In a place known for being ruled by an iron hand, the shocking uncertainty of a vote on gay marriage last week rattled New York’s Senate.
Senators would later herald Wednesday’s vote as a new model for democracy in Albany. But behind the scenes, the same old Albany politics of power and self-interest played out, contributing to the defeat of the bill to legalize gay marriage.
So uncertain was the outcome that supporters held a glimmer of hope through more than two hours of debate, until
they heard senators Joseph Addabbo and James Alesi — the first fence sitters to face the roll call vote — oppose the measure.
Those leaning — or in some cases privately promising — to vote for the measure, then stepped back into the opposition. That resulted in the surprisingly large gap of 14 votes, eight short of making New York the sixth and most populous state to legalize gay marriage. The debate was watched nationwide over the Senate’s webcast and groups opposed to gay marriage declared a major national victory.
“When they knew it wasn’t going to happen, they didn’t want to do it,” said one Democratic adviser close to supporters of the issue polarizing voters. “It wasn’t about right or wrong. It was about politics.”
“There were some people who didn’t live up to their word,” said another top Democratic adviser who worked closely with the senators. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak for the party.
It was a rare surprise in the traditional bizarre world of democracy in Albany, where only bills that have no chance of being defeated get debated, and where floor votes are foregone conclusions.
Clearly, the Senate was uncomfortable with the idea.
Just one opponent spoke, even as they were compared to slave owners and Nazis.
All 30 Republicans and seven of the eight Democrats voting against perhaps the most groundbreaking social policy bill in decades sat silently. After, most quickly evaded reporters and have continued to refuse public comment.
Sen. Ruben Diaz, a conservative minister from the Bronx who led the opposition, was backed up by his two “amigos,” Democrats Carl Kruger and Hiram Monserrate. Diaz has long said he had a deal with Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith to keep a gay marriage bill from the floor in exchange for “the three amigos” staying in the Democratic conference in January. They gave Democrats the 32-30 majority the party won in 2008, thanks in a large part to the votes, support and campaign contributions of gay rights groups.
Smith didn’t or couldn’t stop the bill from reaching the floor.
“It’s treason,” Diaz told the Senate.
Republicans had been released from their usual bloc voting to, as GOP Dean Skelos called it, vote their conscience. In the end, the bloc held, despite several Republicans in increasingly Democratic districts who were expected to make up for lost Democratic votes.
It’s being called the “Mike Long Factor.” He’s the state Conservative Party chairman. He underscored his influence in Republican politics when the Conservative in a special election for the 23rd Congressional District in November amassed so much GOP support that he forced the more moderate Republican nominee, who voted for gay marriage in the Assembly in May, to drop out.
“We made our message clear in the special election,” Long told The Associated Press. “I spoke with various legislators. Every legislator got our memo and we alerted all our leaders to lobby and discuss with their legislator the position of the party. It was loud and clear.”
Rarely does a Republican win a state race without the Conservative endorsement.
Most senators, however, insist the cynical view is overstated. As one Republican consultant said, this was an emotional issue, one for which New Yorkers in general may not be ready.
“I am a practicing Catholic, but it had nothing to do with my vote,” said Sen. George Maziarz, a Niagara County Republican who opposed the bill. “I think it’s more personal than anything else.”
Katherine Franke, Columbia University’s director of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, noted the bill came to the floor quickly, without hearings and committee meetings, as part of an agenda for an emergency session to address a fiscal crisis. Lawmakers already resented Gov. David Paterson for keeping them in Albany for four weeks and then he put gay marriage, his own top social policy goal, on the agenda.
“This gets shoehorned in,” she said. “It didn’t get the full airing it should have … which is unfortunately typical of the New York state Legislature.”
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.