You’re welcome, Sheldon Silver.
The Assembly speaker took issue with The Post’s editorial Thursday, which suggested that he saw no urgency in holding special elections for the state Legislature’s 11 vacant seats because the newly elected members wouldn’t be there before the April 1 deadline for the state budget — and there’s not much else to do after.
“Once the budget is enacted,” Silver had said, “there isn’t a lot else” for legislators to do “between now and the end of the year.” The governor, who by law decides whether or not to call a special election, has likewise been hesitant, citing the cost.
No sooner did our editorial appear than Silver started singing an entirely different tune. Maybe it was because The Post added that if there’s really so little work for our elected representatives to do besides the budget, we should cut our state legislators’ pay and the time they spend in Albany.
The next day, Silver pressed Gov. Cuomo to call those elections, noting that many of the seats are from “underserved communities.” And he suddenly remembered legislators do have work beyond the budget.
“Members of the Assembly and Senate work hard throughout the year serving their constituents, both in their communities and in Albany during session,” he said. “We have many important issues to consider, and a strong democracy demands that New York conduct special elections as soon as possible.”
So count us delighted we’ve helped persuade the Democrat who presides over the Legislature’s lower house of the value of democracy in New York’s politics. We’re still waiting for the Democrat in the governor’s mansion to do likewise.