Andrew Hoppin, the New York State's Senate's Chief Information Officer has had his team pretty busy. I got an email from their Director of Onine Communications, Phillip Anderson (one of the first bloggers here at The Daily Gotham and formerly of The Albany Project) describing the project:

The new site is extremely simple, with a Google-esque single search field. One can enter a bill number, a keyword, a Senator, just about anything and it find reams of information as well as comments on ALL Senate legislation. That's not all though.

The site and search are also available by phone by simply speaking a term and even by SMS text.

Sounds not just awesome but about what the state has needed for eons. If we could only get something like this for New York City. Oh right! It took a DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR to put money into updating the state's digital infrastructure. With REPUBLICAN MAYOR BLOOMBERG? Unless that's money his company and media cronies get to pocket, keep hoping.

Read the press release after the jump:  read more »

Alright, the next round: read the document proposed by the Senate Democrats to pass emergency bills here (.pdf) The full taxt is here:

WHEREAS the Democratic and Republican Conferences are unable to agree as to who is the validly elected President Pro Tempore of the New York State Senate; and

WHEREAS in order to move forward with legislation critical to the people of this state, the Democratic Conference and the Republican Conference (which, combined with Senator Espada, identifies themselves as the “Reform Coalition”) are willing to put aside temporarily the dispute over the election of the President Pro Tempore, and to suspend the Rules of the Senate for the purpose of considering legislation critical to the public and municipalities of the State;

WE HEREBY PROPOSE the following bipartisan operating agreement to allow the New York State Senate to function for a regular session on June 30th, 2009, that will allow critical legislation to come before the Senate for a vote:

 read more »

Robert Harding notes that the idea of giving Carl Kruger, Ruben Diaz and Pedro Espada the full extent of what they want for the leadership deal may not be too popular with the rest of the Democratic Senators. Unpopular enough to fail a vote, in fact.

Over the course of this year, myself and Phil Anderson probably went to twenty fundraisers for the DSCC. The people there were always the same: Malcolm Smith, Diane Savino, Liz Krueger, Jeff Klein, Tom Duane. Diaz, Kruger and Espada had better things to do, apparently.

Now, follow me here just for a moment (and a note to the Gatemouthishly limited: what follows is speculation). If you've ever met, for example, Jeff Klein, do you really think he's excited about the idea of voting for Pedro Espada as Majority Leader, a job Klein was rumored to want for himself? After Klein worked his tail off, and Espada, to be charitable, rested on his primary laurels?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that no, Klein isn't excited. And who could blame him?

The New York Times:

According to unofficial results, Democrats captured 32 out of the 62 seats in the Senate. The shift marks the end of an era for New York Republicans, whose control of the Senate had come to depend on a bloc of senators, some in their 70s and 80s, who had put off retirement to help preserve the party’s majority.

On Long Island, Senator Caesar Trunzo, 82, who has held office since Richard Nixon was president, lost by 17 percentage points to a Democrat, Brian X. Foley, the son of a candidate whom Mr. Trunzo beat in the early 1980s. [...]

One of Mr. Trunzo’s colleagues, Senator Serphin R. Maltese of Queens, 75, conceded defeat to Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., 44, a Democratic city councilman, in one of the most expensive and contentious state legislative races this year.

That's it: we have the majority. Now we can get to work changing this state: enact the Brennan Center Reforms, enact meaningful tax relief, bring transparency to public authorities, and finally, after forty years of obstructionism, move forward as one people.

Of course, there's always a fly in the ointment. That fly is usually one Ruben Diaz, the Bronx Drama Queen, who is, as he ever does, threatening to bolt the caucus in what amounts to a bid for attention.

I wouldn't be all that worried about that possibility. Diaz and his four companions all represent safe Democratic districts, and can be primaried. Which, my guess would be, if they're disloyal, they will be.

The Siena Research Institute just released its final pre-election polling (.pdf) in several key races.

In SD-3, Brian Foley leads Caesar Trunzo 56% to 34%, a lead of twenty-two points in a district evenly divided, at 45% each, between Obama and McCain. That's extraordinary, and a testament to the strong campaign Foley has been running.

In Erie County's SD-58, Democrat Bill Stachowski reversed a poll deficit and now leads his corrupt opponent, Dennis Delano, by four points, 47% to 43%. Being under 50% is generally taken to signal some danger to incumbents, but the trend is going well for him.

In SD-61, republican Ranzenhffer leads Democrat Joe Mesi by five points, 47% to 42%. reversing an earlier Mesi lead. However, in a Democratic year, with our huge GOTV advantages, that deficit can be made up.

In SD-48, Senator Darrel Aubertine is crushing some guy, 49% to 38%. Another half million dollars down the drain for our friends at the SRCC.

IN SD-15, Joe Addabbo narrowly leads incumbent wingnut Serf Maltese by two points, 45% to 43%. This bears repeating: an incumbent legislator who's polling that far below 50% two days before the election needs to start thinking about other employment.

The most disappointing result is that from the Hannon-McElroy race. Kristen McElroy has all the makings of a Jeffersonian citizen-lawmaker; she's a mother of three, a practicing attorney, and just an all-around awesome person. Kemp Hannon is, in a caucus filled with nasty sons-of-bitches, one of the worst. And yet, he leads McElroy 56% to 30%. But don't treat this result as indicative of Hannon's strength; McElroy's combined 23% favorable/unfavorable numbers indicate that she's just not all that well-known in the district.

And there you have it. If these numbers hold, Democrats will win the Senate on Tuesday.