The New York State Senate became fodder for late-night television in June 2009, an embarrassment to New Yorkers and to the Senate itself.
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At the time, Democrats barely controlled the Senate when two members of their party — both later defeated, and one guilty of theft and tax evasion — defected to the Republicans. Their trip across the aisle gave Republicans a momentary majority and control of leadership positions. When one of the duo suddenly scurried back to the Democrats, he ignited a series of bipartisan antics and a virtual shutdown of the Senate for more than a month.
With important issues on its plate, the last thing the Senate needs is another such circus. Yet as things stand now, such a spectacle is entirely possible when members convene in January to elect a new leader, one of three top positions in Albany. For starters, two weeks after the election, nobody knows which party has won a majority of the Senate's 63 seats. Voters elected 31 Democrats and 30 Republicans. But two seats are up for grabs, with Democrats leading in one and Republicans in the other. For unexplained reasons, it is taking a long time — too long — to tally uncounted absentee and affidavit ballots.
Once that task is out of the way, other pitfalls loom. Simcha Felder, a newly elected Democratic senator from Brooklyn, has already declared, for reasons not yet clear, that he will vote with Republicans. Four more Democrats have declared their independence. Thus it is not out of the question that the Democrats could win a numerical majority in the voting but not the leadership.
The situation seems ripe for a bidding war in January between the two parties for the affections of the wavering members. But if this takes all of January, the public will be the loser. Gov. Andrew Cuomo may have to get involved as a mediator, pushing all parties to pick a reasonable leader who can work with him and both parties. The state cannot afford another legislative burlesque.
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