Joe Bruno retiring
Wow. And on a Monday, too: Bruno won't seek re-election.
"He will not run for re-election. It's still open as to whether he will serve out the term until Dec. 31 or leave early."
UPDATE: Another GOP Senate source tells DN Capitol Bureau Ken Lovett that Bruno will definitely remain in the Senate through the end of the year because if he leaves, the chamber will be tied. The fate of his leadership, however, remains unclear.
This source told Lovett Bruno decided to tell his members today because it's the last day of session and he wanted to inform them of his decision when they were all together.
Bruno, who has served in the Senate since 1976 and has been leader since early 1995, when he took power from Ralph Marino in a coup with then-newly-minted Gov. George Pataki's support, has been coy of late about whether he would run this fall.
Here's what's fun: this morning, Albany Project noted that it sure looked as if Bruno was clearing the gangways.
Several people will have their situations drastically altered by Bruno's retirement. One, the older republican Senators, the Trunzos of the world, will now head for the exits. Bruno's kept them in office to preserve his majority. That's over, and this will not be the last retirement to come.
Two, Sheldon Silver in the Assembly, first elected the same years as Joe Bruno, 1976, now faces the near certainty of a Democratic Senate that will operate under different rules than Silver's own chamber.
Three, New York republicans might as well hand in the towel. It's over for them. Done.
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2008 Elections | New York State Senate | New York | Joe Bruno
About 2 or 3 Months Ago
Submitted by ROSALIE907 on 23 June 2008 - 11:08pm.
I head a rumor about this. Now I just heard on Eyewitness news that the FBI is investigating him but weren't they doing this before?
I believe that Bruno saw the writing on the wall that the Republican Party was going to lose more seats in November and that would have made him Minority Leader. I don't think he could handle the demotion.
Question, hasn't he smacked his own Party in the face? Is there time to find another candidate and petition for them?
I feel less certain that everything will be different.
Submitted by Daniel Millstone on 23 June 2008 - 7:57pm.
Michael, you wrote that you expect that the "Democratic Senate that will operate under different rules than Silver's own chamber."
I think that it's possible that, if Senator Smith becomes majority leader, not everything will be different. We might then be at the very beginning of a democratic process, not the middle of it.
Yes.
Submitted by Bouldin on 23 June 2008 - 9:06pm.
Everything might not be different. I might even have to wait for my pony, you might have to as well. But the Senate Dems have been very clear about rules reform. That may not make New York what Lenin thought the Paris Commune looked like, but it will be rather better than what we have now.
Why Bruno is retiring
Submitted by Dan Jacoby on 24 June 2008 - 9:28am.
I don't think he's leaving because he "knows" that the Dems are going to take the state Senate. The Dems' number one target, Serph Maltese, is enjoying watching Albert Baldeo challenge Joe Addabbo, possibly all the way to November. Number two is Caesar Trunzo, where the state DSCC muddied what were clear waters. Number three may be Frank Padavan, but while Jim Gennaro is raising a bunch of money he has a long way to go with name recognition in the district and Padavan has done a great job of pothole politics over the decades. Etc., etc. -- every seat is going to be a major fight.
There could be something wrong with Bruno's health. I don't know, and haven't heard any rumors.
Then there's the FBI probe, which has been going on for two or three years. My bet is that they have something that will come out very soon and make Bruno the Randy "Duke" Cunningham/Jack Abramoff of this year's New York state campaign. It's the logical deduction.
Of course, logic is often just a way to go completely wrong with confidence.
It's the FBI
Submitted by Dan Jacoby on 24 June 2008 - 10:15am.
The Daily News quotes "a source" that the state Senate delivered 30 boxes to the FBI on Monday.
Wow...
I think the writing is on the wall. Looks like Bruno KNOWS the Dems are going to win.
Time to push for big wins. Go for the jugular folks! I have put State Senate races first (after NY-13 general fund and Steve Harrison) on my NY State Act Blue site. Not complete, but it is a good place to start. Give to one or more races in honor of Joe Bruno's retirement.