Albany Dems Huddle to Resolve Senate Leadership Spat

New York, NY —

Democrats in Albany will meet today to try to resolve an increasingly ugly dispute about who will control the State Senate. A deal with three dissident Democratic senators broke down this week.

ESPADA: My strong preference is to support a Democrat.

REPORTER: Bronx Senator-elect Pedro Espada is one of the three dissidents.

ESPADA: Unfortunately it is the lack of leadership exercised by Malcolm Smith that has allowed this to slip into this kind of abyss.

REPORTER: The leadership void in Albany comes at a bad time. Next week lawmakers will consider how to deal with a state budget that keeps getting worse.