Assembly Democrats ask Silver to step down

ALBANY – Assembly Democrats said late Monday that Speaker Sheldon Silver should resign or face being voted out of the post he's held for 20 years.

After a five-hour session behind closed doors, Assembly Democrats emerged and said a consensus of them want Silver to step down as speaker after he was charged Thursday in a kickback scheme.

"I think the consensus is that the speaker cannot continue as speaker," said Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, D-New City, Rockland County.

But Democrats left the meeting without resolution on who would succeed Silver, a sign of just how powerful he had become since he's held the top post since 1994. The 106-member Assembly Democratic conference planned to meet again Tuesday at noon to discuss their next options, and there was no immediate word from Silver on what he would do.

Members made it clear, though, they want him out.

"There is a very strong opinion that he should, in fact, step down," Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, D-Binghamton, said.

Democrats first met in small groups in their legislative offices, then as a larger conference in the Capitol and then finally for less than an hour with Silver himself.

Then Silver finally left. The Manhattan Democrat retreated to his office as the conference continued to debate Silver's fate. Members said he told them that he was innocent of the charges, but he understood the distraction he's caused, and he would leave his future in their hands.

"I stand with many of my colleagues in the belief that the time has come for Speaker Silver to step down as speaker, so that this house may move forward with the work we were elected to do," said Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, D-Hudson, Columbia County, who represents part of Poughkeepsie.

It was an extraordinary scene at the Capitol, one not seen since 2009 -- when the Senate was embroiled in its own leadership coup.

The pressure was on Silver throughout the day as some Democrats said he should no longer serve as speaker. A deal struck late Sunday that would shift the Manhattan Democrat's power to a five-member delegation of Assembly Democrats was unraveling by Monday afternoon, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and a caucus of suburban lawmakers casting doubt on its effectiveness.

Late Monday morning, 17 Democrats from the Hudson Valley and Long Island huddled in private, emerging to say they have formed a "suburban caucus" to oppose Silver's planned leadership structure.

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin -- who led the suburban effort -- said she wanted to see Silver "step aside" and cede his duties to his second-in-command, Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle of Irondequoit, Monroe County, on an interim basis. Morelle would automatically take on the speaker duties if Silver resigned, but New York City members -- who have a majority of the members -- have indicated that they want someone from the city in the job.

"We're not happy with the five-person (leadership) coalition," said Paulin, D-Scarsdale, Westchester County. "We believe the body can't function that way, and we're going to the conference as a group to say that."

About 30 Democrats held a news conference Thursday as a show of support for Silver, but that support began to erode over the weekend. Lawmakers have becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Silver leading their ranks, and they were facing growing pressure from constituents to cut ties with him.

By Monday morning, powerful Assemblyman Keith Wright, D-Manhattan, called on Silver to resign as speaker, saying it is "the only appropriate thing to do." Silver is the longest-serving leader currently in Albany and among its most influential. He's one year from being the longest-serving speaker in state history.

Silver sought to retain influence in Albany when he helped broker the deal Sunday night that would let him keep the title as speaker -- and its $41,500 annual stipend -- if he relinquished day-to-day control to the five-member caucus, which would consist of four New York City lawmakers and Morelle.

But the deal was being rebuked by members, who feared it wouldn't alleviate public pressure on them to dump Silver. At a news conference Monday afternoon, Cuomo raised concern over whether such an arrangement would work.

"To the extent, I have to interact with the Assembly, management by committee I've never been a fan of and I've never seen it work well," Cuomo said in Manhattan.

Morelle, who led the pro-Silver news conference on Thursday, would not say Monday whether he still supports Silver. He was seen moving from room to room in the Legislative Office Building in Albany meeting with various lawmakers, including the suburban caucus.

"We're just talking to members and gauging what their sentiments are on how to move forward," Morelle said Monday afternoon.

Lawmakers said privately that they were concerned Silver's arrest, which alleges he received more than $4 million in kickbacks from law firms in exchange for exerting his influence in real-estate deals and asbestos cases, would be too much of a distraction heading into budget negotiations with Cuomo.

A day before Silver's arrest, Cuomo proposed a $142 billion state budget, and lawmakers face a March 31 deadline to have an agreed-upon spending plan in place.

Republicans slammed any deal that would keep Silver in power.

"If he's not going to be the speaker, then they need to name someone that's a spokesperson for the conference," Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, Monroe County, told Gannett's Albany Bureau. "You can't have five people negotiating things. They have to make a decision about him stepping down."

JSPECTOR@Gannett.com

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