Judge lets coup stand as Senate stays deadlocked
Amid the hullabaloo, a legislative vacuum
ALBANY — A state judge Tuesday rejected a move by Senate Democrats to declare last week’s GOP-led coup illegal.
Republicans hailed the ruling for leaving their leadership team intact, even though there is still a 31-31 tie in the chamber.
But in the increasingly undecipherable world that is Albany, Senate Democrats later said the ruling favored their side. They even said they would not appeal — three hours after their lawyers told the judge otherwise.
The result: Albany now stands more divided than ever, with Republicans and Democrats refusing to budge and no prospects that the Senate will be back in business anytime soon.
Gov. David A. Paterson, essentially powerless in the worsening dispute, urged both sides to at least return to the Senate and enact the dozens of mostly noncontroversial bills affecting localities’ taxing powers and other matters now in the logjam just a week before the scheduled end of the session.
“I come before you to ask the members of the Senate to recognize that their duties as senators are more important than their duties as politicians,” the Democratic governor said after another whirlwind day here.
With the Republicans and Democrats in a dispute over who’s in charge of the Senate, and the courts refusing to get involved, it has created a potentially chilling question mark in the line of succession for the governor’s post. With no lieutenant governor, the Senate president is first in line to succeed Paterson if he could not fill out his term.
“I think that’s in dispute,” Paterson said, adding, “and I guess I’ll interpret that silence as all of you wishing me good health.”
The group of 30 Republicans and one Democrat — Sen. Pedro Espada of the Bronx, who became Senate president in the coup — held another session. Democrats, not recognizing the coup’s leadership change, boycotted again, resulting in no bills being passed because no quorum was present. The Senate has not held a bill-passing session since June 11.
The tally by day’s end: The Senate has passed 243 bills so far this session, compared with more than 900 in the Assembly, including Tuesday’s bill banning the sale of endangered Tasmanian forester kangaroos in New York.
Earlier in the day, State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara, who since Friday has been urging the sides to negotiate, tossed out the Democrats’ suit seeking to invalidate the coup.
“The court is aware that the inability of the Senate to resolve these issues has had, and may well continue to have, a profound effect on the ability of government to address many issues which are of vital importance to the citizens of the state,” McNamara said.
But having the courts decide this dispute, he said, would be “an improvident intrusion into the internal workings of a coequal branch of government.” He said resolution of the issue “should be answered by the Senate.”
Tuesday, a restraining order expired that was issued last week to prevent Espada from being in the line of succession; the sides still dispute who holds that responsibility.
Lawyers for Democrats asked the judge to stay his decision while they appeal. But Democrats later hailed the ruling.
“Today, we declare victory for all New Yorkers,” said Sen. John L. Sampson of Brooklyn, head of the Democratic conference. He said the judge did not say the coup was legal, so Democrats still retain the titles of Senate president and majority leader held by Sen. Malcolm A. Smith of Queens.
“They’re not going to appeal? How can they say they won when their case was dismissed?” said Sen. Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican who was made majority leader in the takeover. He said Democrats are not appealing because “they know they are going to lose.”
Espada said lawyers are researching possible legal action against lawmakers — whom he called fellow Democrats just 10 days ago — who do not show for the next Senate session. “We have no reason to defend the actions of people who don’t show up for work and are getting paid,” he said.
It is clear that the sides are unable to make a power-sharing deal that would take them through the 2010 elections. Republicans risk losing the allegiance of Espada if a deal would diminish his new title.
Democrats instead are proposing a short-term power-sharing arrangement — expiring next week with the end of legislative session. A proposal pushed Tuesday would alternate key posts of the chamber daily between the parties and create a bipartisan panel to pick bills for floor votes.
Democrats say that only Smith, who they insist holds the title of Senate president, can call a session. “We will call the session when the Republicans recognize that we need to have a coalition government,” Smith said.
Republicans, so far, have had a brief answer to the idea: No.
Skelos said repeatedly that last week’s 32-30 split remains in force, putting Espada and himself in command. They say Democrats should return and start voting for the stalled bills. “If there is any gridlock, it’s going to be on their part,” Skelos said.
Yet with Queens Sen. Hiram Monserrate’s return to the Democratic side after crossing the aisle in the coup, the Senate is tied, 31-31. The fight now is over the titles of Senate president and majority leader. Those posts wield great power and decisionmaking over staff hiring and firing, committee assignments, office locations and influence over the legislative process.
Beyond all the stalled bills and partisan fighting, a new test comes next week when biweekly paychecks for senators and staffers are sent. The Senate majority controls that flow.
At the state comptroller’s office, which processes the checks, there is a hope the dispute gets resolved before payday. “Otherwise, I’m not sure what we’ll do,” said Dennis Tompkins, a spokesman for State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
Talks have ceased on any number of major topics, including how to control the growth of property taxes and state spending, how to cut state-imposed mandates on localities, and the future of two key economic- development programs.
In addition, dozens of local bills are pending, such as Buffalo’s attempt to begin a new school construction program. Counties across the state, including Cattaraugus and Niagara, also have sales tax bills that need to pass or deficits will be blown into their budgets.
There are, as always at the Capitol, silver linings created for some by disarray. Several lobbyists, who spoke on condition of anonymity, were thrilled that the dispute was causing gridlock because it meant that bills their clients oppose are being derailed in the Senate.
The governor said he will not use his power to call a special legislative session after next week as a way to solve the dispute.
“I can’t coerce them to make up their minds,” Paterson said. Instead, he said, one solution might be to let an “impartial” person sit in the Senate’s presiding officer chair to run a session. He suggested either the current or former chief judge of the Court of Appeals.
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