The Senate will return when there is an agreement," Austin Shafran, a spokesman for the Democratic majority, said. "We are conducting bipartisan, statewide budget hearings to protect New Yorkers from any additional tax burden and preserve vital services and when these are complete we will...

Paterson Says Legislators Better Show Up for Deficit Session

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:18:57 -0400

ALBANY—David Paterson is effectively daring the State Senate not to convene next week for a special session to address a mid-year budget deficit.

"The state senate had better show up to the special session, and I haven't any indication that they've said they're not coming," Paterson told Brian Lehrer on WNYC. "I have not received that indication."

Senators have scheduled public hearings on Monday in New York and on Tuesday in Brookhaven. John Sampson,...

Klein Outraises Everyone, Espada Tells an Untruth About Filing

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:46:00 -0400

ALBANY—State Senator Jeff Klein raised more money in the last six months than any other member of his chamber. Klein's filing shows that the deputy majority leader raised $638,564, and has $866,984 in the bank. That's more than President Pro Tempore Malcolm Smith, who raised $575,835; Republican Leader Dean Skelos, who raised $256,022; Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, who raised $105,223; and Senator Carl Kruger, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who raised $541,510. It's...

Who Runs the Senate? (July 17 Edition)

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:05:00 -0400

ALBANY—So now that the Senate is nominallly a functioning body, who's running it? It's not an easy question to answer. "It's not a clear, bipartisan operating agreement, but it's not as though the Democrats have established clear control over the Legislature again and are consistently moving their agenda," Justin Phillips, a political science professor at Columbia University who researches state government, just told me by phone. "The Democrats are nominally back in charge, but until we...

Senate Staffer Pleads Down Forgery Case

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:11:00 -0400

ALBANY—Indira Noel, a top Senate Democratic staffer, pleaded guilty this morning to disorderly conduct. Above is the complaint filed against her, which accuses her of two misdemeanor forgery charges related to a 2007 incident in which she falsely signed documents to obtain college transcripts of Jean Pierre, a staffer who Noel hoped to have fired. Heather Orth, a spokeswoman for Albany County District Attorney David Soares, said Noel pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a violation, and...

Obscene Gesture: Senate Dems Take Up Anti-Mayoral Control Bill

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:14:00 -0400

ALBANY—Not only have Democrats in the State Senate turned their back on Michael Bloomberg's vision of school governance legislation, they're mooning him. Senators will act on a bill—called the "Better Schools Act"—that is stridently opposed by the mayor because it dilutes his influence over the school system by eliminating his ability to appoint a majority of the Panel for Educational Policy and giving members a fixed two-year term. It also has other mechanisms for increasing...

Reform, and Controversy

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:15:00 -0400

ALBANY—Senator Eric Schneiderman said the rules reforms adopted last night are "without peer," but they won't change anything in the Capitol immediately. Possibly the most interesting rule is the petition for consideration, under which a bill languishing in committee could be moved to the active list (and, as such, to a floor vote) if 38 of the chamber's 62 members sign a petition asking as much. But there are two preconditions: first, the bill would have...

Pork.

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:22:00 -0400

ALBANY—Here's a spreadsheet of all $85 million worth of pork the State Senate is spending this year, passed in the wee hours of this morning. Of the total, $77 million is going to Democrats and $8 million is going to Republicans. In the future, the breakdown will be two-thirds for the majority and one-third for the minority; this lopsided resolution was agreed...

With Espada's Re-Defection, Skelos Clings to Reform

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:49:00 -0400

ALBANY—Dean Skelos, the leader of the State Senate Republican conference, just threw in the towel. "I hope now that the leadership situation will be behind us," Skelos just told reporters. He hoped that Democrats would stick to the reformed rules of the chamber passed on June 8, which he insisted was the entire point of the coup that crippled the State Senate for an entire month. "It was about reform, it continues to be about reform,...

Espada's Promise

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:17:00 -0400

ALBANY—The four amigos walked out of the office of State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. and onto the floor of the chamber—saying little, if anything—where an extraordinary session by David Paterson has been called for 3 p.m. Republicans were there, too, and one handed me a letter that Espada, who has apparently flipped back to the Democrats, sent to his Senate colleagues. It reads in part: Several weeks ago we collectively began our historic, unprecedented journey for...

Sides Agree to Produce Records, Keep Talking Out of Court

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:09:00 -0400

ALBANY—We'll have to wait until Monday, or even longer. Judge Thomas McNamara sent the dueling parties in State Senate leadership struggle back to the negotiating table—a move that has become something of a trademark for him. By my count, this is the sixth time legal action related to the case has been adjourned. After a closed, hour-long conference, the two sides also agreed to produce a transcript for the court showing the exact proceedings of June 8,...

Sources: Leadership Deal Has Smith and Skelos Splitting Top Jobs

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:17:00 -0400

ALBANY—Negotiations to resolve the State Senate leadership struggle include a deal that would make Malcolm Smith the chamber's president pro tempore and Dean Skelos the majority leader, sources familiar with the discussions said. Irene Liu at Capitol Confidential reported this earlier, and has more on the second level of leadership. I've heard that things are still fluid regarding the role of the much-maligned Senator Pedro Espada Jr., who currently claims the title of president pro tempore,...

In the Chaos, Senate Dems May See One Last Opportunity to Wrest Schools From the Mayor

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:14:00 -0400

ALBANY—As both sides of the State Senate leadership struggle inch closer to an operating agreement, Democrats are positioning themselves to take one last crack at diluting mayoral control of city schools. Speaking to reporters after an extraordinary session that lasted just over three minutes, Senators Malcolm Smith and John Sampson, the leaders of the Democratic conference, insisted that they did not want to work out the problems and convene in a regular legislative session, which...

Paterson: No Expenses for Senators

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:35:00 -0400

ALBANY—Noting that "today is the same as yesterday, yesterday is the same as the day before," David Paterson said he has directed the state treasurer not to pay senators per diem expenses and asked Comptroller Tom DiNapoli to review whether members of the still-hobbled State Senate should be paid. Paterson said he believes he has the power to withhold the per diems because they "relate to state travel, and there we feel we do have...

Paterson Acts, Senators From Both Parties Complain

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:38:00 -0400

ALBANY—David Paterson publicly declared Sunday he would force the State Senate into a special session on Tuesday, barring some resolution of the leadership struggle in the chamber that is entering its third week. In doing so, Paterson had harsh words for senators, many of whom are former colleagues: "Over the last few weeks, the senators' conduct has been laughable. But what's going on around here these days is no joke, and I don't find it...

Source: Paterson Will Call Special Session by Wednesday

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:32:00 -0400

ALBANY—David Paterson will call a special session to deal with "critical bills" if there is no deal reached in the battle over State Senate leadership by Wednesday, an administration official just told me. There's a list of 42 items, as the Daily News reported, which includes lots of local extenders, authorizations for bonding, the Tier V pension plan, a Power for Jobs extender and the Assembly's school control bill. It does not include legislation authorizing...

As Espada Speaks for Them, a Republican Coalition Maintains Its Posture

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:49:00 -0400

ALBANY—They're allied with him in the quest to wrest control of the State Senate leadership, but there are some lingering misgivings among Republicans in the chamber about the partnership with State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. "Several of them are in ‘Oh my God, what have we done' mode," said one Republican who is close to many of the senators. "Pedro is obviously enjoying this immensely. The image of Dean standing mute while Pedro pontificates is...

The Paterson Solution?

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:50:00 -0400

ALBANY—Thursday was a day of circular progression back to a stalemate in the battle over State Senate leadership, with a Democrat almost joining the Republicans on the floor for their daily routine of "session," but not, and Democratic lawyers almost re-filing a restraining order against State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., but balking at the bench. One thing grew clearer by day's end: a growing sense of futility and greater disconnect between the parties. As a...

Dems Try to Restrain Espada, Again

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:41:00 -0400

ALBANY—Democrats are once again trying to have State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. restrained from performing the office of president pro tempore, which he claims to occupy as part of the ongoing leadership struggle in that chamber. I'm told by Democratic staffers that the suit will be filed this afternoon, but am not sure which court. The language is the same as in an order obtained last week—Espada would be constrained under Article IV Section 6—with one...

Skelos Refuses to Endorse Espada Publicly

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:37:00 -0400

ALBANY—Emerging from closed door negotiations, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. did not get an endorsement by Republican Leader Dean Skelos. Espada proclaimed to reporters: "I just want to address the many questions you have posed to my office this morning regarding some scurrilous rumors about their being an agreement that Pedro Espada would step down. Let's be clear about where this coalition stands. The coalition is firm, it's united. We are discussing the details of...

Silver to Senate on Mayoral Control: No Tinkering, Please

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:45:00 -0400

ALBANY—There are still murmurings by opponents of mayoral school control that, even with the State Assembly's solid majority vote for the legislation, they will try to dilute the law that is eventually enacted. But Speaker Sheldon Silver has different ideas. State Senator Bill Perkins, an opponent of mayoral control, told me Wednesday night, "We're going to come up with a bill that will represent our vision of what school governance should be." He said there should...

Democrats Cast Stones at Republicans, Espada

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:47:00 -0400

ALBANY—State Senate Democrats are launching a counteroffensive in the leadership struggle over their chamber. The target: State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. In four separate press releases sent over the course of 20 minutes, four different Democrats are criticizing Republicans who are standing by Espada's claim that he is the president pro tempore of the chamber. "I ask him and his fellow Long Island Republican senators the following question: Do you really believe that having Pedro Espada...

The Party of Monserrate Holds Its Nose

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:11:00 -0400

ALBANY—We'll take your vote, Hiram, but don't look for a hug. "We basically were trapped in our need to get to 31-31 at this point in time," State Senator Liz Krueger said of the decision to welcome (force?) State Senator Hiram Monserrate, an indicted Queens Democrat, back into the conference a week after he voted with Republicans to spark a leadership battle that has crippled the chamber. "I think we're making lemonade." As negotiations...

Republicans Make an Offer That Leaves Skelos and Espada in Charge

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:41:00 -0400

ALBANY—Republicans just made a counter-proposal for bipartisan operating of the State Senate, as the deadlocked chamber moves to resolve an ongoing leadership struggle. The Republican proposal would last until 2011. It would leave Republican leader Dean Skelos in the majority leader post and State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., a Democrat, as president pro tempore. The two would jointly publish an active list of bills, but any member could move to have a bill they sponsored put...

Suozzi Laments Albany Sinecures

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:37:00 -0400

ALBANY—Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi is at the Capitol today, and spoke with a gaggle of reporters after meeting with State Senators Dean Skelos, John Sampson and Paterson aide Larry Schwartz to talk about the important bills "that need to be resolved in a timely basis" for local governments to function. Suozzi, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial primary in 2006 on a "fix Albany" platform, said he didn't think "anybody could have imagined how bad...

Sampson: Let's Just Go Home

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:50:00 -0400

ALBANY—Democratic Senate Leader John Sampson has a new suggestion for resolving the leadership battle in his chamber: just go home. "I would like to give it one last attempt to negotiate a possible bi-partisan governance to get the work of the people done," Sampson said to Fred Dicker on WGDJ Talk 1300. "But I don't want to waste any more time. I don't want to waste their time, I don't want to waste my time,...

Espada Wants an IG Probe of His Investigators, IG Says No

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:19:00 -0400

ALBANY—The charges against him are selectively pursued, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. insisted. The Daily News reported this morning that Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson has subpoenaed his legislative records dating back to 1993. Last night, Espada's press aide put out an announcement confirming the investigation, and vowing he would file a complaint with State Inspector General Joseph Fisch for "prosecutorial misconduct and selective prosecution." "In 2000, it took a Bronx jury all of 15 minutes...

'This Mess Is Worse Than Ever'

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:46:00 -0400

ALBANY—Apparently, the court decision that both sides in the State Senate leadership struggle were waiting for has changed nothing. Both sides claimed victory when Justice Thomas McNamara dismissed a suit filed last week by the Democrats, a suit which would have declared Malcolm Smith (still!) the majority leader and president pro tempore in the Senate. Democrats said they would not appeal the ruling, and once again reiterated their desire to work out some sort of...

Espada Jr. Implores Dems to Show For Session, Warns, Vaguely, of 'Legal Implications'

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:08:00 -0400

ALBANY—Not surprisingly, Republicans are seizing upon the dismissal of the Democratic lawsuit against the coup they hatched last week to call upon their colleagues to join them for session at 3 p.m. State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., the defecting Democrat who has joined the Republicans in a "coalition" government, asked David Paterson to clean up his mess. "As a good Democrat, I must advise the head of my party to come out forcefully and ask these...

Senate Republicans Will Pass the Assembly's Mayoral Control Bill, If They Can

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:27:00 -0400

ALBANY—Putting politics aside for a moment, the Senate mess may have a tangible impact on the final shape of the bill reauthorizing mayoral control of schools. Newly named Democratic conference leader John Sampson is, as the Post noted this morning, a "foe" of the system and is one of the co-sponsors of a bill that would have diluted the mayor's power over the Panel for Educational Policy. The Assembly had been waiting for the State Senate...

Paterson Asks the Senate to Do the Easy Things

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:22:00 -0400

ALBANY—Emerging for the first time in this, the second week of the State Senate's leadership struggle, David Paterson said that resolving the dispute over who is in charge is "beyond my pay grade" and instead proposed that the sides come together to work on immediate, non-controversial actions. "I'm getting calls from leaders all around the state who are anxious that if there isn't immediate action, it actually hurts the financial stability of their government and...

Judge Punts Again, to Laughter; Paterson Counsel Sees Hope

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:08:00 -0400

ALBANY—Justice Thomas McNamara has punted again. He huddled behind closed doors with lawyers representing both sides in the State Senate leadership dispute, before announcing in court that he was, for the fourth time, giving both sides more time to negotiate. "During the course of that conference several issues were discussed, and based upon the discussions that were held, and my understanding of the negotiative process that is under way, the matter is going to be adjourned...

Bipartisanship, But How?

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:57:00 -0400

ALBANY—While both sides in the fight over state senate leadership wait to hear from a judge, the 31-31 split in the chamber means things will have to get more bipartisan. Right? "It's not in their political D.N.A. to work in a bipartisan fashion," said Blair Horner, the legislative director of NYPIRG and a longtime Capitol observer. "I don't know how long it takes to get there, but if there's any hope for the session, it's...

Sights From a Bungled Coup

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:14:48 -0400

ALBANY--This was supposed to be a quiet week at the Capitol, as positions were scratched out in preparation for the final five-day stretch of session.

But Republicans in the State Senate had other ideas. Starved of the power and perks of majority status since January, when Democrats were finally able to round up the 32 members to support Malcolm Smith as the chamber's majority leader, the Republicans convinced two of their opponents to join them...

Alesi Lives to Tell the Tale

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:12:00 -0400

ALBANY—Vote counts, court orders and locked doors aside, demonstrators from Citizen Action made it even more difficult for a Republican-led coalition to consummate the coup it initiated Monday by trying to get into the State Senate chamber. "It was an absolute crush of people," State Senator Jim Alesi told me by phone afterward. "For me, I've got a weak ankle anyways and I'm not the biggest guy in the world. I just sort of stood...

'Courtesy Calls' Aside, Paterson Wants No Part of the Senate Mess

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:33:00 -0400

ALBANY—David Paterson's director of communications just swept through the LCA Room to deny a press release from State Senator Pedro Esapda Jr. which claimed the governor recognized him as the president pro tempore of the State Senate. "Absolutely not," Kauffmann said. Espada Jr. was sworn in to the post during a floor coup Monday, but the move will be litigated tomorrow by lawyers representing Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith. He said that during a 15-minute telephone call,...

The Assembly Acts on School Control, On Its Own

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:22:00 -0400

ALBANY—After some resistance last month, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan presented a plan for New York City school governance that still retains the key elements of mayoral control. Silver's proposal would continue to allow the mayor to appoint the majority of the Panel for Educational Policy, and have members serve "at will"--that is, without fixed terms. It also would provide for more auditing of schools spending in the city, members briefed on...

Storming the Floor, The Coalition Gavels In

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:01:00 -0400

ALBANY—They came, they gaveled, they left. Despite pending litigation, the Republican-led coalition claiming to control the State Senate after a coup Monday entered the chamber and conducted some brief business, but left without passing any bills. I didn't get back to Albany in time to see it (Liz has a blow-by-blow here), but State Senator Kemp Hannon said that 32 members entered the chamber--30 Republicans plus the turncoat Democrats Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr.--were counted...

Monserrate Balks, Leaving Republicans With Half a Coup

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:18:00 -0400

ALBANY—The Republican-led coalition that led a coup in the State Senate Monday was unable to deliver on its promise to hold session today, as one of the renegade Democrats moved away from their fold. State Senator Hiram Monserrate emerged from a closed-door meeting with Republican leader Dean Skelos and fellow insurgent, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr., to announce that the coalition is taking an "additional amount of time to ensure that the conversations that we...

Espada Says He Has Keys, Talks With Duane

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:05:00 -0400

ALBANY—State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. just told reporters that he has the keys to the Senate chamber, and he will go inside and conduct a session in conjunction with the Republicans he partnered with in a coup earlier this week. "We have access, we have keys, and we will open the doors and do our business at 3 p.m.," Espada declared. He alleged that a surrogate for Smith asked David Paterson to have the locks...