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Battle of the Branches
At the turn of the 20th Century, Gov. Theodore Roosevelt (R) was basically run out of town and into the vice presidency because of his battles with the Legislature and party bosses.
“Inevitably the two branches of government will have disagreements,” said Democratic political consultant Evan Stavisky.
While no one has tried to move Eliot Spitzer to Washington—yet—the recent battles have prompted memories of some of the more recent battles for power in the Capitol.
In 1993, Albany was in the middle of another fight over filling the comptroller’s office, with then-Board of Education President Carl McCall battling former City Council President Carol Bellamy for the post. Gov. Mario Cuomo (D) started to flex his muscle in trying to sway legislative opinion, when then Lt. Gov. Stan Lundine received a call from the late Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin (D-Queens).
“The speaker indicated that he had the votes,” Lundine said. “The speaker called me and said to hold the governor off.”
Lundine noted that Cuomo recognized the Legislature’s supremacy in the fight and held off further involvement. Ironically, McCall—who was Cuomo’s choice as well—ultimately got Weprin’s support.
The events and aftermath of the selection of Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (D) this year were somewhat different.
“I can’t blame the governor for being upset,” Lundine said, while adding, “he might have gone overboard in singling out individual legislators with his wrath.”
Stavisky notes this is not the first time a Democratic Assembly has defied a Democratic governor. In 1975, during the city’s fiscal crisis, Gov. Hugh Carey (D) vetoed a bill sponsored by Stavisky’s father, then-Assembly Member Leonard Stavisky (D-Queens), to prevent the cuts in the city school budget Carey was seeking. The newly Democratic Assembly overrode the veto, the first time an override had happened in Albany in 106 years.
The post-Watergate era of openness in Albany and empowerment of the Legislature helped the Legislature move past the era when Gov. Nelson Rockefeller dominated state government with an iron fist.
State Sen. Dale Volker (R-Erie County) was a novice Assembly Member in 1973, when a displeased Rockefeller almost ran head first into him. Volker likes to tell a story of a night walking down State Street in the midst of a disagreement with Rockefeller over legislation. Volker saw a car following him and jump the curb, and Rockefeller came out and pinned Volker against a wall, threatening his reelection chances if he didn’t change his vote. Volker did lose his 1974 reelection, but was elected to the Senate in a 1975 special election.
And sometimes the breakdowns have come on the floor of the Legislature. In 1971, then Senate Majority Leader Earl Brydges (R-Niagara County), a fiercely pro-life politician, consented to a floor vote on a bill to legalize abortion in the state. Brydges allowed the bill, which had passed the Assembly and had the support of Rockefeller, to come to the floor believing it would be voted down and the issue would be dead in the state.
On the day of the vote, abortion proponents had succeeded in turning enough senators that the bill passed by one vote, over Brydges’ objections.
According to published reports, following the passage, Brydges—a close Rockefeller ally—sat in his chair on the Senate floor and wept.
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