For top N.Y. lawmaker, a test of leadership after arrest

ALBANY, N.Y. — Through five governors, six Senate leaders, sexual-harassment scandals and more, Sheldon Silver has endured.

For 20 years, the Manhattan Democrat has exerted his influence as New York Assembly speaker, cementing his status as a master of sharp-elbowed legislative negotiations and one of the most powerful figures the Capitol has seen.

In the wake of his arrest Thursday on a five-count criminal complaint accusing Silver of using his influence to pocket $6 million from private law firms — including $4 million amounting to bribes — without providing legal services in return, Silver faces a leadership test Monday.

He's weathered criticism of his handling of sexual-abuse complaints and an attempt at a coup, ruthlessly punishing his Democratic colleagues who unsuccessfully tried to organize his ouster 15 years ago.

The corruption case is the culmination of years of questions surrounding Silver's work with a prominent outside law firm, and it threatens to shine a light on the dark corners of New York's oft-criticized laws regulating legislators who collect salaries from private employers with business before the state.

A LIBERAL LION

For years, Silver — who maintains he will be vindicated — has been revered by his supporters and reviled by his foes.

He's known as the Capitol's leading progressive voice, long supporting issues like an increase in the minimum wage and allowing the passage of same-sex marriage in the Assembly for years before it was finally signed into law in 2011.

In 1994, he first took over the role of speaker, the top job in the state Assembly. It gave him a seat at the negotiating table as one of Albany's "three men in a room" — referring to the speaker, Senate leader and governor, who hash out details of all major budget deals and legislative agreements before they're put to the legislature for a vote.

His staunch support for his members — even when they faced their own troubles — cemented his place as his caucus' trusted leader.

That reputation has worked to his benefit, most recently Thursday, when Assembly Democrats emerged from a 90-minute, closed-door meeting to pledge their support for Silver continuing as speaker as he works his way through the legal process.

PREVIOUS SCANDALS

There's precedent in having an indicted lawmaker continue as speaker.

In 1991, then-Assemblyman Mel Miller, a Brooklyn Democrat, held on to the speaker post after he was indicted as part of his role in a real-estate deal. When he was convicted in December that year, Miller was forced from office; the conviction was later overturned on appeal.

Silver also has garnered a reputation as being unafraid to punish political foes.

When Syracuse-area Assemblyman Michael Bragman unsuccessfully tried to rally support for a leadership coup in 2000, Silver stripped Bragman of the title of majority leader and the perks that come with it while demoting others who supported him.

"(Silver's) thing is to control everything and everybody," said former Assemblyman David Koon, a Democrat from Fairport, N.Y., who supported Bragman.

LEADERSHIP TEST

On Monday, Silver is expected to meet his 106-member Democratic conference behind closed doors.

The rumblings were growing through the weekend that some potential successors were checking the landscape to see whether they could secure enough votes if Silver were to bow out.

Silver has held such power over the conference over the past 20 years, any potential hopeful would need to tread lightly for fear it could backfire.

"There' s a rule. If you can't kill the king, you don't shoot at him," Miller told the Wall Street Journal last week.

All the editorials calling for Silver's resignation from the post he's held since 1994 isn't expected to sway him, members surmised. Newspapers and critics have been calling for his ouster for years for the variety of scandals that have hit Albany and his conference.

"My expectation, knowing Shelly Silver, is that, you know, he's unflappable," Assemblyman Jeff Aubry, a Democrat from Queens, told the Associated Press. "So he'll roll on and do the job as long as he needs to do the job."

Since 62 members of the Democratic conference are from New York City, it would be difficult for an upstate legislator to become speaker. There hasn't been one from upstate since 1959.

If any upstate Democrat could pull off a run for speaker, it would be Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, from Irondequoit, N.Y., currently second in command.

If Silver bows out, Morelle could look to build a coalition of upstate and some New York City members to be elected speaker. And some Republicans also probably would vote for him.

"Can Joe Morelle be the speaker? The answer is yes," said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic strategist. "He's well regarded by the members. Shelly is well regarded by the members. If Shelly resigns, a quick decision is going to have to be made. The only issue is that Morelle needs a unified conference and if the downstate members split up, it's not impossible."

Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, a Republican from Rensselaer, N.Y., said Thursday that Republicans and Democrats should work together and elect a new speaker.

He said Morelle has the respect on both sides of the aisle, and upstate members should support someone from their region. The next speaker would need at least 76 votes.

"I've always had high regard for Joe Morelle. I think he would be outstanding as far as being able to work in a bipartisan way," McLaughlin said. "I would assume 44 of us could get behind Joe Morelle, for example, and then combine that up with 32 Democratic votes and that would work for me."

Campbell and Spector also report for Gannett Albany (N.Y.) bureau.