Democrat Tom Duane, the sponsor of the Senate's marriage equality bill, is thought to be considering defecting to the majority coalition if it will get his legislation passed, the NYT reports:
"Even as Democrats pursued a range of options — both legal and political — to remain in power, members of the new leadership coalition were claiming that more Democratic senators would soon defect. They characterized Democrats as being in a state of denial. 'The fork is in them,' said Steven Pigeon, the top political adviser to Tom Golisano, the billionaire from Rochester who helped broker the deal. 'I just think they haven't admitted it yet.'
Mr. Pigeon said that more Democrats would soon join the new political alliance, but he would not say which ones or how many.
One of the senators who is believed to be considering breaking ranks with the Senate Democratic conference, Thomas K. Duane of Manhattan, would not say where he planned to cast his political allegiance. 'I am not considering anything but trying to get passed all the legislation I've spent my whole life fighting for,' he said. Mr. Duane, who did not attend meetings with his Democratic colleagues on Tuesday, said he had spent all day in discussions with senators from both parties."
Meanwhile, the New York Daily News reports that former Majority Leader Malcolm Smith "clings to power" as Brooklyn Democrat John Sampson is rumored as the frontrunner for his leadership position.
