ALBANY—Prominent Republicans are saying that Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava betrayed the party when she endorsed Bill Owens, the Democratic Party’s pick to replace John McHugh in Congress, and there’s a possibility Scozzafava will be dressed down in her legislative conference.
“After the campaign’s over with we’ll be sitting down with Dede and having some very frank discussions about the impact of her endorsement of Bill Owens,” Assemblyman Brian Kolb, the minority leader, told me Sunday night. Earlier that day, he put out a statement endorsing Doug Hoffman and noting “as a friend and supporter, I was deeply saddened and disappointed by Dede Scozzafava’s actions.”
There has been concern expressed by some within the minority conference about Scozzafava’s continued role, Republican sources said. Some believe Scozzafava will be stripped of her leadership position in the conference–she is the whip–and the $16,500 stipend that accompanies it.
There’s also the possibility that Scozzafava would flip to join the Democratic majority conference in the Assembly. But at this point, as near as I can tell, that’s just rumor.
