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Fair A new political dawn
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Sen. Malcolm A. Smith of St. Albans, Queens, who has an MBA from Adelphi University and a negotiations certificate from Harvard Law School, was elected majority leader and president pro tem of the Senate in a party line vote that came following weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations.
Democrats won a 32-30 majority in the Nov. 4 election, but saw their leadership role jeopardized by four dissident colleagues who threatened to join the Republicans if they didn't get committee chairmanships with stipends, and certain policy considerations. Ultimately, in the last-minute deal, they sided with the Democrats.
The transfer of power means that Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) becomes the leader of the minority party in the Senate. For the first time in 70 years, all of New York's top elected officials, including the governor and leaders of the Senate and Assembly, are Democrats. But only two of Long Island's nine state senators are Democrats - Craig Johnson, whose district includes Elmont, and newly-elected Brian X. Foley, a Suffolk legislator who toppled 36-year incumbent Republican State Senator Cesar Trunzo - leading to fears that the new Legislature will not be focused on Long Island's needs.
What's at stake for the members of the minority GOP in Albany is the loss of leadership posts (committee chairmanships), funding for their Albany and district offices, and the ability to independently bring bills out of committee and before the Senate for action. However, the Senate has passed a rules reform package affecting the Senate floor and committee operations, to create what Smith calls "a more open and deliberative body." Member items, the "bacon" each senator is able to bring home, probably won't be determined until a budget is passed in April, and may be significantly less than in previous years, due to the state's economic woes.
"It's going to be a difficult two years for Long Island," said Tom Locascio, director of district operations for Skelos. "In the immediate future, Long Island will definitely be at a disadvantage. We really do have a government at this point that is dominated by New York City, and there will be a lot of difficult decisions to be made. We had eight majority senators prior to November and now we have two. They were able to make sure Long Island was represented in the budget negotiations. One of the concerns now is that that representation won't be there. In the governor's address ... there is concern that there was barely any mention of Long Island."
Locascio added that Skelos' priorities are balancing the budget and dealing with the state's current financial crisis. He said Skelos is comfortable in the Senate and plans to regain the majority in the next election. He also said that Skelos will work with Smith to make the Senate more open, providing more power to committees.
"The potential impact is that it could be disastrous if the two new Democrats vote with the city," said Dr. William Johnson, Rockville Centre school superintendent. "I'm still hopeful that with Dean as the minority leader, representing Long Island, he will be able to convince everyone, irrespective of party, that they need to vote as an entire delegation for the region. Hopefully the two new Democrats who are from Long Island will vote to support measures that will address the unique needs of the region. If they don't vote with the majority of the Democrats, that vote is lost. It's a very very delicate majority.
"I think that Dean has been a wonderful asset to the island," he added, "and that now, even though he's minority leader, I hope his strong leadership skills will continue to bring into the fold the two people on the Democratic side who represent Long Island."
"There's been a fallacy and a myth that Long Island will suffer under the Democrats," said Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Sen Johnson .
"That frankly isn't going to be true. There are still nine members from Long Island," he added. "People on both sides of the aisle have the same goals, [maybe] different philosophies - but we all want to see Long Island prosper, we want to see good jobs, tackle unfunded mandates in schools, and fix the broken property tax system, which is a
priority."
Larry Levy, director of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University agreed, "At first it will be very jarring and very confusing for everybody. They're used to dealing with certain Senate Republicans who are not now in a position of power. In the longer run, as the Democrats gain their footing and consolidate their power and likely pick up more seats on Long Island, the Democrats in Nassau and Suffolk should be able to use their leverage to deliver virtually the same as Republicans. But it will take time."
"A lot of the the things we do in Albany are based upon building coalitions and consensus," said Scott Cushing, director of staff for Assemblyman Tom Alfano (R-N. Valley Stream). " So being in the majority or the minority doesn't really matter - it's about getting things done. As we move forward in these very challenging economic times, it's going to take the best and brightest of all parties to face these challenges. And that means bipartisanship."
"Now is a time for action, not words," said Assembly Bob Barra (R-Lynbrook) in a written statement. "To achieve this, members of the Legislature must put aside political differences and advance measures that will improve our economy by creating jobs and offering substantial tax relief."
Skelos sounded a similar note of bipartisanship and conciliation in his videotaped response to Gov. David Paterson's State of the State address on Jan. 7. "To meet the challenges of a balanced budget, tax relief and job creation, we need to make dysfunction a thing of the past and usher in a new era of bipartisanship and reform," he said.
"Many people have blamed Albany's dysfunction on the power of three men in a room - I think the solution lies in uniting 62 men and women in the Senate chamber," Skelos continued. "Simply put, we need to do things differently than in the past. I have always worked closely with Democrats, Republicans, Independents and others to find common ground and get results."
Comments about this story? RVCeditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
Democrats won a 32-30 majority in the Nov. 4 election, but saw their leadership role jeopardized by four dissident colleagues who threatened to join the Republicans if they didn't get committee chairmanships with stipends, and certain policy considerations. Ultimately, in the last-minute deal, they sided with the Democrats.
The transfer of power means that Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) becomes the leader of the minority party in the Senate. For the first time in 70 years, all of New York's top elected officials, including the governor and leaders of the Senate and Assembly, are Democrats. But only two of Long Island's nine state senators are Democrats - Craig Johnson, whose district includes Elmont, and newly-elected Brian X. Foley, a Suffolk legislator who toppled 36-year incumbent Republican State Senator Cesar Trunzo - leading to fears that the new Legislature will not be focused on Long Island's needs.
What's at stake for the members of the minority GOP in Albany is the loss of leadership posts (committee chairmanships), funding for their Albany and district offices, and the ability to independently bring bills out of committee and before the Senate for action. However, the Senate has passed a rules reform package affecting the Senate floor and committee operations, to create what Smith calls "a more open and deliberative body." Member items, the "bacon" each senator is able to bring home, probably won't be determined until a budget is passed in April, and may be significantly less than in previous years, due to the state's economic woes.
"It's going to be a difficult two years for Long Island," said Tom Locascio, director of district operations for Skelos. "In the immediate future, Long Island will definitely be at a disadvantage. We really do have a government at this point that is dominated by New York City, and there will be a lot of difficult decisions to be made. We had eight majority senators prior to November and now we have two. They were able to make sure Long Island was represented in the budget negotiations. One of the concerns now is that that representation won't be there. In the governor's address ... there is concern that there was barely any mention of Long Island."
"The potential impact is that it could be disastrous if the two new Democrats vote with the city," said Dr. William Johnson, Rockville Centre school superintendent. "I'm still hopeful that with Dean as the minority leader, representing Long Island, he will be able to convince everyone, irrespective of party, that they need to vote as an entire delegation for the region. Hopefully the two new Democrats who are from Long Island will vote to support measures that will address the unique needs of the region. If they don't vote with the majority of the Democrats, that vote is lost. It's a very very delicate majority.
"I think that Dean has been a wonderful asset to the island," he added, "and that now, even though he's minority leader, I hope his strong leadership skills will continue to bring into the fold the two people on the Democratic side who represent Long Island."
"There's been a fallacy and a myth that Long Island will suffer under the Democrats," said Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Sen Johnson .
"That frankly isn't going to be true. There are still nine members from Long Island," he added. "People on both sides of the aisle have the same goals, [maybe] different philosophies - but we all want to see Long Island prosper, we want to see good jobs, tackle unfunded mandates in schools, and fix the broken property tax system, which is a
priority."
Larry Levy, director of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University agreed, "At first it will be very jarring and very confusing for everybody. They're used to dealing with certain Senate Republicans who are not now in a position of power. In the longer run, as the Democrats gain their footing and consolidate their power and likely pick up more seats on Long Island, the Democrats in Nassau and Suffolk should be able to use their leverage to deliver virtually the same as Republicans. But it will take time."
"A lot of the the things we do in Albany are based upon building coalitions and consensus," said Scott Cushing, director of staff for Assemblyman Tom Alfano (R-N. Valley Stream). " So being in the majority or the minority doesn't really matter - it's about getting things done. As we move forward in these very challenging economic times, it's going to take the best and brightest of all parties to face these challenges. And that means bipartisanship."
"Now is a time for action, not words," said Assembly Bob Barra (R-Lynbrook) in a written statement. "To achieve this, members of the Legislature must put aside political differences and advance measures that will improve our economy by creating jobs and offering substantial tax relief."
Skelos sounded a similar note of bipartisanship and conciliation in his videotaped response to Gov. David Paterson's State of the State address on Jan. 7. "To meet the challenges of a balanced budget, tax relief and job creation, we need to make dysfunction a thing of the past and usher in a new era of bipartisanship and reform," he said.
"Many people have blamed Albany's dysfunction on the power of three men in a room - I think the solution lies in uniting 62 men and women in the Senate chamber," Skelos continued. "Simply put, we need to do things differently than in the past. I have always worked closely with Democrats, Republicans, Independents and others to find common ground and get results."
Comments about this story? RVCeditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
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