ALBANY — The chaos-plagued State Senate faced fresh tumult on Wednesday as four Democrats announced they would split from their party’s leadership and start their own, independent caucus.
The move does not change the balance of power in the Senate, which the Republicans captured in November and now hold with a razor-thin, two-seat majority, 32 to 30.
But it comes as another blow to the Democratic leader, John L. Sampson, of Brooklyn: the four breakaway senators said they had lost confidence in him after a year in which Mr. Sampson and other Democratic leaders were implicated in investigations of casino bidding and lawmaker earmarks that became fodder for Republican campaign attacks.
In a news conference, Senator Jeffrey Klein of the Bronx, one of the four, said: “Let me be clear. We are Democrats, but we could no longer in good conscience support the present Democratic leadership.”
The departure of the four senators, announced a few hours before Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo delivered his State of the State address, brought into the open the simmering anger among some Senate Democrats, especially from outside New York City, who have borne the political brunt of the scandals and dysfunction that have racked their conference in the last two years. It also solidifies the Republicans’ hold on the Senate until the next election, potentially depriving Democrats of votes on party-line decisions and making it almost impossible for them to retake the chamber by encouraging one or two Republicans to switch parties during the session.
Mr. Klein, who headed the Senate Democrats’ campaign efforts in the fall, was joined by Senators Diane J. Savino of Staten Island, David J. Valesky of Oneida County and David Carlucci of Rockland County, who was elected for the first time in November.
Mr. Klein suggested that Mr. Sampson’s leadership had given voters reasons to distrust Democrats with control of the Senate. A report in October from the state inspector general was highly critical of Mr. Sampson for leaking information about the leak. in the Aqueduct casino bidding process to a preferred operator.
Mr. Sampson has also been criticized for going way over the Democrats’ campaign budget and exceeding the Democrats’ $29 million legislative budget by $7 million.
Later in the day, the incoming Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, Republican of Long Island, suggested during a separate news conference that he would be naming some Democratic senators to head committees, though he did not say which senators or which committees.
Mr. Skelos appeared in the Capitol after meeting with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City, a major financial patron of his conference, who criticized the Senate’s performance under Democratic leadership. Mr. Bloomberg said he welcomed Republican control, while insisting that New York should aspire to a less partisan political culture.
“If you take a look, it was a disgrace what happened in the last couple of years with the Senate — I think most people, regardless of party, think that,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “I’ve known Dean Skelos for a long time. He’s a substantive guy, he’s a serious guy, he’s an honest guy.”
Ms. Savino said that “change will not come from the same broken system” and that Albany had become a “national laughingstock.”
“We are going to turn Albany upside down with this action,” she added.
Mr. Klein said Mr. Skelos had been “very supportive” of the independent conference. He also said he had not discussed the move with Mr. Cuomo beforehand and informed the new governor of his plans only a few minutes before the announcement on Wednesday morning.
The four senators emphasized that they still supported Mr. Cuomo’s agenda and would continue to vote consistently with the other Democrats in the Senate, though they would not caucus with them formally or attend internal Democratic meetings. Mr. Klein did not respond when asked whether he and the other senators would return to the Democratic conference if Mr. Sampson were to step down as leader.
But it was clear that Mr. Sampson was a driving force behind the senators’ move to create an independent conference. Of Mr. Sampson, Mr. Klein said, “In the minority, I do not believe he’s going to be able to make a compelling argument for why the Democrats should be returned to power.”
After the senators’ announcement, Mr. Sampson released a statement calling on all members of the Senate to “stand with the people of New York.”
“Today should not be about politics,” he said. “Our common goal should be progress — working with Governor Cuomo to move our state forward.”
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