Avella's defection strengthens Senate coalition

Albany

The mutability of political loyalty at the state Capitol was on display once again Thursday as Sen. Tony Avella arranged his new desk alongside the four other members of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference, which for the past 14 months has controlled the chamber in league with its 29-member Republican minority.

Avella's switch from the main Democratic conference, first reported Wednesday morning by the Daily News, expands the cushion of votes for the GOP-IDC Majority Coalition and raises by a few inches the electoral hurdle mainline Democrats will have to clear this fall if they hope to compel the IDC back into the fold.

In a statement, Avella said the IDC and its leader, Sen. Jeff Klein, had "shown an ability to get big things done, without the dysfunction of years past."

The Queens lawmaker cited last year's passage of the NY SAFE Act gun control law and a boost to the minimum wage demonstrated "that great things are possible when you focus on results instead of politics."

In his own statement, Klein said Avella's "passion for public service makes him a great fit" for the IDC, while Republican Senate Leader Dean Skelos praised the Majority Coalition's newest member as "an independent voice and a straight shooter. ... Like us, he understands that New Yorkers don't want partisanship, finger-pointing or blame, they want Democrats and Republicans to work together to get results."

It remains unclear what specific policies or measures Avella will want to see advanced through his switch. Interviewed on the floor of the chamber just before the start of Wednesday's session, he noted the range of issues that he's worked on during his time in city government and in Albany. Asked to name one of his bills that would benefit from his decision, he laughed and said, "I don't want to give you an example."

Avella, 62, served almost a decade on the New York City Council before unseating veteran Republican Sen. Frank Padavan in 2010 in an election that sent Senate Democrats back into the minority after two years of majority control bedeviled by internal battles and a coup attempt organized by Republicans.

It's possible that Avella will be handed the vacant chairmanship of the Standing Committee on Aging. Blunting criticism that his move was mere opportunism, the lawmaker said he would turn down the stipend — known as a "lulu" — the leadership post would bring.

Avella's ability to hold onto his seat is another open question. Democrats have in the past threatened to challenge IDC members in primaries. Avella's most recent campaign filings with the state Board of Elections showed just $2,775.69 in his Senate account, but $270,075.76 in a separate fund set up to support his abortive 2013 run for Queens borough president.

Democrats expressed surprise at his defection.

"I think Sen. Avella is being Sen. Avella — he's always been a maverick," said Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

In an interview, the Westchester County lawmaker noted this isn't the first time the IDC has included five members: Sen. Malcolm Smith, a former leader of the Democratic conference during its rocky years in the majority, jumped aboard in December 2012 as the IDC's alliance with the GOP was being cemented.

The Queens senator is currently a man without a conference following his arrest on federal corruption charges last spring.

Another scandal-plagued former Democratic leader, Brooklyn's John Sampson, is also alienated from all three Senate conferences but retains a vote in the chamber as he fights his own federal corruption charges.

Under the rules of the Senate crafted by the Majority Coalition, both the IDC's Klein and the GOP's Skelos have veto power on the question of whether a bill can be brought to the floor for a vote — a power that, because of Democratic control of the state Assembly and the governorship, boosts Skelos to a greater degree than it does Klein.

Progressives have complained many of the issues the IDC claims to support — including abortion rights, public financing of campaigns and placing a moratorium on hydrofracking — remain blocked in the Senate because of Skelos.

The IDC points out that the sometimes fractious mainline Democrats aren't always able to provide the support that would allow the two conferences to reach the 32 votes needed to pass anything without Republican support.

Stewart-Cousins said her conference would continue to provide "the lion's share" of aye votes for progressive legislation in the chamber.

Asked about the latest twists in the Senate during an appearance in New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it was unlikely to have much impact on the chamber's business or on his agenda, including the March 31 deadline to pass the state budget for the coming fiscal year.

"The politics and turmoil of Albany, right?," he said.

cseiler@timesunion.com • 518-454-5619 • @CaseySeiler