Skelos reelected, but leadership in question

The New York State Senate Democrats picked up five seats as a result of Tuesday’s election, resulting in a 33 to 30 seat majority. The change of the balance of power unseats Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a strong advocate for Long Island and a close friend to the Five Towns Jewish Community. According to Michael Murphy, Senate Democratic Press Secretary, the following seats were won by Democrats: In SD #15, Senator Joe Addabbo, who represents the Rockaway Peninsula, was reelected defeating City Councilman Eric Ulrich; Westchester’s George Lattimer defeated Bob Cohen; Rochester’s Ted O’Brien defeated Sean Hanna; Terry Gipson won the seat in a three way race in Poughkeepsie; and lastly, in a newly created seat, Cecilia Tkaczyk beat George Amedore. At the time of press, Cecelia Tkaczyk was up by 160 votes with a few thousand absentee ballots to be counted (Historically, absentee ballots generally follow the voting trend).

Another factor in the mix is the Independent Democratic Caucus, which was formed in January 2011. The group of four legislators that votes with both sides of the aisle--could play a pivotal role in a divided Senate.