Sharpton and State Senators Seek a Solution for Stalemate

Photograph of Monserrate, Sampson and Sharpton by Jason DeCrow/AP

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Today at his weekly meeting of the National Action Network, Al Sharpton gathered together some of the major Democratic senators involved in the ongoing power struggle in Albany (with one glaring exception, of course). One week after Senator Hiram Monserrate was out at Yankee Stadium hanging out with Pedro Espada, here he was smiling and yukking it up with the colleagues he helped oust from power, Malcolm Smith and John Sampson.

The senators came out of Sharpton's one-hour closed door meeting with a new proposal of one Democrat and one Republican simultaneously ruling the Senate floor and presiding over votes, where those leadership positions would regularly rotate. Who knows if the new angle will inspire senators from either side to actually vote on legislation when Governor Paterson plans to call a special session to order this Wednesday?

Not everyone in Albany was thrilled to see Sharpton taking such a pro-active role in the Senate situation. State Senator William Larkin of Cornwall-on-Hudson said, “What we did on the eighth of June was totally legitimate; it met the constitution standards and it’s my personal opinion that Mr. Sharpton is out of line.”