Dream on, Democrats. Why you would think that citizens of New York State would want to vote for people who see a person entering the room for a minute to get a drink (was it really a V-8??) and use this person to establish that there was a quorum and vote on legislation? Does anyone give debate and review any value?
Never has anyone seen the mess that the Senate of New York State is in at this very moment.
Political Memo
Blame Panic in G.O.P. For Standoff in Albany
By DANNY HAKIM, NY TIMES
ALBANY — Why can’t New York’s feuding senators act like grown-ups?
Nearly a month into the Senate’s bitter leadership struggle, there are few signs that the Republican and Democratic voting blocs, deadlocked in a 31-to-31 tie, are close to a deal to get back to work.
To outsiders, it is hard to imagine why the Senate cannot come together in the face of rising public criticism, withering news coverage and a schedule that has Gov. David A. Paterson forcing them to spend summer weekends in the capital.
But inside the Capitol, interviews with lawmakers on both sides reveal deeper reasons for the standoff, and the stubbornness that has accompanied it. Senate Republicans know the state’s voters, demographically speaking, are moving away from them. The electorate is growing more diverse in New York City and its suburbs, a trend that is likely to favor the Democrats, while the upstate region, a Republican base, has suffered a population drain. At the same time, the Republican caucus is all white and almost entirely male, with half its members 62 or older.
Republicans privately acknowledge that they face an uphill battle in regaining control of the Senate in the election next year. They are claiming that they should lead the Senate for the next year and a half. But they are also trying to take steps now — during what may turn out to be a fleeting moment of power — to undo the worst of what life in the minority party means in Albany.
Their first act after staging a coup on June 8 was to institute rules changes to guarantee that administrative budgets be divided equitably. They have also said they want to guarantee that member items, the earmarks that are perhaps Albany’s most precious commodity, are split equally.
Legitimizing those rules changes is seen as critical to giving Republicans a voice in a future Senate that most believe will be ruled by Democrats. Democrats could always rewrite the rules if they claimed a clear majority, but reversing changes meant to establish fairness would be a controversial step for a party that bills itself as progressive.
“For myself, this is very much about the rules changes,” said Senator Tom Libous, (pictured above) a Binghamton Republican who directed the coup last month from the Senate floor. “These rule changes will make every senator relevant and effective so he or she can pass legislation and have equitable resources for their district in the future.”
Of course, Mr. Libous acknowledged that his party was asking for an equality that it never contemplated when it controlled the Senate, which it did for more than four decades until last November’s election changed that.
“I’m not justifying the way we ran the house,” Mr. Libous said. “I’m telling you it’s wrong and we should change it. What we did to the Democrats all those years was not right.”
For Democrats, agreeing to any power-sharing accord would almost certainly mean they have to dismantle their new administration and fire scores of staffers, or more, because they will have to divide the chamber’s administrative budget. They would also have to come to terms with the fact that their political victory that came last year was ultimately hollow.
Democrats are trying to avoid any arrangement in which they give up their claim to the majority, and are pushing hard for a temporary accord under which senators would meet for a day, under presiding officers from each side, take up the most urgent bills and then leave town.
Under that proposal, the two sides would then probably spend several more months locked in a battle to determine who has the rightful claim to control of the Senate, preserving the status quo while the Democrats’ far larger staff continued to collect its paychecks.
Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, (at right) a Manhattan Democrat, said there was a simpler motivation behind his caucus’s strategy and insisted there was no attempt to preserve power.
“That’s a perspective that ignores the traumatized state of the Senate right now,” he said. “It would be a remarkable accomplishment if the two sides could just agree to a bipartisan operating agreement to pass a couple hundreds bills to keep our state and local governments moving.”
And there are other motives at work.
Democrats loathe Pedro Espada Jr., the Bronx Democrat who abandoned his caucus and joined the Republicans, who then appointed him Senate president. Many Democrats simply cannot countenance the idea of Mr. Espada in such a position, a job that would have him become governor if Mr. Paterson were incapacitated.
Mr. Espada is facing state and local investigations over whether, among other things, the Soundview HealthCare Network, a nonprofit organization he founded, misappropriated funds.
Predictably, both side have couched their positions as being in the people’s interests, rather than their own, and attacked each other for all manner of treachery.
“To this date, the Republican party is completely fixated on discussing nothing other than controlling the State Senate,” Malcolm A. Smith, the leader of the Democratic caucus before the coup, said this week, while Senator Dean G. Skelos, leader of the Republican caucus, said, “There has to be an operating agreement through 2010, so we do not go through this gridlock again.”
For the moment, there is no end in sight. Senator Dale M. Volker, a Republican and former police officer from western New York, summed up the state of play best recently, when he quipped, “I might have to start carrying my sidearm again.”
July 1, 2009
Glimpsing a G.O.P. Passer-By, Senate Democrats Grab the Gavel
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and JEREMY W. PETERS, NY TIMES
ALBANY — The latest attempt to break the State Senate’s three-week-old stalemate began with a quest for caffeine.
Shortly before noon on Tuesday, as Democrats prepared to convene what they expected to be another fruitless one-party session, they saw Frank Padavan, a Queens Republican, walk through the rear of the chamber.
Mr. Padavan would later say he had simply been taking a shortcut to the members’ lounge to grab a cup of coffee. But to the 31 Democrats in the chamber, that did not matter. Claiming that Mr. Padavan’s brief presence gave them the 32-member quorum required to gavel the Senate into session, Democrats began ramming through dozens of measures, including sales tax extensions and bond authorizations that were set to expire at midnight.
By the time the Democrats adjourned, Mr. Padavan’s coffee run had thrust the Capitol into a new round of recriminations and legal debate. Democrats insisted that the bills had been lawfully passed, Republicans denounced the session as fraudulent and inappropriate, and Gov. David A. Paterson suggested that he would not sign the bills into law.
“Was the session valid? The answer to that question is yes,” said Malcolm A. Smith, (pictured above) the Democratic leader. “The other question is also, why would anyone go to disqualify the session given the significance of what we accomplished today?”
Senate Republicans had a ready answer for Mr. Smith.
“That is probably the most fraudulent, obnoxious, arrogant display of partisanship,” said Dean G. Skelos, the Republican leader, “and, quite frankly, a total disregard of the institution of the Senate that so many of us care about.”
The disputed session marked the third time in three weeks that either Republicans or Democrats had tried to vote on legislation amid a battle over which side controlled the chamber. With one Democrat, Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx, allied with the Republicans, the two sides each have 31 votes.
But with a quorum established in their eyes — and no Republicans remaining on the Senate floor to object — Democrats began passing legislation by unanimous consent. Because he was counted as present and did not seek to cast any votes, Mr. Padavan was recorded as a “yea” on each bill.
More controversial items, like a bill to reauthorize mayoral control of the New York City schools, were not taken up. But the Democrats did vote on a bill to increase the New York City sales tax. It failed, 19 to 13, but Republicans contended that the votes were irrelevant because they have technically controlled the chamber since June 8.
Speaking with reporters in a Capitol hallway, Mr. Padavan — who said that after reaching the lounge, he ended up getting a can of Coke — rejected the idea that he had officially been present.
“The session had not begun,” he said. “I was not there when it was gaveled in. I was not there during the prayer or the pledge.” He added that the session was “childish” and “totally fraudulent.”
In a sworn affidavit distributed to reporters, Mr. Padavan said that to have been counted as present, he would have had to signal affirmatively to the Senate clerk. In sworn affidavits of their own, eight Democratic aides and two senators, Diane J. Savino of Staten Island(at right) and Antoine M. Thompson of Buffalo, said they saw Mr. Padavan on the Senate floor right after they had gaveled the chamber into session and during the Pledge of Allegiance and the moment of silence, which normally precede other Senate business.
Mr. Paterson indicated that he would not sign any of the bills passed on Tuesday, citing the uncertainty about whether Mr. Padavan could be counted toward the quorum. He also implored the Republicans and Democrats to settle their differences and pass an extension of the law on mayoral control of the New York City schools before it expired at midnight.
“Once again the do-nothing Senate has exceeded our greatest fears and contempt,” Mr. Paterson said. “The Senate again is in turmoil, now about whether people were in or out of the chamber.”
Most of the legislation that the Democrats claimed to have passed on Tuesday was first approved by the Assembly. Under state law, the Assembly must now, in effect, accept those bills as legitimate before sending them to the governor for his signature.
Melissa Mansfield, a spokeswoman for the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, said no final decision had been reached.
“We are anxious to see progress in this area,” Ms. Mansfield said, “and we are having conversations with the governor to avoid technical vetoes of bills, many of which would require new home-rule messages and another passage.”
Lawyers for Mr. Paterson, the Senate Democrats and the Assembly Democrats were discussing their options on Tuesday evening.
The governor said he would continue calling the two sides in the Senate into extraordinary sessions to force them to work out a power-sharing agreement. A series of court rulings on Monday and Tuesday upheld his ability to call the Senate alone, without the Assembly, into such sessions.
Bowing to one of those rulings, which held that all 62 senators were required to convene at the same time in the same place for extraordinary sessions, the Democrats and Republicans met together on Tuesday for the first time in a week. But as before, they gaveled out without conducting any business.
Dems claim GOP senator was in chamber, start passing bills
Padavan denies he gave Senate 32 members for quorum
Capitol bureau, 1:20 p.m., Tuesday, June 30, 2009
LINK
ALBANY -- A strange day in the state Senate just got stranger when Democrats, who gaveled in for a regular session just after noon, claimed that Sen. Frank Padavan, (at right) R-Queens, was in the chamber briefly after the session began, establishing a 32-member quorum and allowing the Democrats to begin passing time-sensitive legislation.
It is, however, unlikely that the tactic will result in a definitive break in the three-week legislative logjam.
Padavan, who has been a member of the Senate for more than 35 years, denied he was in the chamber after session began, and called the Democrats' move "a sham." Republican staffers said the conference was preparing legal documents to challenge all of the bills passed by the Democrats, who held a rush meeting of the Rules Committee on the floor of the chamber to move through additional bills.
The unexpected development in the Senate stalemate occurred as Gov. David Paterson was about to begin a press conference with dozens of New Yorkers who would be affected by the failure to pass the legislation. Paterson began by announcing the Democrats' move, to applause.
Nevertheless, the governor returned to the podium minutes later to announce that he would not be signing any of the legislation passed during the noon session, and issued a proclamation for another extraordinary session -- Tuesday's second -- at 7 tonight.
"I suggest that all senators be there," Paterson said.
Earlier in the day, a court order achieved what a week of political negotiation failed to pull off: The full Senate convened at this morning's 10 a.m. special session called by Gov. David Paterson. Although the session was markedly more collegial than the June 23 dueling session in which both parties claimed command of the chamber, this morning's appearance failed to move time-sensitive legislation forward.
The appearance by the 30 Republican members and breakaway Democrat Pedro Espada Jr. followed the unexpected denial of a stay of an order issued Monday by Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi.
State Supreme Court Justice Bernard J. "Bud" Malone Jr. has rejected a Republican-led effort to avoid going into session today, a day after another judge ordered the GOP and Senate Democrats to appear in the Senate today for a session.
"I'm not going to stay the order of Judge Teresi," Malone told GOP lawyers this morning.
The GOP's attorneys will go before the full five-member Appellate Division at 3 p.m. today.
Teresi ordered both sides to meet as a single body instead of conducting the 31-member sessions in sequence, a practice that had prevailed in the chamber every day since Thursday.
With Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins presiding, the Democrats conducted a quorum call and then began calling the absentees. In the middle of the absentee call, the GOP senators and Espada arrived en masse.
Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith immediately asked for the Senate to be at ease, at which point Republican Leader Dean Skelos stood up to speak, but was not recognized by the Stewart-Cousins.
Smith walked over to speak with Skelos and Republican Sen. Tom Libous.
Then Skelos stood and addressed Stewart-Cousins, saying he did not recognize her as the presiding officer -- a role that Espada claimed after the June 8 coup.
"You are not the appropriate person to be presiding at this time," he said.
Skelos then called on the Democrats' request for a public hearing to negotiate a power-sharing deal, for noon today.
He then asked for an adjournment -- an odd move, considering that he had previously said he doesn't recognize the chair.
Smith didn't take Skelos' challenge for a public meeting, and said instead that the Democrats would be in regular session at noon today.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Klein motioned to adjourn, and Stewart-Cousins adjourned sine die, or indefinitely.
Many members of the Senate GOP walked away angry.
"This is bulls----," said GOP Sen. Andrew Lanza as he walked out of the chamber.
Follow the day's developments at Capitol Confidential.
Paterson Won't Sign The Senate Dems' Bills
June 30, 2009
LINK
Even Gov. David Paterson is confused by what's going on right now in the Senate, where the Democrats are passing bills by claiming that GOP Sen. Frank Padavan's brief foray through the chamber was sufficient to provide them with a quorum.
Paterson at first announced triumphantly to reporters and staffers assembled in the Red Room that he had received word of Padavan's walk-through from the Democrats, who were engaged in approving their active list.
This sparked a round of enthusiastic applause.
(After three weeks, everyone - with the exception of certain members of the warring Senate factions, and, perhaps, Paterson himself, who is hoping for an approval rating bump out of this, just wants this to end).
But the mood changed 10 minutes later, when Paterson said he had gotten a call from Secretary of the Senate Angelo Aponte, who said Padavan is challenging the Democrats' claim that he had signed in by making eye contact with the Senate clerk.
A clearly frustrated Paterson insisted that what the Democrats are up to is different from the Republican/Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. coalition's efforts to pass bills last week:
"The Republicans did not have the gavel and were not in the presiding officer's seat when they attempted to pass their bills," Paterson said. "They did have 62 members in the chamber at that particular time."
"Here, the Senate Democrats had 31 Democrats and the question is whether or not Padavan's appearance in the chamber constitutes a 32nd vote."
"But because it is controversial, I don't want there to be any further controversy about passing these bills," the governor continued. "So I am looking to sign legislation if I feel that both parties agree or that it can be proven that the senator was in the chamber at the time when his vote could be recorded."
At first, Paterson said he didn't know whether he would sign the bills being passed at the moment into law.
He then left the room, and came back to say he had spoken to Padavan and decided to take the Queens Republican at his word that he didn't intend to give the Democrats' a quorum. (In a brief discussion with several LCA reporters, Padavan said he had merely cut through the chamber en route to the Senate lounge for a Coke cup of coffee).
Thus: No signing. (This was confirmed by Paterson spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein).
Paterson called for another extraordinary session at 7 p.m. tonight.
The Republican/Espada coalition is going back to court at 3 p.m. to try to get a stay of state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi's ruling.
DN Capitol Bureau Chief Ken Lovett pointed out that since the Democrats are passsing bills that were approved by the Rules Committee, they might be subject to yet another GOP lawsuit.
Sen. Malcolm Smith presided over the quickie Rules Committee meeting in the back of the chamber this afternoon, but the Republicans and Espada contend none of the old committee chairs are valid since the June 8 coup.
From Bad to Worse in the Senate Chamber
June 30th, 2009
LINK
Democrats just got a rude awakening. Sure, Gov. David Paterson (pictured at left) said that he won’t sign any bills they pass during the odd session started today by Republican Sen. Frank Padavan’s brief foray into the chamber, but that wasn’t their biggest problem.
Democrats were churning through legislation, passing measures 32-0 when Sen. Ruben Diaz stood up to loudly demand a bill be laid aside. The bill pending before the chamber would have allowed New York City to raise its sales tax to balance its budget. Liz Krueger said she had tried to mark the bill as “controversial” and in need of debate. But a vote was called and the bill was voted down.
Legislators including Malcolm Smith, John Sampson, Kevin Parker and Carl Kruger voted against the bill.
Diaz said ” the people of my district are paying too much taxes.” Other senators echoed his sentiment. Read the rest of this entry »
By David King on June 30, 2009, 2:31 pm
Every Senator Counts
June 30th, 2009
The fate of a number of key pieces of legislation — including the hike in the city sales tax — apparently now hinges on whether or not GOP Sen. Frank Padavan of Queens was or was not on the Senate floor today.
Padavan’s alleged — and clearly brief — presence on the floor, along with that of all 31 Democrats, gave the body a quorum. (Senators do not have to remain in the chamber for the entire meeting to be counted as being there.) That has enabled the Democrats to begin passing legislation.
It’s not over yet, though, Gov. David Paterson told a 12:30 p.m. briefing that the Republican conference maintains that Padavan never signed in and so cannot be counted as legally present. Referring to his eight years as a Senate floor leader, Paterson said,” Senators don’t sign in. They just walk in, and they’re recognized.” He did express reluctance, however, to sign legislation that may have been passed without a quorum.
Read the rest of this entry »
By Gail Robinson on June 30, 2009, 12:14 pm
Signs of Progress?
June 30th, 2009
There are indications that at least some members of the State Senate may be taking the today’s deadline for action seriously, David King reports from Albany. Under court order, Democrats and Republican gathered in the chambers this morning and quickly adjourned. But as the gavel (one for each party) fell, Republican Thomas Libous approached John Sampson, who has emerged as the Democratic leader. The two then went into the Democratic chamber to speak further.
Could a deal be in the works? There is, King says, a lot of chatter that it might finally be happening.
By Gail Robinson on June 30, 2009, 10:28 am
Judge Rules, Inaction Continues
June 29th, 2009
LINK
Supreme Court Judge Joseph Teresi has ruled that Democratic and Republican senators must report together for session tomorrow at 10 a.m. Teresi rejected the daily separate sessions both sides have been holding. “To come into session as separate groups is a fiction,” said Teresi.
So everyone is going to get right back to work then and that is that–not quite.
Republicans plan to file an appeal of the ruling at 9 a.m. tomorrow, thereby freezing Teresi’s order. Democrats have yet to announce whether they will seek an appeal–they may be setting up to vilify the Republicans for their appeal instead.
So it seems senators may not report to do their jobs yet again. Who would have guessed?
Meanwhile, power-sharing negotiations have gotten nowhere. Both sides tried their best to throw each other in front of the bus that is the looming June 30 deadline for renewing important pieces of legislation. Legislation scheduled to sunset tomorrow includes mayoral control of schools and measures to provide funding to municipalities across the state.
Democrats proposed holding a session at noon tomorrow if Republicans agree to their rules for a temporary power-sharing arrangement. Democrats put forward a slate of non-controversial legislation they feel must be acted on.
Supreme Court Judge Joseph Teresi has ruled that Democratic and Republican senators must report together for session tomorrow at 10 a.m. Teresi rejected the daily separate sessions both sides have been holding. “To come into session as separate groups is a fiction,” said Teresi.
So everyone is going to get right back to work then and that is that–not quite.
Republicans plan to file an appeal of the ruling at 9 a.m. tomorrow, thereby freezing Teresi’s order. Democrats have yet to announce whether they will seek an appeal–they may be setting up to vilify the Republicans for their appeal instead.
So it seems senators may not report to do their jobs yet again. Who would have guessed?
Meanwhile, power-sharing negotiations have gotten nowhere. Both sides tried their best to throw each other in front of the bus that is the looming June 30 deadline for renewing important pieces of legislation. Legislation scheduled to sunset tomorrow includes mayoral control of schools and measures to provide funding to municipalities across the state.
Democrats proposed holding a session at noon tomorrow if Republicans agree to their rules for a temporary power-sharing arrangement. Democrats put forward a slate of non-controversial legislation they feel must be acted on.
Absent from the slate is—who would have guessed it?–mayoral control of schools, as well as the sales tax increase the city needs to balance its budget. Democratic leader Sen. John Sampson finds the Assembly’s version of mayoral control quite controversial, as Sampson would like to strip down the mayor’s authority. It’s not yet clear why the sales tax measure was not included.
What is and is not included on the list is very likely irrelevant as Republicans say they are not itnerested in a short-term agreement.
Republicans say negotiations for a long-term solution have been disrupted by a rotating cast of Democratic representatives. Sens. Malcolm Smith and Sampson were negotiating for the Democrat up until last week. Now Democrats are representated by a number of Sens., including Jeff Klein, Neil Breslin, Tom Duane, Martin Dilan and Diane Savino.
Let the blame game continue.
By David King on June 29, 2009, 5:13 pm