ALBANY – Complaining about “self-serving politics,” Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith yesterday abruptly walked away from a power-sharing deal he had brokered last week with the “Gang of Three” rogue Democrats.
“New York state cannot afford the type of self-serving politics that are being proposed,” said Smith, a Queens Democrat, flanked by fellow Dems Liz Krueger of Manhattan and Neil Breslin of Albany.
“Frankly, we would rather wait to take charge of the Senate than to serve the interest of a few.”
To that, dissident Democrat Pedro Espada Jr. of The Bronx responded that Smith “is not a ready-for-prime-time leader.”
The collapse throws leadership of the 62-seat Senate into chaos a month before the start of a legislative session in which state leaders will confront a $15 billion deficit.
The pact would have given Espada and another dissident, Sen. Carl Kruger of Brooklyn, powerful leadership posts in exchange for their votes in support of Smith as Senate boss.
Without both men, as well as ally Ruben Diaz Sr. of The Bronx, the Senate Democrats can’t take control of the chamber.