Up next: Pols eye seat long held by Skelos

The conviction of former state Senator Dean Skelos creates a power vacuum in Albany, and also puts voters in the 9th Senate District in a unique position to determine the balance of power in the Capitol.

The district encompasses the Five Towns of Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Hewlett, Woodmere and Inwood, as well as his home base of Rockville Centre, Oceanside, Long Beach, Baldwin, Lynbrook, East Rockaway, Malverne and parts of Valley Stream, South Hempstead, Elmont and Franklin Square.

On Dec. 11, Skelos’s web page was removed, his name was scraped off his office door in Albany, his local office was closed and even his Facebook page was taken down. 

It was a major win for U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who has made fighting Albany corruption his main focus. 

Skelos’s removal leaves the 9th District without a direct representative for the time being. District residents can still call Skelos’s old offices to receive help on issues from his staffers, although the staffers won’t be able to send official letters on behalf of the constituents.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo will announce a special election to fill the vacancy. Many believe it will be on the same primary day in April when New Yorkers will vote for their party’s presidential favorites. Manhattan voters would also vote then to fill the vacancy left when former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was convicted of corruption just weeks ago.

Meanwhile, ot all is lost for Skelos. Sentencing has been scheduled for March, but his attorney, Robert Gage, said that he would file an appeal.

And according to the Empire Center for Public Policy, a nonpartisan Albany think tank, Skelos will still receive a pension of more than $95,000 a year.

A new balance of power?

With Skelos’s removal, the state Senate is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, with 31 members on each side of the aisle. Many Democrats currently caucus with Republicans, which will keep majority control with the GOP for now. But the special election will give a great deal of power to the voters of the 9th District. Electing a Democrat could shift the balance of power in Albany, while electing a Republican could help preserve the status quo.