New York State Senate

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The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve. The New York Constitution provides for a varying number of members in the Senate; the current membership is 62, elected from single-member constituencies equal in population.

Contents

Officers

The Senate is headed by its President, a post held ex officio by the State Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant Governor also casts the deciding vote in the event of a tie. The Senate President has only a casting vote. More often, the Senate is presided over by the Temporary President, who is also the Majority Leader. After the 2008 elections, the Senate has a Democratic majority for the first time since 1965. The current Majority Leader is Democrat Malcolm Smith, who is also acting Lieutenant Governor since David Paterson was elevated to Governor of New York State upon the resignation of the now former governor Eliot Spitzer. Despite being both Majority Leader and acting Lt. Governor, he gets only one vote in the state senate.

Position Name Party Residence District
President/Lieutenant Governor (acting) Malcolm Smith Democratic St. Albans 14
President Pro Tem/Majority Leader Malcolm Smith Democratic St. Albans 14
Vice President Pro Tempore David Valesky Democratic Oneida 49
Vice President Pro Tempore for Urban Policy Pedro Espada Democratic Bronx 33
Deputy Majority Leader Jeffrey Klein Democratic Bronx 34
Minority Leader Dean Skelos Republican Rockville Centre 9
Deputy Minority Leader Thomas Libous Republican Binghamton 52

2008 elections and power struggle

for more information, see New York state elections, 2008

Democrats won 32 of 62 seats in New York's upper chamber in the 2008 General Election on November 4, capturing the majority for the first time in more than four decades.[1][2] Although New York has turned almost solidly Democratic at most levels, Republicans were able to hold onto the State Senate for all but one year from 1939 to 2008 because its apportionment traditionally favors the Upstate, where Republicans dominated until very recently. While the Democrats hold all but two seats in New York City, they hold only five seats in the Upstate and three seats on Long Island.

However, a power struggle emerged before the new term began. Four Democratic senators—Ruben Diaz (Bronx), Carl Kruger (Brooklyn), and Senators-elect Pedro Espada (Bronx) and Hiram Monserrate (Queens)—immediately refused to caucus with their party.[3] The self-named "Gang of Four" refused to back Malcolm Smith as the chamber's majority leader and sought concessions.[4] Monserrate soon reached an agreement with Smith that reportedly included the chairmanship of the Consumer Affairs Committee.[5] The remaining "Gang of Three" reached an initial compromise in early December but it collapsed within a week.[6]

Current state senators

Affiliation Members
  Democratic Party 32
  Republican Party 29
  Undecided
 1
 Total
 62
 Majority
 1
District Senator Party First elected Residence
1 Kenneth LaValle Republican 1976 Port Jefferson
2 John J. Flanagan Republican 2002 East Northport
3 Brian Foley Democratic 2008 Blue Point
4 Owen H. Johnson Republican 1972 West Babylon
5 Carl Marcellino Republican 1995 Syosset
6 Kemp Hannon Republican 1989 Garden City
7 Craig Johnson Democratic 2007 Port Washington
8 Charles Fuschillo Republican 1998 Merrick
9 Dean Skelos Republican 1984 Rockville Centre
10 Shirley Huntley Democratic 2006 Jamaica
11 Undecided
12 George Onorato Democratic 1983 Astoria
13 Hiram Monserrate Democratic 2008 Jackson Heights
14 Malcolm Smith Democratic 2000 St. Albans
15 Joseph Addabbo, Jr. Democratic 2008 Tudor Village
16 Toby Ann Stavisky Democratic 1999 Flushing
17 Martin Malave Dilan Democratic 2002 Bushwick
18 Velmanette Montgomery Democratic 1984 Brooklyn
19 John Sampson Democratic 1996 Brooklyn
20 Eric Adams Democratic 2006 Brooklyn
21 Kevin Parker Democratic 2002 Brooklyn
22 Martin Golden Republican 2002 Bay Ridge
23 Diane Savino Democratic 2004 Staten Island
24 Andrew Lanza Republican 2006 Staten Island
25 Dan Squadron Democratic 2008 Brooklyn
26 Liz Krueger Democratic 2002 New York
27 Carl Kruger Democratic 1994 Brooklyn
28 Jose M. Serrano Democratic 2004 Spanish Harlem
29 Thomas Duane Democratic 1998 New York
30 Bill Perkins Democratic 2006 Harlem
31 Eric Schneiderman Democratic 1998 Washington Heights
32 Ruben Diaz Democratic 2002 Soundview
33 Pedro Espada Democratic 2008 Bedford Park
34 Jeffrey Klein Democratic 2004 Throgs Neck
35 Andrea Stewart-Cousins Democratic 2006 Yonkers
36 Ruth Hassell-Thompson Democratic 2000 Williamsbridge
37 Suzi Oppenheimer Democratic 1984 Mamaroneck
38 Thomas Morahan Republican 1999 Clarkstown
39 William J. Larkin Republican 1990 New Windsor
40 Vincent Leibell Republican 1994 Patterson
41 Stephen Saland Republican 1990 Poughkeepsie
42 John Bonacic Republican 1998 Mount Hope
43 Roy McDonald Republican 2008 Wilton
44 Hugh Farley Republican 1976 Schenectady
45 Elizabeth O'C. Little Republican 2002 Queensbury
46 Neil Breslin Democratic 1996 Albany
47 Joseph Griffo Republican 2006 Rome
48 Darrel Aubertine Democratic 2008 Cape Vincent
49 David Valesky Democratic 2004 Oneida
50 John DeFrancisco Republican 1992 Syracuse
51 James Seward Republican 1986 Milford
52 Thomas W. Libous Republican 1988 Binghamton
53 George H. Winner, Jr. Republican 2004 Elmira
54 Michael Nozzolio Republican 1992 Fayette
55 James Alesi Republican 1996 East Rochester
56 Joseph Robach Republican 2002 Greece
57 Catharine Young Republican 2005 Olean
58 William Stachowski Democratic 1981 Hamburg
59 Dale Volker Republican 1975 Depew
60 Antoine Thompson Democratic 2006 Buffalo
61 Michael Ranzenhofer Republican 2008 Clarence
62 George Maziarz Republican 1995 Newfane

See also

References

  1. ^ 2008 Election Results, New York State Board of Elections.
  2. ^ 2008-09 (Post-Election) Partisan Composition of State Legislatures National Conference of State Legislatures
  3. ^ New York Times. "Democrats Take State Senate." nytimes.com. Nov 5, 2008.
  4. ^ Peters, Jeremy W.Democrats Likely to Keep Control of State Senate, The New York Times, November 6, 2008.
  5. ^ Benjamin, Elizabeth. Monserrate Makes A Democratic Deal The Daily Politics. The Daily News November 8, 2008
  6. ^ Lanza, Michael. Smith Balks After ‘Gang of Three’ Talks The Queens Tribune December 11, 2008.

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