Sources tell NY1 that Republican State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos is threatening to resign his seat if his colleagues insist that he gives up his leadership post, a move that would throw the Senate into chaos because the Republicans would no longer hold a majority and could lose control of the chamber. Zack Fink filed the following report.
Since being charged with six counts of federal corruption Monday, Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos has not only maintained his innocence but has refused to consider calls from some of his colleagues that he step aside from his leadership role.
On Tuesday, he was defiant in telling reporters he will remain as majority leader, and now, sources tell NY1 that Skelos is all but holding himself hostage politically, threatening to resign his seat if fellow Republicans try to force him out.
"It's really unfortunate that Senator Skelos would go that way, but I think, though, to some extent, it shows the nature of his character," said Republican consultant Bill O'Reilly. "And I hate to say that, but you don't do this kind of thing."
If Skelos resigns from the Senate, Republicans lose their numeric majority. Thirty-two seats are needed to control the chamber. If Skelos resigns, they would have just 31. Moreover, one of those 31 senators, Tom Libous of Binghamton, the number two Republican in the Senate, is ill and cannot come to the chamber to vote. Libous is also under indictment on separate corruption charges.
With Skelos gone, Republicans would be forced to make a deal with either the Democrats or the five-member Independent Democratic Conference, who they formed a coalition with the last two sessions in 2013.
"The New York Republican Party is a minority party," O'Reilly said. "It needs to be two things in order to survive in New York State. It has to be a party of principle, and it has to be a party of reform. And right now, it's neither."
Regardless of what Skelos does, there are still discussions underway about a possible successor. Some favor John Flanagan of Long Island. Others want John DeFrancesco of Syracuse. The two camps have divided Senate Republicans between upstate and downstate.
"There's always a pull between upstate and downstate," said Republican consultant O'Brien Murray. "That's a common thread that goes through politics in New York, whether it be Democrats or Republicans. You have city Democrats, Long Island Republicans, upstate Republicans."
In a comparable situation, earlier this year, when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was charged with corruption, he, too, initially resisted giving up his post. He did not do so until he was informed that he had lost the confidence of a majority of the Democratic Conference.