Sen. Dean Skelos succeeded Sen. Joseph Bruno, as the New York Senate’s majority leader last week after the senior Republican announced he would not seek reelection in November.
Bruno, R-Brunswick, has served in the Senate for 32 years. Skelos, R-Rockville Center, was elected to the Senate in 1984, following a single two-year term in the Assembly.
Skelos is the Senate’s representative on the four-member Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Capital Program Review Board, which reviews and approves the MTA’s five-year capital plans.
The new leadership represents a sea change compared to just two years ago when both two of the three top elected officials in the state hailed from upstate. With Skelos leading the Senate, the so-called “three men in a room” who negotiate state legislation will all be from the New York City area. Gov. David Paterson represented Manhattan when he was a state senator and Assemby Speaker Sheldon Silver still does. Both are Democrats.
“There’s an apprehension upstate that New York City and its environs will rule the world,” said Kent Gardner, president of the Rochester-based think tank Center for Governmental Research. But such fears could be overblown because the division between upstate and downstate may not be as important as the division between urban, suburban, and rural areas, he said.
“The needs of Nassau County and the needs of Monroe County are very similar,” Gardner said.
Skelos’ district covers part of Nassau County on Long Island while Monroe County is upstate.
