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Indie Dems propose 3-leader NY Senate

The leader of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference is pursuing an unprecedented shakeup in New York politics that would see three leaders with equal power ruling the state Senate in a bipartisan coalition. WAMC’s Dave Lucas reports.

Sen. Jeffrey Klein says he wants a formal three-way power-sharing arrangement that would be extended to every decision in the chamber, including state budget negotiations.

That would also change the traditional "three-men-in-a-room" budget talks involving the governor, the Senate majority leader and the Assembly speaker to include the leader of the Independent Democratic Conference.

Klein tells The Associated Press on Wednesday that Americans are calling for that kind of bipartisanship.

His group's four members could have the power to make the change in the chamber, which is near evenly split by party.

© 2012 AP

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.