Sen. Diane Savino wants Dems to end fusion voting in New York if they win the state Senate majority

Sept. 24--The following is an expanded version of the third item of my "Albany Insider" column from Monday's print editions:

If the Democrats take control of the state Senate, they should quickly act to eliminate fusion voting that allows candidates to run on multiple party lines, a veteran lawmaker says.

Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island) said minor parties have become the tail that wags the dog.

Some Republicans, she said, fear taking up progressive legislation like strengthening the state abortion laws for fear the Conservative Party will push primaries against them. She noted that all four Senate Republicans who voted to legalize gay marriage in 2011 were bounced from office.

"Republicans aren't afraid of Democrats," Savino said. "They're afraid of the Conservative Party and afraid of primaries from the right."

The same holds true with the Democratic party and the minor progressive Working Families Party that seeks to push elected officials more to the left, she said.

"Most of these third parties exist to attach themselves to the major parties," Savino said. "One of biggest things we need to deal with next year if we (the Democrats) are in the majority is voter and election reforms--first and foremost repealing fusion voting in this state that allows minor parties to hijack the major parties. We should stop that.

"If you're a Republican, vote the way you want and don't worry about (retribution from the) the Conservative party. If you're a Democrat, don't worry about the Working Families Party."

She said she'd like to see the idea of non-partisan elections explored.

Savino was just two of the eight Senate Democrats who until April were aligned with the Republicans that recently survived primary challenges from the left.

"We're in a very interesting place right now and let's hope it works out for the people," Savino said.

Savino said she believes the former Independent Democratic Conference was scapegoated by the Working Families Party and other liberal Democrats frustrated that the 32 votes needed never existed to pass initiatives that would strengthen the state's abortion laws and create a state DREAM Act.

Among those who fell in the primaries is Sen. Jeffrey Klein, the Bronx Democrat who had been the leader of the Independent Democratic Conference before becoming Senate Democratic deputy conference leader once the two factions reunited in April.

"There was a lot of rhetoric and myths about us that were put forward in campaign literature," Savino said. "Unfortunately voters in some of those districts fell for it. Fine."

She said she believes she survived the primary because "I represent a part of the city where the idea of a healthy two-party system is not considered a pejorative. You can't weaponize bipartisanship in Staten Island and even the parts of Brooklyn I represent."

Savino noted that there is no guarantee the Democrats take control of the Senate in November just because progressives won a number of primaries.

"Does the same message that drives a primary win in November, and that's what we have to be concerned about," she said.

She said she fears the Senate Dems could be in the same position as 10 years ago, when they took control of the chamber in 2009-10 only to lose it again in 2011 because the progressives didn't take care of the marginal members in the suburbs and upstate.

"Do voters on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley and upstate care about universal rent control and issues like that?" Savino asked. "Who is the bigger bogeyman for them? Is it (New York City Mayor) Bill de Blasio or (President) Donald Trump?"

Among the other voting reforms Savino said she'd like to see the Democrats tackle are efforts to lower contribution limits, cap the amount of spending on campaigns and limit where money comes from. She doesn't necessarily support public financing of campaigns.

As for now potentially dealing with a Democratic conference where she lost six of her close colleagues in favor of much more liberal Democrats, Savino said she's not worried.

"I won't be a person who hangs the Senate up," she said.

But she also said she won't go out of her way to forge relationships with the new members.

"They need to feel comfortable working with me," she said. "It's the other way around. I am a senior member of this body. I have more than 115 laws chaptered. They need to worry about how to develop a relationship with me."

She added that "I would hope that people understand the state is a very big place. The potential incoming members, they have to remember we are a large state.

"This is a job you talk your way into. Once you are in it , you need to shut up. You need to shut your mouth and listen and engage with people and learn more about the state. The center of the world is not New York City. Take the time to work with colleagues and learn about what happens in their part of the word."

First elected in 2004, Savino wouldn't say how much longer she plans to stay in the Senate, though she said she still has things she wants to accomplish such as legalizing physician assisted suicide and the recreational use of marijuana by adults.

She also didn't rule out a potential run for city Public Advocate next year should Letitia James, who is currently in the role, win her bid for attorney general in November.

"If Tish James wins and we (the Democrats) have a functioning workable majority in the Senate or if we're still in the minority, I can make some decisions. It's good to have options in life," Savino said.

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