This November, for the first time since 1965, the Democrats are set to take control of the New York State Senate, and Democrats are set to take undivided control of the New York state government for the first time since the 1930s. For some it’s a scary process. Republicans and pillars of the establishment fear social change; Democrats fear accountability.
I’ve spent my political life on and off since 1982 working towards that goal. My fear is different; I fear they will fuck it up.
As reported in the New York Post, Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith recently got up at a Senate Democratic golf outing and told the assembled lobbyists they should think of his fund-raising event as being like an IPO, an initial public offering, telling them they should get in early because then it doesn't cost as much, and the longer you wait to get in, the more it will cost, and if you don't get in at all, it would be painful after November.
Of course, Smith didn't really have to say this. The lobbyist didn‘t need to be threatened; they were already in the room, weren’t they? Talk about preaching to the choir.
Smith was obviously telling a joke. Of course, so was Don Corleone when he told the bandleader that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract. Talk about being off message.
But this is only one of the problems the Sen Dems face. Another, not surprisingly, is internal dissatisfaction with Smith. This is fine if it’s settled within the conference, but in 1965, two different factions of Senate Democrats each took their candidate to the floor; weeks dragged by until the Republicans finally chose sides and picked the Dem of their choice. The inexperienced Dems then went and fired everyone, including the Journal Clerks, who they eventually had to rehire.
And they should only be so lucky to have the opportunity to have the Republicans settle their war. It’s been clear that the Republican plan is to take the Majority Leadership whether they have the majority or not. Already, two Senate Dems (Carl Kruger and Ruben Diaz) have refused to commit to support the Democratic candidate for leader (whoever they may be).
Further the primaries feature candidates who’ve also refused to commit (Kendall Stewart), have conferenced with the Republicans previously (Pedro Espada), are supported by the Republicans‘ chief financier, Mike Bloomberg (Dan Squadron), have previously flirted with the Senate Republicans (Hiram Montseratte), have long histories of being under Republican influence (Efrian Gonzalez), or are possibly psychotic (Allen Jennings).
Even getting past this, if and when the Democrats actually take control, they need someone who knows the rules, knows how to change them, and knows the tricks which can be pulled by a strong Minority and when and how to deal with them. And they need someone to carry the cudgels on the floor, whether that means deploying or deflecting procedure, or making a good speech on the fly.
Fortunately, the Senate Democratic Conference contains one member who knowledge and experience will make him indispensable to his conference in the tough but exciting days to come. Unfortunately, they are in danger of losing him.
Marty Connor was once Senate Democratic Leader. No one expects him to play that role again, but whoever is the Senate Dems Godfather, we can be sure that if Marty Connor is there, he will be Consiglieri.
A wartime Consiglieri.
As Liz Benjamin said in the Daily News, “Connor, who was first elected to the Senate in 1978, has built up a big reservoir of support among his colleagues in part due to his encyclopedia knowledge of the chamber, its history and the rather arcane rules and procedures that govern it. (Although it seems boring, that's the kind of thing that can really come in handy during a floor fight).”
According to the Village Voice, Senator Liz Krueger, one of the conference’s brighter lights says that Connor had taught her the basics of legislating. "Marty Connor has an unbelievable institutional knowledge about how you get things done in Albany, where nothing is a straight line—it's all zigs and zags," Krueger called Connor "an extremely talented senator" who is "great on his feet and great on the floor."
The Democrat‘s Deputy Leader, Jeff Klein says "We need Marty Connor. We need his institutional memory, we need his intelligence", while Bill Perkins of Harlem says "This is not the amateur hour. ..We need all hands on deck."
Moreover, Marty Connor is a grown-up. He understand the importance of appearances, and the importance of staying focused and on-message. He has the fortitude to get up and be the only person in the room to say, “no, you can’t do that”; in fact, he‘s done it before.
Marty Connor remembers a better time when Rockefeller Republicans like the late Majority Leader Warren Anderson held hearings, let Minority bills come to a vote (Connor passed 19 bills in his first session), and put bills on the floor even if they he wasn’t sure the votes were there. Connor remembers serving in a deliberative body. Anderson was a tough partisan, but a fair one. His majority is the model, give or take some reforms, for the one Connor will seek to implement.
After laboring under thugs lie Ralph Marino and Joe Bruno, who were punitive about everything down to the office supplies, it would be hard to blame Senate Dems from doing the same thing in reverse. But Marty Connor knows what better days looked like, and may be our only hope of seeing their return.
I don’t like Dan Squadron. I think he’s run a despicable campaign. But one more ambitious self-important young slug won’t make a difference in Albany–he’ll just disappear with all the others until he can draw himself a seat in Congress.
No big deal.
But at this critical juncture in history, the loss of Marty Connor will be a loss to the entire State of New York at the time we need him the most.