For the first time in New York state history, no party has majority control in the state Senate. In fact, it is uncertain who does have control in a new power-sharing agreement between the Republicans, and a breakaway faction of independent-minded Democrats.

In truth, New York voters elected a majority of Democrats this November. But a small group from the party had all ready started their own conference, essentially creating a third party, a few years ago during a leadership dispute.

Since that time, the Independent Democratic Conference has grown to include five members, and just might be in a position to push for the kind of progressive agenda the regular democratic conference has struggled to do in the minority.

In the arrangement reached after last year’s elections, Republicans and the Independent Democrats agreed to vote together on procedural issues, allowing them to decide which pieces of legislation the Senate Chamber considers and which fall by the wayside.

It is true that the two groups often have very different views on the issues they would be voting on together. They rectify this situation by alternating control of the Chamber weekly. That way, both sides get a chance to vote on their favorite issues.

While it seems strange, the arrangement might encourage the kind of bipartisanship the state needs to tackle big issues in the coming years. It forces some Democrats and Republicans to be in constant communication in order to keep this arrangement running, and pundits are hopeful that the spirit of cooperation will spill over into all areas of their work.

On the other hand, traditional Democrats have balked at the arrangement, suggesting that it grants more power than necessary, in what is numerically a Democrat-controlled Chamber, to the Republicans, and admonished the wayward IDC-ers for their betrayal.

Even the activist and television host Rev. Al Sharpton spoke out against the IDC, bringing it to national attention and highlighting the inherent racial issues involved – only one member of the IDC is not white.

However, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is seemingly quietly supporting the move, likely because the inevitable tensions within the Chamber would increase his own power to push through a rather ambitious agenda.

One heartening piece of evidence, which shows that this arrangement might be successful, is the very recent passage of sweeping gun safety legislation. The included provisions are incredibly bipartisan.

While one side gets a stricter assault weapons ban, the other gets stricter mental health checks. One side gets universal backgrounds checks to purchase a gun, and the other gets to increase the punishments for those who harm first responders. Certainly, the rest of the country could learn from that kind of deal.

For all of the strange procedures, the forced bipartisanship in the Senate might just be what this state needs. Here’s to hoping the results of the arrangement will be worth it.

Colin Crowley is a senior political science and philosophy major. His column appears online weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @colincrowley.

Published on January 18, 2013 at 2:20 am