To most Albany Democrats, Darrel Aubertine’s win was an opportunity to crow about the Senate. The blue tide was at their backs, they said. They were on a roll, their control of the chamber assured by Jan. 1, 2009, if not before.

To Silver, Aubertine’s win was another reason to brag about the Assembly. Once again, his conference had been the farm system for his party, he said. While others were talking up the success of the Senate Democrats, Silver said he viewed the win as another reason to be proud of his own members.

He refused to gloat. He refused to take a swipe at Bruno or the Republican agenda. With months to go until the next elections, he refused to say outright whether he wants to see the Senate majority change hands.

“I’ve been a Democrat. I’ve been supportive of Democrats. I want Democrats to win every seat in every local legislative body possible. That’s clear; my record will show that,” he said.

Though this would logically make him support the Democratic takeover, Silver said that at this point he is not interested in talking politics.

“There’s a time for governing,” he said. “We’re now in the governing cycle.”

With Troopergate and two hotly-contested Senate special elections in 13 months—and two that put entrenched Republican seats in Democratic hands—governing without politics may have become a forgotten art in Albany. And though most expect the situation to intensify, as more Democrats announce their candidacies and fundraising picks up for both parties, Silver said he disagrees.

“I think you will see a step back,” he said.



Silver often likens the Democratic conference to a union. He is the shop steward, he says, a pure functionary and representative of his members’ collective will. Going into the months ahead in Albany, he says he plans to do only as they want.

But what they want, according to several members, is to see him use the fight over the Senate to his and their advantage with the budget and legislation. Where otherwise there might have been more compromises, Assembly Democrats are looking to be more assertive about their agenda.

“We’ll be more aggressive,” Assembly Member Sam Hoyt (D-Erie) said of the budget battle ahead. “There are some strong opinions about the budget pro and con, and I don’t think there’re many Democrats in the Assembly who are prepared to say pass that budget as proposed.”

But the budget will be just the beginning of what the Democratic conference is likely to lean on Silver to demand, said Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan). Silver’s members will be looking for more funding for public schools, higher education and healthcare, Espaillat said, but they will also be reluctant to compromise on provisions of their bills.

“If we go into conference committees, given the political situation confronting the Senate and the Assembly, we in the Assembly will be in a better position to negotiate this time around,” he said. “Clearly, you can negotiate better when you’ve got a weaker counterpart.”

Plus, Espaillat predicted, endangered Senate Republicans interested in appealing to Democratic voters may simply introduce Assembly bills in the Senate, giving the Assembly Democrats even more of a lead in passing their agenda into law this session.

“There’s no question that the slim majority in the Senate opens the window to opportunities,” Espaillat said.

Characteristically, Silver avoids revealing where he stands on many major issues. Wicks Law may be reconsidered this year. Article X, too. Perhaps. He would like to see more movement on a public campaign finance system, on which he introduced a bill 20 years ago, and on Ground Zero redevelopment, which would transform a huge part of his district. The time for universal pre-kindergarten, he says, has come. The Assembly will keep funding for its priorities in the budget, he said, even if that means tossing out some of the governor’s or the Senate’s.

Silver remains non-committal on New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s congestion pricing proposal, which the Legislature must approve by March 31 if the city is to qualify for federal funding. Especially with the stark forecast in the MTA’s five-year draft capital plan, he believes that first priority should go to the projects which were initiated first—including the Fulton Street Transit Center, which is in his district, the Second Avenue Subway, which ends in his district, and East Side access to the Long Island Rail Road.

But, he insists, he supports government intervention on congestion. That sets him apart from many of his colleagues who will eventually have a vote on Bloomberg’s plan, he says.

“I would say I’m significantly in the minority among all those elected officials in recognizing that something has to get done,” he said, “whether it’s the mayor’s plan or something else.”

Other options, he says, may not have been sufficiently explored.

But he will be careful not to overplay his hand.

“There’s no guarantee that the other party, whichever way we go, would approve it,” he said. “And it takes three to tango. You can’t have two without the third one.”

One more seat—or two, depending on who is interpreting the State Constitution—and the Democrats will hold the majority in the upper chamber for the first time in four decades. Silver declines to say whether he will miss serving alongside Bruno, letting loose only that there are many people he has served with over the years. Former Gov. Mario Cuomo, he said, had a fiery intelligence that has been lacking in Albany.

Life without Bruno may come, and soon. But until it does, Silver says he will not speculate on what that might mean for him, for the Senate, or for life in the Capitol overall.

“We’ll deal with that when it comes,” he said.  

He doubts, though, it will come before November, despite Democratic efforts to grab control early by winning another potential special election or flipping one of the GOP members.

If the Democrats do take the majority, Senate Minority leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) will be in line for Bruno’s chair.

Asked whether he thinks Smith would do well as leader, Silver again avoids a definitive answer.

“He’s been doing fine as minority leader,” Silver said.

Some have speculated that Smith might face a challenge for the job of majority leader. Whether out of some interest in this speculation, or a characteristic unwillingness to make public commitments before forced, Silver declines to say whether he thinks Smith has what it takes to be a good majority leader.

“I think there are a lot of people who have the stuff,” he said. “If his members decide to elect him, I’m sure he’ll be able to do the job.”
As for the Assembly Democrats re-electing him as speaker, Silver said he is confident in his chances. Change may be in the air in Albany, but Silver, who is one of the longest-serving speakers—the longest-serving Democrat, he points out—is, at 64, just getting started.

The speaker avoids straight answers about many things, but not when confronted with the whispers that a Democratic takeover in the Senate might get some thinking about a coup against him. Asked whether he is concerned about being forced from power, Silver answers quickly and forcefully.

“Not at all,” he said.

But that is all months down the line. First, there is a budget to pass—and by the March 31 deadline, he hopes—and a lot of legislation to settle. He issues another vague and indirect warning.

“Having a timely budget and addressing the needs of the people ultimately comes into the political season,” he said. “If you don’t get the results of accomplishing these things, the political process will punish you as an elected official.”

When the time finally does come for him to consider politics, the fate of the Senate Democrats will not be foremost in his mind. He has his own re-election to worry about—though, despite his two primary challengers, he remains fairly confident.

That could leave him with time to spare in the fall. If necessary, he said, he will use some of it to campaign for his own senator, Martin Connor (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn). Campaigning for other Democratic Senate candidates is not on the agenda.  

That, after all, is not part of his job.

“I believe my function is, number one, to campaign for Sheldon Silver,” he said, “and number two, for the Democratic members of the Assembly.”