By Hector Flores
The deadlock in determining the Legislature¹s leadership positions, which began two months ago, ended when the Republicans called for a second organizational meeting last Friday. As the meeting began, the Democratic caucus was still undecided as to who would be presiding officer, but by 7:30 p.m. the group had finally reached an accord and awarded its 10 votes to Jacobs, who has held the Democratic leadership position since 1995 but had recently changed her political party affiliation to ³blank.²
³I¹m humbled and thankful for the support of the majority Democrats, and I look forward to working together with everyone over the next two years,² Jacobs said. ³We have many major issues to address in the county, including the development of the Coliseum, the Nassau University Medical Center, work force housing and the continued financial stability of the county.²
Jacobs¹s re-election ended the bitter power struggle between her and Democrat Roger Corbin, the former deputy presiding officer, who had hoped to win the leadership position by courting the support of the Republican. The feud resulted in the splintering of the Democrats, with one Democrat, Lisanne Altmann, supporting Corbin and the remaining seven favoring Jacobs.
³Obviously, our members felt they had something to say,² Jacobs said. ³There was a reason why [Corbin and Altmann] left, and I, as presiding officer, needed to know what went wrong. But now the circle is closed and we can begin to do the work we were elected to do.²
Jacobs added that she would be paying close attention to her fellow legislators, Democrats and Republicans, and would make the necessary changes to appease both sides of the aisle. ³The charter needs rewriting so that there is less confusion,² she said. ³I will begin our meeting days with full legislative sessions so people don¹t have to sit around for long periods of time.²
Schmitt agreed with Jacobs. ³There is no question that this mess exposed clear errors with the charter and institutions,² Schmitt said. ³We are going to continue to vote for the Republican agenda, which is less government and less taxes. I¹m tired, and I¹m glad this is over.²
Jacobs credited Legislator David Denenberg, a Democrat of Merrick, for ending the legislative standstill by bringing the Democratic caucus back together and convincing its members to hold a straw poll. According to Jacobs, they could vote for themselves or for someone else. The legislator who received the majority of the caucus¹s votes would be awarded all 10 Democratic votes needed to become presiding officer. Jacobs, Kevan Abrahams and Corbin were nominated, and Jacobs received six votes, Abrahams, three and Corbin, one.
³The whole point of the straw pole is, whoever gets a majority receives the 10 votes,² Denenberg said. ³When I got to the caucus room there was a standstill, and I was able to resolve it. We should have done this after the election in November. The only thing that frustrated me was what worked on Feb. 10 didn¹t work on Jan. 10. I have said this from the beginning: Everyone had to be in a room together to work this out.²
Denenberg added that the deputy presiding officer would be chosen on Wednesday, and that this would be Jacobs¹s last term as presiding officer.
After the election in November, Corbin, in a bid to unseat Jacobs, solicited the support of the Republicans, who agreed to vote for him during the Legislature¹s organizational meeting on Jan. 25. Republicans threw their support behind Corbin because they were dissatisfied with Jacobs¹s practice of stalling their proposed bills in committee, they said. In return, Corbin promised to allow any bill or legislation put forth by Republicans to be fully heard by the Legislature.
The agreement ended the day of the meeting, when Jacobs, then the presiding officer pro tem, renounced her party affiliation and registered as a ³blank,² threatening Schmitt¹s position as minority leader.
In the four-way race for presiding officer involving Schmitt, Jacobs, Abrahams and Corbin, Schmitt received all nine Republican votes, Abrahams garnered eight votes (including Jacobs¹s), Corbin received two (his own and Altmann¹s) and Jacobs had none. But the election was overturned by New York State Supreme Court Judge Joseph Spinola, who ruled that a clear majority of 10 votes is needed to elect a presiding officer. The Republicans appealed the decision with the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division in Brooklyn, but last Friday the appellate court upheld Spinola¹s ruling.
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