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Mostly Cloudy Skelos verdict may be calm before the storm
Special election will give 9th S.D. chance to change balance of power in Albany
The conviction of former Sen. 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.
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. Gov. Andrew Cuomo will announce a special election to fill the vacancy. Many believe it will be on the national primary day, the same day in April as the election that will fill the vacancy left when former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was convicted of corruption just weeks ago.
Not all is lost for Skelos, though. 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.
End of a legacy
Residents of the 9th District — which encompasses Rockville Centre, Oceanside, Long Beach, Baldwin, Lynbrook, East Rockaway, Malverne, Hewlett, Woodmere, Cedarhurst, Lawrence, Inwood and parts of Valley Stream, South Hempstead, Elmont and Franklin Square — can still call Skelos’s old offices to receive help on issues from his staffers, though they can’t send official letters. Concerns can also be emailed to district09@nysenate.gov.
The conviction brought a disgraceful end to Skelos’s more than 30 years in the Senate. He was well-known among his constituents for getting things done and, in the later years of his term, being able to bring money to the district to get projects completed.
In Rockville Centre, where he lives, the verdict has been felt more sharply. For years, Skelos was the town’s favorite son, able to use his power to benefit his community.
