LOVETT: Why it might be better for state Dems to hold off on claiming Senate

April 02--ALBANY -- State Senate Republicans are finding out what Democrats learned a decade ago when they controlled the chamber -- it's not easy governing with a bare minimum majority.

It's also a lesson the Dems could learn all over again if they win two special elections this month that would give them just enough members to form a majority -- assuming they can set aside personal animosities.

Recognizing the potential problem, one political operative argued the Democrats, should they win the two races, might be better off not trying to reclaim the chamber right away by wooing back nine breakaway Dems currently aligned with the GOP.

"The best move for the Democrats might be to wait until the November elections -- to ride the blue wave to pick up multiple Republican and (Independent Democratic Conference) seats and not have to worry about being held hostage," the operative said.

The Senate Democrats are splintered three ways -- 21 mainline Dems, the eight-member Independent Democratic Conference, or IDC, that is in a leadership coalition with the Republicans, and Sen. Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat who caucuses with the GOP.

The mainline Dems and IDC agreed to a reunification plan allies of Gov. Cuomo pushed should the chamber have enough Dems to constitute a majority. Felder has not said what he will do.

One source close to the situation argued the reunification with the IDC should take place before the end of the legislative session in June because few trust it would happen after the November elections.

"It's important to break the coalition now," the source said.

But the first political operative argues that even if all factions unify, with a razor-thin majority of just 32 members in an uneasy alliance, the Dems could be damaged if they can't deliver on a host of progressive issues they have long promised to address. Felder opposes things like the Child Victims Act and a strengthening of the state's abortion rights laws, meaning the Dems wouldn't have enough votes to pass them on their own.

Felder last week single-handedly was able to bring budget talks to a standstill by pushing to exempt yeshivas from meeting state standards for nonreligious instruction. The Republicans, hoping to keep Felder in the fold, backed his effort.

To Albany veterans, the situation was reminiscent of when the Senate Democrats had a bare majority in 2009-10 and had trouble passing the budget and other initiatives because individual lawmakers held out for their pet projects.

"We've been here, we know what it's like," said one senator. "It doesn't matter who the cast of characters are, you don't want to be dependent on a single member -- especially when he doesn't agree with most of what you want to do."

Even though the Democratic leadership has turned over since 2009-10, one party official fears similar chaos if Felder returns to the Democratic fold as the 32nd vote as it could empower individual lawmakers to hold issues hostage until they get what they want.

"When you have 32, every member is a Simcha," he said.

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State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's likely Republican opponent hasn't even formally announced his candidacy, but that hasn't stopped the incumbent Democrat from trying to raise money off him.

A day after the Daily News reported that little-known corporate lawyer Manny Alicandro is shaping up to be the AG candidate for the Republican and Conservative parties, Schneiderman's campaign sent out a fund-raising email highlighting his likely challenger's pro-Trump stances on issues like immigration. The email also noted that Alicandro criticized Schneiderman for filing more than 100 challenges to the Trump administration, saying he'd prefer to work with the President.

"Eric will never stop fighting to protect New Yorkers from the Trump administration's attacks -- no matter what the Republican Party throws at him," the fund-raising email says.

Noting Alicandro hasn't even formally announced his candidacy -- that's expected sometime in April -- Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long called Schneiderman "a political animal. He's the furthest thing from an attorney general."

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