Control of Senate still uncertain
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- December
- 11
In an interview on Talk 1300 radio in Albany this morning, Senator-elect Pedro Espada, D-Bronx, continued to rail against Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, after a deal to unite Democrats under Smith and take over the Senate failed this week.Â
Espada said Smith “misrepresented his authority” to negotiate on behalf of Democrats and is a leader who is ”not ready for prime time.” Democrats won enough seats in November (32 to the Republican’s 30) to take over the chamber for the first time since 1965. Espada and two other New York City Democrats—Ruben Diaz and Carl Kruger—have been considering backing a GOP leader. Democrats’ slim majority gives the three dissident senators a lot of power.
But the power-sharing agreement Smith arranged with the trio proved untenable for other Democrats and ultimately the three New York City Democrats.
Espada was a bit cryptic about who he would support as majority leader.
When asked if Bronx Democrat Jeffrey Klein would, Espada said he has known Klein for many years and, “That’s an intriguing idea.” Klein, whose district covers part of Westhcester County, is Smith’s deputy majority leader and was set to become Senate deputy president pro tempore.
Espada was generous in describing current Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County. The trio have been talking with Skelos and other leaders about backing a Republican as majority leader.
“Dean Skelos is a person of integrity. He’s a leader that has obviously show he can hold his conference together,” Espada said, clearly contrasting Skelos and Smith.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 11:22 am by Cara Matthews.
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