With new voter ballot scan machines, it took over one month to finally count all the ballots and declare all the winners in the State Senate races. The result is, after all that hard work in 2008 to finally win the majority (after 40 years of Republican control) State Senate Democrats have given back control of the State Senate to Republicans 32-30. Not only did they loose control; of the state house, but Democrats reelected the man who lead them to defeat Brooklyn Senator John Sampson as their leader.
Some will say it was Pedro Espada Jr that caused the loss to Republicans, while others will point to the AEG scandal at Aqueduct Race Track, and others will say it was newly elected governor Andrew Cuomo who did not do enough to help senate Democrats either win more seats or get reelected. As we predicted there were three new Democratic State Senators elected this year, one in Queens, one in Hudson Valley, and one in Buffalo. The flip side however was that Democratics lost five seats while gaining only three for a net loss of two seats, and control of the State Senate.
This will mean a loss of millions of dollars in member items to senate Democrats, as well as chairmanships of committees, as the party in power controls who gets what committee. Worse is that Republicans in the State Senate will control redistricting in 2011 on how State Senate districts will change. We have already heard that the 34th State Senate district (D-Jeff Klein) may change to include some of the area of former State Senator Frank Padavan's Republican stronghold, while dropping some heavy Democratic areas of the Bronx. This would then give Senator Klein a reason to run for that new proposed East Bronx congressional seat that may open up after redistricting
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