With New York's Senate in chaos, governor stays put
ALBANY — With the New York Senate's leadership still in a state of chaos, Gov. David A. Paterson today said he would not travel out of the state until the dust settles.
"I would not plan on leaving the state right now," Paterson told reporters near the Capitol.
When the governor travels beyond the state's borders, the lieutenant governor serves as acting governor. Since there is no lieutenant governor, the next in line is the leader of the State Senate. Following Monday's coup, Sen. Pedro Espada, a Bronx Democrat, claims that right, while Sen. Malcolm Smith, ousted Monday by two Democrats joining with 30 Republicans, insists he is still in charge.
"If there's any type of misunderstanding or issue of who is next in charge, I would think the best thing for me to do is to stay here," Paterson said.
Also in doubt is a public meeting set for Wednesday among Paterson and legislative leaders to discuss a range of issues as the Legislature now limps toward an uncertain end of the 2009 session, which had been scheduled for the week of June 22. "I don't really know whether or not that will take place," Paterson said.
The governor did say he would meet with the two coup plotters — Espada and the new majority leader, Dean Skelos, a Nassau County Republican — if they sought a sit-down session in the coming days. But, he said, "We recognize Sen. Smith is still majority leader until such time as all parties in the Senate agree he is not."
Senate Democrats are studying their legal options, insisting Monday's session was adjourned before the Republicans and two Democrats voted on a new leadership team that restored GOP control. Republicans claim the motion to adjourn was not put to a vote, and so the chamber was still in session.
But if the 32 senators stick together — and add more lawmakers to the takeover — the dispute will be academic if the Senate goes back into session and Smith and his allies fail to produce the votes to beat back the coup.
Paterson, though, thinks the matter will only be resolved by an internal settlement with senators. "I don't believe they'll resolve it in court," he said. Paterson again criticized the timing of the coup, saying it has disrupted the end-of-session discussion of major policy issues.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on Monday executed a rare feat by jumping into the inner workings of another legislative house when he vowed to work with Democratic leaders to overturn the coup. Asked what happened overnight, he would only say, "We're talking to a lot of people."
Can Smith get his job back? "I don't know what the inner workings of the Senate are or the machinations of it, but I think what's important is the people elected a Democratic Senate and that we pursue that Democratic agenda," Silver said.
As for Espada, Silver said, "I don't know the man, never knew the man, never spoke to him."
Meanwhile, Espada was trying desperately to add more Democrats to his forces. Senate Democrats huddled in secret earlier this morning at the Capitol, though the gathering was missing a number of Democrats, which raised questions about whether their coalition was unraveling. Democrats insisted the conference is holding together, and a number of fronts were being examined to try to undo the coup.
The Senate chamber today is dark. The Democrats don't have the votes to go into session and Republicans say their first session day is Wednesday afternoon.
Democrats have a unique strategy to ensure the session does not occur today: they have locked the massive, iron doors leading into the Senate chambers. Espada and Skelos, meanwhile, have served notice on the Secretary of the Senate, Angelo Aponte, the top Senate staffer and a Smith loyalist, that they are firing him. No word yet whether Smith and Aponte are taking the termination demand seriously.
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