NY Gov. Paterson To Ask State Senate To Vote On Marriage Next Week
According to his aides, New York Gov. David Paterson plans to ask state Senators to finally vote on same-sex marriage during a special session he's called for next week. Democrats continue to hold a slim 32-30 majority in the Senate after Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D) somehow evaded a felony conviction last week for slashing his girlfriend in the face, which would have resulted in his automatic removal.
Monserrate may yet face expulsion over the incident; a bipartisan panel has been formed to determine what discipline he will receive, if any. He has supported same-sex marriage in the past, but was one of the three Democrats who briefly defected to the Republican side of the aisle in June in a power struggle for control of the Senate.
Even with a slight Democratic majority, getting the necessary votes to approve same-sex marriage is highly doubtful, thanks in large part to the work of Democratic anti-gay evangelist Sen. Ruben Diaz. However openly gay Sen. Thomas Duane has frequently stated that he thinks a few Republicans would vote our way, so hope, however slight, persists. My complete file on this Clown Car called the New York Senate is here.
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?
A day of legal and legislative drama concluded with ousted Democratic Majority Leader Malcolm Smith obtaining a temporary restraining order declaring him to be the chamber's majority leader and president pro tempore. Smith's legal relief may be short-lived: A state Supreme Court judge will hear arguments from both sides in the four-day-old battle for the state Senate on Friday morning. The order was issued after 5 p.m. -- about six hours after the Senate members currently claiming those titles, Republican Dean Skelos and breakaway Democrat Pedro Espada, managed to fight their way past an angry crowd of protesters to take part in a brief but memorable Senate session.
Renegade Sen. Hiram Monserratte is reportedly considering undefecting back to the Democratic side of the aisle. He refused to take part in today's session, leaving the GOP short of a quorum and unable to continue. Not that anything could have been voted on as today's bills were locked in a desk and somebody had hidden the keys. SRSLY.
And now, a restraining order with the clock tick-tocking down on marriage equality. A least the hearing is tomorrow morning.
Chaos In NY Senate As Renegade Dems Unseat Majority Leader Malcolm Smith
And here, my friends, is where I fear New York's quest for marriage equality may have ended for 2009.
New York's state Senators today convened an emergency meeting to name GOP Sen. Dean Skelos (left) as the new majority leader as "Gang Of Four" members and Democratic Senators Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserratte have crossed party lines in a 32-30 vote to unseat Democratic Sen. Malcolm Smith. Elizabeth Benjamin at NY Daily News reports:
An observer in the Senate chamber tells me Skelos was sitting in Smith's chair with a BIG smile on his face and Smith was nowhere to be seen. The chamber has now emptied out and Republicans are talking about electing themselves to committee chairmanships. I managed to get in touch with Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., who said the following: "That's the rumor, but they haven't spoken to be about it," he said. "They're still amigos." Another rumor du jour is that Diaz, who is furious that the gay marriage bill he opposes appears to be gaining some traction in the Senate, would be angry enough with Smith if the measure comes up for a vote on the floor to join the Senate GOP.
I asked Diaz about that, and he said: "Today? No. Tomorrow? Who knows? Tomorrow is another day. It's always another day. You ask me do I plan to do that. I say, no. In the future, who knows what the future brings. The only thing I can tell you, and you can interpret this any which way you want: When I give my word, I keep my word. In order for me to break my word, you have to break yours first."
Here's how I interpret that: It's a (typically) cryptic way of Diaz Sr. confirming the worst fears of marriage advocates - that there was indeed a deal between himself and Smith that the gay marriage bill would not come to the floor in exchange for Diaz Sr.'s support of Smith for majority leader. And now, in Diaz Sr.'s mind, if Smith brings the bill to the floor, all bets are off.
Has our nemesis, the cartoonishly evil Sen. Ruben Diaz at last triumphed?
UPDATE: Whoa, this is messy. Sen. Malcolm Smith is now saying the the vote was "illegal" and that he is still the Senate Majority leader. From his spokesperson: "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. Nothing has changed...The real Senate majority is anxious to get back to governing, and will take immediate steps to get us back to work." Elizabeth Benjamin at NY Daily News: "I smell a lawsuit."
VIDEO: Espada and Skelos sworn in as new Senate leaders.
The litany of woes for New York Senate Democrats continue. After his arrest last month for slashing his girlfriend with a broken glass, a resolution is being circulated to prevent Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) from taking office this week.
Hiram Monserrate's first day in the state Senate this week is shaping up to be a nasty one, with political opponents already hurling sharp personal barbs. "He's a ticking time bomb and he'll go eventually," said Sen. Martin Golden, a Brooklyn Republican who is circulating a resolution to block the newly elected Queens Dem from taking office. "He's got a rage in him that's pretty crazy."
Monserrate, 41, resigned his City Council seat last week and took an oath as a new senator despite felony charges accusing him of slashing girlfriend Karla Giraldo with broken glass. Giraldo initially told police that Monserrate had cut her, then changed her story to say it was an accident. Monserrate supporters - including Senate Democrats who need his vote in a contentious leadership fight - are talking up the second version of events. A written statement she made to police the day she received 20 stitches "clearly states that it was an accident," a source familiar with the statement said.
Monserrate now claims he was walking towards his girlfriend with a glass of water in his hand and tripped. The original story was that he was furious because he found the business card of a cop in his girlfriend's purse. (Monserrate is a former cop.) The Dems are supporting the new version of events because they desperately need every vote in the fight for Senate Majority Leader, a position that will be critical in the fight for marriage equality in New York.
Democratic New York Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate was arrested yesterday for hitting his girlfriend with a beer bottle. The injury reportedly lacerated the woman's face severely and required 20-40 stitches to close.
A former NYC Councilman representing Queens (yesterday was his last day), Monserrate was at one time in league with the "Gang Of Three" dissident NY Senate Democrats, although he cut a deal to support Sen. Malcolm Smith for Senate Majority Leader, reportedly in return for being named chairman of the Consumer Affairs Committee.
The NYPD charged Monserrate with first-degree assault. It's unclear how this arrest may affect his taking office next month, or how it may affect the balance of power in the New York Senate.
According to his aides, New York Gov. David Paterson plans to ask state Senators to finally vote on same-sex marriage during a special session he's called for next week. Democrats continue to hold a slim 32-30 majority in the Senate after Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D) somehow evaded a felony conviction last week for slashing his girlfriend in the face, which would have resulted in his automatic removal.
