Senate spending log would unite warring parties, coup leader says
Published: July 05, 2009, 12:30 am
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ALBANY — Getting State Senate Democratic leaders to open up the chamber’s internal financial books will help bring a quick resolution to the stalemate that has effectively shut down the chamber, the dissident Democrat who helped lead the June 8 coup said Saturday.
Sen. Pedro Espada, a Bronx Democrat elected by 30 Republicans as the chamber’s president, for more than two weeks said he has been seeking details on how Democrats have earmarked everything from pork barrel spending to staff resources.
But he said Sen. Malcolm Smith, who still claims the Senate presidency title, has refused to provide the information so far. If made public, he said both Republican and Democratic lawmakers would be upset with what he believes is disproportionate funding between legislative leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers.
“There’s a good reason why we haven’t gotten it yet,” Espada said in an interview with The Buffalo News of the funding information. “Members from both parties want it, and what I think they will see when or if we get it is that this centralization of power, which has always been part of the culture here, is bad and they’ll see specifically why.”
Espada said he wants to end the system in Albany that has always driven more public funds to legislative leaders to use to benefit their own districts or to dole out as rewards to political allies.
“So once that information is known, then members will obviously, if only for their own empowerment, want to move this towards equalization of resources. That will be a liberating moment when we get there,” he said.
Senators held a rare late-morning special session Saturday — ordered by Gov. David A. Paterson. Once again, they passed no bills and quickly gaveled out after some brief glowing words about the nation’s birthday.
The governor, frustrated with the partisan gridlock in which neither faction recognizes the others’ leadership claims, has been calling special sessions for more than a week to keep lawmakers stuck in Albany weeks after their 2009 session was to have ended.
The sides appear to be nearing a deal in the coming days, though they still have not discussed how to resolve the most contentious issue: which senators will hold the title of president and majority leader.
The sides also are stuck on how to come up with a short-and long-term power sharing deal between the Republicans, with Espada in their fold, and Democrats. The sides are in a 31-31 deadlock, so both are one vote short of a quorum or the ability to pass bills without a power-sharing arrangement.
“We’ve reached that point where there is fertile ground for settlement,” Espada said.
tprecious@buffnews.com
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