Voters, take a hard look at incumbents

On Monday, New Yorkers — in particular, state workers — anxiously awaited news on whether the state Legislature would pass a series of emergency bills to cut spending and stave off a government shutdown.

It was the second time in a year that the state government teetered on the brink of collapse. And the cause of it all? A dangerous mix of politics and ego-fueled greed. Too many of our state lawmakers are looking out for their own best interests rather than those of their constituents.

The bills, which included $11 billion in spending for human services, mental health and public assistance, were expected to pass. In all, they represented a $326 million reduction in state spending.

The distinct possibility of a state shutdown loomed last week when two Democratic lawmakers from the Bronx announced that they intended to vote against the emergency bills. One of the two later decided to vote for the measures, making their passage likely.

The big question is, What the heck has happened to Albany? It’s long been a cauldron of dysfunction — consistently rated among the worst-run state governments in the country. But in the past year, the level of rancor in the Legislature’s ranks has been dizzying, to put it mildly.

For years there was an uneasy but happy balance in Albany. Democrats controlled the Assembly and Republicans controlled the Senate. There was plenty of infighting, budgets were often late and legislators took too long to consider important legislation. But sooner or later, the state’s business got done.

Then, in the Obama landslide of 2008, New York Democrats rode a tide of national discontent with the Republican Party and took control of both houses of the Legislature. They already held the governor’s mansion.

Republicans — in particular Sen. Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre — vowed to win back GOP control of the Senate, and in a brief coup staged with a handful of power-hungry Democrats, Skelos succeeded for a short time last spring, holding up state business and costing taxpayers millions of dollars.

Ever since, Albany has been a very nasty place.

How will voters react in this year’s election? We’ve heard so much of late about how angry they are. People are more than ready to “throw the bums out” — meaning, of course, the incumbents.

Amid all the hype and hoopla, it would be easy to forget our legislators’ accomplishments. Skelos, excoriated in the press over the past year, has a long, proud history in the Legislature, having led, among other efforts, the battle to pass Megan’s Law in New York, which created the state’s Sex Offender Registry in the early 1990s.

As November approaches, voters should take a good, hard look at their state legislators, with seats in both the Senate and Assembly up for grabs. They should closely examine legislators’ records, and their community involvement. Perhaps most important in the Capitol’s volatile environment these days, they should evaluate their representatives’ ability to cross party lines to work in a spirit of bipartisanship for the sake of the people.

Voters should be reasoned in their approach to this fall’s election. Most of all, they should make sure they stay attuned to the candidates’ positions. The future of our state is in voters’ hands, this year more than ever.