New York state Republicans are working together with breakaway Democrats in the state Senate. Syracuse-area Republican Sen. John DeFrancisco says it’s a relationship that worked in the past, though it's different this year.
Two years ago Republicans faced the proposition of being the minority party in the state Senate, so they struck up a deal to share power with the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a group of five breakaway Democrats.
The relationship allowed the GOP to be a player in Albany politics, even though they were in the minority, and gave the breakaway Democrats the opportunity to have a bigger say in the Senate, which had been dominated by New York City-area lawmakers.
Even though Republicans regained their majority in the Senate last November, they agreed this week to continue working with the Independent Democrats. DeFrancisco says even though it would seem that Senate Republicans don’t need the IDC anymore, the relationship offers a lesson in lawmakers working together.
"Nowadays, people are more happy with bipartisan government -- people of like mind,” DeFrancisco said. “Obviously you couldn’t have joint leadership with democrats whose philosophies are totally different. We’re fighting on issues. But those whose philosophies are the same, if you have Republicans and Democrats, the results are more credible. And people, I believe, think it’s how government should work.”
DeFrancisco says the relationship is also important because it allows a better balance between upstate and downstate interests.
