Another Republican wants Dean Skelos gone.
Adele Malpass, the chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party, called on Mr. Skelos, the State Senate majority leader, to resign from his post this afternoon. As a replacement, Ms. Malpass suggested State Senator Catharine Young–an upstate Republican who is already backing Mr. Skelos, a Long Island Republican, following his arrest on federal corruption charges on Monday.
“New York Senator Dean Skelos needs to step aside as Majority Leader until he proves he is innocent of corruption and misconduct,” Ms. Malpass said in a statement. “The criminal complaint against him is a distraction from the work that needs to be done in Albany and makes him ineffective at addressing the problems of corruption.”
Ms. Malpass noted that Sheldon Silver, the former Assembly speaker, was forced to resign following his own federal corruption arrest and indictment earlier this year. Like Mr. Skelos, Mr. Silver maintained his innocence.
Ms. Malpass suggested a woman shake-up the “old-boy network” in Albany.
“As the Republican conference potentially moves in a new direction for its Majority Leader, I hope they will consider State Senator Cathy Young,” she said. “It’s about time we give a woman a chance to fix the old-boy network of Albany. We’ve given men years of opportunity to clean-up Albany’s mess with little results.”
Ms. Malpass is not the first county leader to call for Mr. Skelos to step down. Nick Langworthy, the chair of the influential Eric County GOP, said on Wednesday Mr. Skelos should step aside. Ms. Malpass and her organization have far less clout–Manhattan currently has no Republican elected officials.
Republican support for Mr. Skelos is beginning to slip and State Senator John DeFrancisco, a Syracuse Republican, is reportedly vying to replace Mr. Skelos. Mr. Skelos does have the confirmed backing of 16 senators, which is a significant number but not necessarily enough to keep his job in the 63-member body.
