State Senate fails to convene; GOP trying sway more Democrats
ALBANCY — Chaos reigned at the Capitol today after the leaders of a new, shaky majority in the State Senate failed to convene, as promised, a legislative session designed to show they are in charge two days after Monday's coup that ousted the Democrats from power.
After more than an hour of closed-door talks with a Queens Democrat who is under pressure to abandon the Republican-led coup, the leaders of the splinter coalition said they are taking another day to try to add more Democrats to their cause before going into session.
Sen. Pedro Espada, a Bronx Democrat elected Monday as the new Senate president in a vote Democrats say was illegal, insisted the coup is holding together.
"It takes a little time," said Espada, rushing down a third-floor hallway. He said talks are under way to increase the size of the takeover coalition — now at 30 Republicans and two Democrats.
Whether the claims are real or just bluster meant to deflect problems holding together the insurgency were unknown, two hours after the session — planned for 3 p.m. — was scuttled.
Sen. Hiram Monserrate, a Queens Democrat and member of the group, kept nervous senators waiting more than an hour before he showed up to begin another round of negotiations behind closed doors with Espada and the Senate Republicans.
Sen. Dean G. Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, the new majority leader, insisted the coup is not unraveling.
"[Monserrate] asked for 24 more hours and [said] that other Democrats have asked him for the opportunity to talk about coming into the coalition, and for them to have time to make their decision. It's a tough decision," Skelos said in a hallway interview.
Meanwhile, Senate guards were being tugged in different directions: they were ordered by ousted Majority Leaders Sen. Malcolm A. Smith's staff to keep the giant, metal doors leading to the Senate chamber shuttered, while Republicans were insisting they are going to be let in.
Espada dismissed calls by Paterson that the leadership vote — which resulted in the takeover by Republicans and their tiny coalition of two Democrats — be taken again because of claims by Senate Democrats that the vote was illegal because the chamber was adjourned."
"To do another vote today would be to admit that somehow something went wrong Monday. We already did it once," Espada said.
The new leader added that legalizing gay marriage "is my signature issue at this point." Espada is actively trying to woo Sen. Thomas Duane, a Manhattan Democrat who is pushing the gay marriage bill, to join with him and the Republicans in running the Senate.
Espada said he hopes to bring the bill to the floor next week. Its passage is far from certain, however, but Espada said he wants to end the days of the Legislature's only bringing bills to the floor that are certain to pass.
Paterson this morning urged Republicans and Democrats to return to the chamber this afternoon to retake the leadership vote. That led to speculation that Monserrate might be ready to flip back to the Democrats — a move that would create a 31-31 split between Democrats and Republicans.
But Paterson said he could work with whoever is the Senate leader, and that he was arranging a meeting this afternoon with Espada and Skelos, the Long Island Republican who got back his old job — majority leader — in Monday's coup.
The coup came six months after Democrats began their control of the Senate following 70 years of GOP dominance.
Paterson was sweeping in his view of the situation. He called the coup "an insult to government" that disrupted the work of Albany. Yet, he did not offer support for Smith, who had been majority leader until Monday's takeover. Smith was fighting for his political survival this afternoon, with lawmakers saying he will not be able to even serve as minority leader in the new environment at the Capitol.
And then Paterson talked of new opportunities that could be created by the coup, siding with Espada's idea of letting bills to the floor for a straight up or down vote. The governor said then he and the Senate could go to the Democratic Assembly "and ask them to join in" in letting members have the power to vote on all kinds of bills and not just the ones leadership lets to the floor.
That Paterson would put the issue into the lap of the Assembly could be interpreted in the halls of the Capitol as a slap at Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who rules the house with great control.
Paterson said he would sit on the sidelines this afternoon; actually, he will be in Buffalo during the Senate session. "I'm not going to interfere in what goes on in the legislative branch," he said.
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