STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- What will the Democrats do for an encore now that Darrel Aubertine's special-election win has moved them one seat closer to taking control of the state Senate?
Press their advantage, according to Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn).
Ms. Savino, co-chair of the State Senate Campaign Committee, likes the party's chances against veteran GOP Sens. Serph Maltese and Frank Padavan, for example.
Maltese, she said, is facing a "stiff challenge" from City Councilman Joe Addabbo Jr., while Councilman Jim Gennaro is taking on Padavan.
Maltese squeaked by unknown Democrat Albert Baldeo by 800 votes two years ago. Baldeo is running again this year.
Without revealing the Dems' entire strategy, Ms. Savino, who runs candidate-recruitment efforts for the party, said there are also some prime targets upstate for the Dems.
But in this era of "hoping for change," what will the Democrats actually do differently if they do gain control of the upper house?
As a member of the party's legislative leadership, Ms. Savino will have a say in the writing of the new rules.
"We're going to strip away the power of the majority leader to determine how everything is done," Ms. Savino said.
And that includes the authority to decide which legislation reaches the floor. Lawmakers, even those in the majority, can sometimes get to feeling beaten down when their leader has the ability to put a stranglehold on any bill that doesn't meet with the leader's personal approval.
"You get better government when you have more transparency," said Ms. Savino.We'll see how could-be Democratic Majority Leader Malcolm Smith feels about all this if and when the Senate is actually in Democratic hands.
State Sen. Andy Lanza (R-Staten Island) knows how he'd feel about it if the Dems controlled the statehouse, the Senate and the Assembly: Worried.
"It's important to the people of my district and the state as a whole that all three branches of government not be controlled by one party," said Lanza, who of course would find himself in the minority if the Senate switches hands.
According to Lanza, the Island would have received no separate judicial district, and state residents would have seen higher taxes, gay marriage and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants if the Dems had controlled all levers of Albany government over the last year.
"I don't think it would have been a good thing for the people of Staten Island or New York state," said Lanza, saying that there needs to be a check and balance somewhere in the system.
