State Senate Democrats will unleash a “fierce campaign’’ to oust Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos if, as many Democrats and even some Republicans expect, the GOP lawmaker is indicted by US Attorney Preet Bharara on corruption charges, The Post has learned.
The ouster effort, in the planning for weeks, would use Skelos’ indictment as a springboard for an all-out attack on Republicans as a lead-up to what is expected to be a close battle next year for control of the Senate, sources said.
As part of that planned effort, Senate Democrats have enlisted the services of at least one photographer to take pictures of Skelos with other Senate Republicans, who could be damaged by the images in political advertising if Skelos is indicted, it was learned.
Republican senators have been avoiding being seen in public with Skelos, insiders said.
Democrats also hope that an aggressive effort to oust Skelos will help them cast off their own series of embarrassing scandals that saw former Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) convicted on corruption charges in January and will see former Majority Leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) tried for corruption in June.
“If Dean is indicted, as we expect, there’ll be a fierce campaign to get him to step down as leader, as [indicted former Assembly Speaker] Shelly Silver was forced to do,’’ said a source close to Senate Democrats.
“This will be an opportunity to gain the initiative and, hopefully, gain the majority in the Senate next year,’’ the source continued.
A senior Senate Republican also told The Post, “I expect Dean will be indicted, and if he is, he can’t stay on as leader.’’
Skelos, of Nassau County, has been the subject of an intense investigation by Bharara, who is looking into the senator’s private law practice and the possibility he used his official position to influence the awarding of a Nassau storm cleanup contract to a company that employed his son, Adam.
Maneuvering by Republicans to succeed Skelos as majority leader has been going on for weeks.
Early out of the gate was Southern Tier Sen. Catharine Young, head of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, as well as Long Island delegation favorite Sen. John Flanagan of East
Northport, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman John DeFrancisco of Syracuse.
Gov. Cuomo’s refusal Friday to endorse Democratic City Councilman Vincent Gentile in the special election for Congress to represent Staten Island and part of Brooklyn shocked many prominent state Democrats, leading one to charge, “All Cuomo cares about is himself.’’
The governor claimed the refusal resulted from his policy of leaving “local races to the localities,’’ but he had, in fact, endorsed Democratic challenger Domenic Recchia Jr. last fall in his unsuccessful race against Republican Rep. Michael Grimm, who later resigned after pleading guilty to felony tax fraud.
“Gentile did something to really offend the governor. He wasn’t sufficiently loyal, and this is the payback,’’ said a prominent Democrat who knows both men.
A group of angry conservative activists in Westchester and Dutchess counties is threatening to run primary challenges against newly elected Republican Sens. Sue Serino of Hyde Park and
Terrence Murphy of Yorktown after becoming convinced they’ve reneged on promises to fight to slash spending, repeal the anti-gun SAFE Act, and roll back the controversial Common Core curriculum.
The group, led by Poughkeepsie-based IBM employee Christopher Zaleski, helped elect both lawmakers and now “plans to target one or two of the new senators with real strong primaries and real strong candidates, fund them and work for them and, if they can’t beat them in a primary, throw their support to the Democrat, regardless of the consequences,’’ said a Republican official familiar with the effort.
“They want to send a message that they will not tolerate lip service anymore. They demand action, or else it really doesn’t matter who is technically in charge of the Senate, Republicans or Democrats,’’ the official continued.