Dec 10, 2008 11:06 am US/Eastern
Smith: Deal Off With Dissident Senate Democrats
ALBANY (AP) ―
New York Senate Democratic leader Malcom Smith says any deal with three dissidents meant to secure his party's hold on the chamber majority is officially off.
Smith said has the support of the Democratic Caucus and that he has ceased negotiations with the three: Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. and Sen.-elect Pedro Espada Jr., both of the Bronx, and Sen. Carl Kruger of Brooklyn.
Their support would give the party a 32-30 majority beginning Jan. 1 after decades of Republican control.
Smith says "personal interests" motivated the three renegades, but he's willing to talk to them individually and to any Republican senators that support the Democratic reform and transparency agendas.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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