ALBANY — Thanks, but no thanks.
As they prepare to take over the majority, state Senate Democrats say Brooklyn Sen. Simcha Felder will not be welcomed back into their conference.
“New Yorkers elected the largest Democratic Majority in memory consisting of candidates who ran on a robust progressive agenda and proudly sought election as members of our conference,” Senate Democratic spokesman Mike Murphy said. “As such, we have decided to remain a 39-member majority.”
While Felder won’t be part of the conference that will dictate the chamber’s agenda, Murphy added that “of course, we will work with all senators, including Senator Felder, to advance legislation that will help New York state prosper.”
Despite being a registered Democrat, Felder the past several years caucused with the Senate Republicans, who controlled the chamber.
He remained the swing vote for the Republicans after a separate group of eight breakaway Dems broke its leadership coalition with the GOP in April to rejoin the Democratic fold.
But with the Democrats having easily won control of the chamber in the November elections, Felder has been talking with incoming Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins in recent weeks about rejoining the conference.
With the legislative session set to begin Jan. 9, Felder was told Sunday that won’t be happening, a source said.
The writing might have been on the wall when Stewart-Cousins recently appointed every Democrat in the chamber to chair a committee or subcommittee — except Felder.
Without Felder, the Senate Dems will still have 39 of the 63 seats in the chamber, far above the 32 votes needed to pass legislation.
With whomever he sits, Felder, an Orthodox Jew, is expected to vote against some of the more progressive legislation the Dems are set to pass, including bills to strengthen the state’s abortion laws and add protections for transgender people in New York’s anti-discrimination statute.
Felder, who ran in November on both the Democratic and Republican lines, had previously said he would sit with whichever conference offers him the chance to do the most for his constituents.
Felder spokeswoman Sheri Toive said late Sunday afternoon that the “senator is looking forward to conferencing with the Democrats at the appropriate time.”
She would not say whether the senator will continue to sit with the GOP in the minority when the legislative session begins, or serve as a one-man independent conference with no official alliance to either parties’ caucuses.
One legislative Democratic insider said he believes the Dems should welcome Felder back into the fold.
“You should always grow your majority whenever you get the chance. You never know when you’ll need a vote,” the source said.
As the swing vote for the Republicans this past year, Felder held up final passage of a state budget over the issue of state oversight of yeshivas.
But in April, Gov. Cuomo suggested he negotiate his way back to the Democratic fold, saying his leverage would never be greater. He remained with the Republicans and now the Democrats, with a large majority, do not need to cater to him or even let him back, insiders say.
“He overplayed his hand,” one source said.
