TIED: NY State Sen. Hiram Monserrate Switches Back To Dem Caucus

Alleged girlfriend slasher and NY state Sen. Hiram Monserrate has gone triple-agent and switched back to the Dem side of the aisle, leaving the Senate in a flat 31-31 tie. Gothamist recaps the last week of nonsense in Albany.

Before last Monday, the Democrats held a 32-30 majority in the State Senate. But when Monserrate and Espada decided to vote with the 30 Republicans, that enabled the new coalition to elect Dean Skelos (R-Long Island) as majority leader and Espada (D-Bronx) as president pro tempore of the Senate. The move also threw Albany into chaos for the rest of the week, with the Senate Secretary (a Democrat) refusing to hand over keys to the Senate Chambers and the now-deposed Democratic majority leader Malcolm Smith suing to keep Espada from taking power. Monserrate also caused some confusion last Thursday, when he refused to take part in the first day of the new coalition's work, leaving the chambers and leaving the Senate without a quorum. Now, as the News points out, Monserrate's "decision creates an astonishing 31-31 deadlock in the Senate and further muddles the question of which party controls that body."

What does this mean for marriage equality in New York? Who fucking knows?