Undecided races may thwart Andrew Cuomo's agenda

ALBANY - Andrew Cuomo's drive to tackle the budget deficit, job creation and other thorny issues in his first weeks as governor could be derailed if uncertainty over control of the State Senate drags on well into the new year, experts said.

Three races are still too close to call nearly three weeks after Election Day, and the specter of lengthy recounts of all ballots was raised again last Friday as more alleged voting irregularities were discovered in Buffalo. Moreover, the political parties disagree over whether recounts would have to be completed by Dec. 31, the deadline for settling lawsuits set by New York's chief judge.

The Senate will not be able to organize at the Jan. 5 start of the legislative session if the three races are unresolved. Neither party now has the 32 seats necessary for a majority in the 62-member upper chamber.

Of Cuomo's predecessors, those who were most successful moved quickly after their first inauguration on Jan. 1 to secure passage of important bills fulfilling campaign promises. At the start, many used their electoral mandate to successfully push changes in January and February that often were opposed by powerful groups.

"Early on is the time he [a new governor] has to get it done because the longer somebody is in office, the less afraid the legislature is of them," said Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. The center studies state legislatures.

Past gubernatorial aides agreed. David Catalfamo, who worked for Gov. George Pataki, said governors accomplish the most in their first year, and that requires both legislative houses to be organized in January so bills can be adopted.

"The ability to put out your agenda, to use the political capital that you've accrued through winning by a large margin - you want to put that to work," he said. "And it really could be dissipated if there is chaos in the Senate."

Cuomo acknowledged as much in successfully requesting a quick resolution of lawsuits stemming from the undecided races in Nassau, Westchester and Buffalo. "If these cases are not fast-tracked . . . some or all of them may take months to resolve and delays of that length could cripple the orderly operations of the legislature," Cuomo wrote on Nov. 17 to Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman.

Cuomo added he was concerned state government would be incapable "of addressing the grave problems that lay before us." The most urgent of these is a $9-billion deficit in the budget due April 1.

Senate races haven't been decided until February in some cases, though control of the chamber was never in doubt and bill passage occurred. Last year, in the longest undecided race since 1929, Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Jamaica Estates) wasn't sworn in until Feb. 15, 5 1/2 weeks after the session had begun.

Echoing Cuomo, officials of both parties said they want to help him quickly tackle New York's problems. "Senate Democrats should stop dragging their feet and allow this process to conclude quickly so we can address the people's priorities of creating jobs and cutting spending and taxes," said Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre).

Austin Shafran, an aide to Democratic chief John Sampson of Brooklyn, replied, "We believe there should be a timely process to ensure every vote is fully and fairly counted, voters aren't disenfranchised and New Yorkers have a government ready to work for them in the new year."

However, Shafran added "a full hand recount may be the only mechanism that gets us an honest and accurate count" in the Buffalo race between incumbent Democrat Antoine Thompson and Republican Mark Grisanti because of problems with ballot scanners.

If the legislature is in disarray, Cuomo will likely use his executive powers to enact some of his agenda, experts said, because he cannot risk being held hostage by gridlock and thereby undercut his popularity.

"After two successive bad governors," said Jamie P. Chandler, a Hunter College political scientist, "to now have another big problem . . . wouldn't bode well for Cuomo."

Delayed winners

Because their races were too close to call, two state senators in recent times were not sworn in until a month or so after the legislative session had begun in the first week of January.

2004 Election

(35th Senate district in Yonkers and Westchester County)

Sen. Nick Spano (R) defeats Andrea Stewart-

Cousins (D) by 18 votes out of 114,128 cast.

Spano is sworn in Feb. 9, 2005.

2008 Election

(11th Senate district in Queens)

Sen. Frank Padavan (R) defeats

James F. Gennaro (D) by 483 votes

out of 103,000 cast. Padavan is

sworn in Feb. 15, 2009.

- Compiled by James T. Madore

SOURCE: NYS Senate and Board of Elections