Politics

Calls for ouster of NY Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver increase

January 26, 2015 By David Klapper & Michael Virtanen Associated Press

New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is transported by federal agents to federal court on Thursday. Silver, who has been one of the most powerful men in Albany for more than two decades, was arrested Thursday on public corruption charges. AP Photo/Seth Wenig

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ALBANY— New York state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was fighting to keep his grip on power Monday amid widening calls for his resignation in the wake of federal corruption charges.

Silver’s fate was unclear as Democratic lawmakers met behind closed doors to discuss the intrigue roiling the Capitol that threatens to end Silver’s 21-year tenure. He leads the Democratic Conference that has a dominant two-thirds majority in that chamber.

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin said a 17-member bloc of Democrats from the Hudson Valley and Long Island agrees that Silver should step down. They were not yet proposing a replacement as speaker, only that Majority Leader Joseph Morelle temporarily fill in.

“It’s the only thing we have to keep this institution on an even keel. And that’s our priority,” said Paulin, a legislator for 14 years from Westchester County. “We will be calling on the speaker to step aside so there can be a transition.”

Assemblyman Keith Wright of Harlem — mentioned as a possible contender for speaker — is the highest-profile Democrat so far to publicly call for Silver’s ouster.

“Based upon the extraordinarily disturbing events from last week, revelations and charges that will reverberate for months if not years to come, Sheldon Silver must resign as speaker immediately,” Wright said in an email to reporters.

Silver, D-Manhattan, was taken into custody Thursday morning by the FBI and was released later in the day on $200,000 bail. He faces five counts, including conspiracy and bribery, and is accused of using his position to obtain millions of dollars in kickbacks masked as legitimate income.

Silver has said he expects to be vindicated. In an effort to hold onto his position while he fights the charges, Silver has proposed temporarily ceding authority to a group of five top lawmakers.

Silver’s plan is to tap five senior colleagues to handle his duties: Morelle and Assembly members Herman “Denny” Farrell of Manhattan, Joseph Lentol of Brooklyn, Carl Heastie of the Bronx and Catherine Nolan of Queens.

“The speaker is not stepping down,” spokesman Michael Whyland said Sunday night. Silver’s proposed power-sharing arrangement “will give him the flexibility he needs so that he can defend himself against these charges,” Whyland said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo questioned how such an arrangement would work after a briefing Monday on the winter storm bearing down on the Northeast. He said he wasn’t sure how he would negotiate with a committee if five lawmakers take over from Silver.

“Management by committee, I’ve never been a fan of,” he said.

Paulin also said it wouldn’t work, questioning whether the five would meet daily and how they would solve disputes among Assembly Democrats.

Assemblyman Phil Steck, an Albany Democrat, said he was waiting to hear more details about Silver’s proposal. He said his main priority is avoiding dissension or a power vacuum heading into the Legislature’s budget negotiations with Cuomo and the Senate.

“Now is not the time for some sort of massive leadership fight,” he said.

The criminal complaint said there was probable cause to believe that Silver obtained about $4 million in payments characterized as attorney referral fees through the corrupt use of his official position as one of the state’s most powerful politicians.

Silver’s attorney, Joel Cohen, calls the charges “meritless.” Whyland said Silver is “confident that he will be found innocent.”