Senate Stalemate Begins Week Five

By Karen DeWitt

Albany, New York – Week five of the Senate stalemate began with both sides pointing fingers, yet continuing to meet on how to resolve the crisis that began with a coup on June 8th.

First, Democrats, after meeting with Governor Paterson, complained that the talks on how to resolve the Senate crisis were going nowhere because the Republican dominated coalition was too fixated on leadership issues.

Then, Republican Senator Dean Skelos, who was elected Majority Leader by 32 votes June 8th, said it was the Democrats holding things up, because they are seeking a temporary solution to pass several bills, instead of a permanent decision on the leadership of the house.

"They're not looking to end the gridlock," said Skelos. "They're just looking to go home and start their summer vacation."

The current Senate stalemate, which is now entering its fifth week, was precipitated by two Democratic Senators, Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate, crossing party lines to vote with the thirty Republican members to elect new Senate leaders. Espada and Monserrate are two members of the gang of four, or as they prefer to call themselves, the four amigos. The four swing Senators, which also include Ruben Diaz and Karl Kruger, held up the choosing of leaders in the Senate last December and early January. They eventually all sided with the Democrats and gave them enough votes to run the chamber for five months, until the June 8th vote.

Now, Senator Diaz says the four amigos have been talking. They met for lunch Monday at an Albany restaurant. And he hinted to reporters that they might end the crisis as early as this week.

"We're working on it," said Diaz, who would not say if it would involve defections to the Republican- led coalition.

Meanwhile, the two feuding factions are continuing staff level talks on nuts and bolts issues, like how to ensure that each Senator gets equal money for staffing, supplies and other needs, should a leadership deal be reached.

The Senators also met in what's become the daily ritual of the extremely brief special session, called by Governor David Paterson. They once again considered no bills and gaveled out within three minutes.

Governor David Paterson says he'll continue to call the sessions each day, even on weekends until the stalemate is resolved. The Governor, taking a page out of his predecessor Eliot Spitzer's playbook, has threatened to travel the state denouncing the Senators if the crisis continues.

Government reform groups on Monday said they'd found an obscure law that might allow Governor Paterson to end the crisis by appointing a lieutenant governor, who could provide the tie- breaking vote to end the Senate stand off. But the idea was quickly shot down by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who says the legal reasoning is dubious and would likely spur a counterproductive and lengthy court battle.

There is likely to be more court action at any rate. The state Association of Counties, tired of waiting for sales tax extensions and other measures that were supposed to be approved by July 1st, says it will file a lawsuit Tuesday, to seek a judge to decide for once and for all, who is in control of the State Senate.