CBS 2 News This Morning

ALBANY (CBS) ― A day after a coup by Republicans and two dissident Democrats shut down New York's Senate, a Brooklyn Democrat says the party has decided to fight for control.

After a furious series of meetings overnight between political leaders and lawyers, Sen. Kevin Parker says the Democratic conference has vowed to retake the chamber.

Meanwhile, Senate committees were not expected to meet Tuesday and there was no legislative session scheduled.

Democratic Gov. David Paterson isn't so confident that his party can regain control. He admits there's little he can do to determine Senate leadership.

Republicans and the two renegade Democrats, say they'll run the Senate.

The Senate shakeup could affect everything from mayoral education to property taxes to the battle over same-sex marriage in New York.

Those far away from Albany's political struggle are going to feel the shift in power. In the two weeks left before their scheduled vacation, legislators are supposed to be deciding on these issues brought to the forefront by the democratic agenda.

The decision by senators Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens to join the coalition gave Republicans a 32-30 voting edge on hastily introduced measures that changed the leadership structure.

Neither Espada nor Monserrate changed party affiliation.

Democrats held the Senate for barely five months after being out of power for four decades.

Shortly after the coup, Republicans named Espada temporary president of the Senate and Republican Dean Skelos of Nassau County vice president and majority leader. Skelos was majority leader in 2008.

Those are the most powerful positions in the chamber. With them, the bipartisan coalition can direct legislation and reassign committee and leadership posts.

While June is traditionally the busiest month for legislatures to pass bills, now how state Senators will vote is unknown.

"I should be standing here right now talking to you about the issues the people need Albany to address. But once again, Albany's dysfunction has raised its ugly head," said New York Governor David Paterson on Monday.

"We should be talking about whether or not were going to have marriage equality, whether there will be more choices for women or healthier choices for children," added Paterson in an evening news conference held after the Albany shakeup. "But that has been taken from us by those who said that something was secret but now their secret has shut the government functions down."

During Mayor Michael Bloomberg's mayoral reign he has had control of the Board of Education, but that could also change. State deadline for mayoral control and the budget, including a proposed sales tax increase, are both June 30.

On Tuesday, Bloomberg addressed the potential power shift in Albany.

"Albany is going to work out their own problems, and what I'm going to do is worry about New York City and how we interface with the state and what we need from the state," said Bloomberg.

"Nothing's changed and we need to have mayoral control of the schools renewed, we need to have the ability to change the tax structure so that we can pay our civil servant workers, the 300 thousand people that make the city go, and there's a whole variety of other things we need from them as well."

"Engine reform is another thing that's going to bankruptcy unless we do...but my hope is that they'll straighten this out one way or another and we'll continue to make sure that we adress the needs that the city has, and we'll see how it plays out."

Some in Albany say it is too soon to ride off Bloomberg and Paterson's plans because there are still 8 days left in the legislative session.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

WCBSTV.com Popular Pages

• Go! New York For A Healthy Lifestyle
• Got Wit? Play CBS 2's Caption Game!
• 20 Questions
• Celebrities On Twitter
• Celebrity Real Names Revealed
• When It Was Out To Be Out
• Hilarious Movie Blunders
• World's Coolest Fighter Jets