By JUDY RATTNER
It was still unclear on Tuesday why the revolt occurred, or what the nature and consequences of what some were calling a "new coalition" of power would be. Within an hour of the coup, which followed a raucous leadership fight on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, it was reported that Skelos had been named majority leader and vice president of the Senate. Espada was named temporary president.
A host of hot-button issues - from same-sex marriage to budget revisions, from increased cigarette taxes to Belmont Park area redevelopment, from the MTA payroll tax to property tax rebates for seniors - were thrown into even greater confusion as a five-month-old Democratic majority came to a surprising and chaotic end.
"A new bipartisan coalition elected today has delivered on the promises for reform that the Senate Democratic leadership failed to keep," Skelos said in a statement. "The new rules adopted today will create a more open, bipartisan, transparent and member-driven body that will take dramatic new steps to end Albany dysfunction."
Skelos accused Democrats of sowing more of the seeds of discord that, he said, have become so familiar to those in the statehouse in Albany.
"Under new Senate rules adopted today," his statement continued, "more power is given to individual members, the committee process has been strengthened, greater debate and consideration of legislation will be allowed and resources among the members of both majority and minority parties will be equalized.
"By adopting new rules, we will guarantee more accountability, transparency, efficiencies, balance and fairness in the Senate. We believe the result will be better representation for the constituents we represent and better results for taxpayers, businesses and families in this state."
One of the new rules Skelos announced was six-year term limits in leadership positions, which he and Espada had agreed to.
"Last week, at a news conference," Skelos added, "I said that it would be a tremendous legacy for a lot of us to say we really reformed the system, to look back and say that 'I was part of that.' Today will be remembered in state history as a day when real change and real reform began and dysfunction ended."
Democrats maintained that the action taken on the Senate floor was in no way binding. "This was an illegal and unlawful attempt to gain control of the Senate and reverse the will of the people who voted for a Democratic majority," said Austin Shafran, an aide to Sen. Malcolm Smith, in an e-mail message Monday. "Nothing has changed, Senator Malcolm A. Smith remains the duly elected Temporary President and Majority Leader. The real Senate Majority is anxious to get back to governing, and will take immediate steps to get us back to work."
"New York is a Democratic state, and no amount of legal acrobatics by a desperate GOP is going to overturn the will of the people here," Democratic Senate Campaign Committee spokesman Shams Tarek said on Monday. "Majority Leader Smith and the Senate Democrats look forward to both the resolution of today's theatrics and upcoming elections, when New Yorkers continue to vote more Democrats into office. In the meantime, Dean Skelos and the Senate Republicans talking about reform is like the shark in 'Jaws' talking about vegetarianism."
But East Meadow Republican party leader Gregory Peterson, former Hempstead Town Supervisor, had a different view.
"My jaw dropped and I said 'Well it is typical of a totally dysfunctional Albany," Peterson said of when he heard the news. "But then, when I started thinking about it, I really started getting a glimmer of hope. I don't think the general public really understood how important it was for Republicans to control the Senate. We on Long Island get absolutely killed without that strength, and hopefully Dean [Skelos] will be able to turn back some of the things that were passed."
Sen. Kemp Hannon (R- Garden City), who represents East Meadow and Salisbury, said the change will benefit Long Island residents.
"For East Meadow, this gives a much better representation to the part of the state that is not New York City," Hannon said. Under the Democrats' rule, "everything was New York City," he said.
The newly approved procedural rules could also bring about the reform that was promised during Democratic campaigns, he explained.
"That was the vehicle Democrats ran on - a campaign of reform - and they managed to violate every single promise they made," Hannon said.
While the distribution of member items appears to be a hot button issue, Hannon said he believes property taxes must be immediately addressed by the new-look Senate.
Mike Caputo, John O'Connell and Scott Brinton contributed to this story. Comments about it? mcaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
