Dems flap may just be fam spat
ALBANY — An explosion of anger during a closed-door meeting of state Senate Democrats has some members of the conference questioning whether the incident was a one-off exchange or a sign of mounting tensions.
The row between Sens. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) and Alessandra Biaggi (DBronx) was sparked by concerns over lawmakers and their staffers’ social media use and a progressive push to primary mainline centrist Dems.
“There is some anxiety over the newer members and their staff putting out messages that don’t reflect the feelings of the conference,” one Democratic insider told the Daily News Friday. “It’s inappropriate.”
Biaggi and several other younger, more progressive members of the party have publicly expressed disillusionment and disappointment following the passage of the state budget and have vowed to transform the process.
The meeting earlier this week, which was first reported by The New York Times, was in part a chance to make sure all members were on the same page going forward with messaging during the remainder of the legislative sessions and a reminder that they’re all on the same team, sources said.
But tempers flared as Parker admonished fellow members for stepping out of line and using social media to share their own agendas and not that of the conference.
Several sources, who did not want their identities used, said Parker hurled personal criticisms at Biaggi and that she in turn told Parker he should “thank” her for not probing his own past Twitter posts.
Parker tweeted “Kill yourself!” to Senate GOP communications staffer Candice Giove in December. A spokesman for Biaggi, the chairwoman of the Senate Ethics and Internal Governance Committee, said in February that no formal probe would be conducted. Parker told Gotham Gazette the matter was “handled internally.”
Biaggi condemned Parker’s behavior and appeared to contradict her own staff in a tweet Thursday.
“I don’t do favors for anyone, especially not him,” she wrote. “That comment was unacceptable, and *if* the matter comes before my committee, which it has yet to do, I will put it through to the full extent of my power.”
Parker, in office since 2003, has a history of a hotheaded behavior and has engaged in similar spats in the past.
Sen. Julia Salazar (DBrooklyn), meanwhile, took to Twitter to defend her fellow freshman.
“Sen. Biaggi didn’t quash ANY investigation, and she also never said that she did. It’s terrible and ironic to respond to this incident by questioning her integrity,” she tweeted.
Some lawmakers said the squabble was more than just Parker losing his temper and fear the tensions are a sign of things to come.
“It’s not going to get any better. In fact, I think it’s going to get worse,” an insider said, noting that several progressive groups with ties to Biaggi and Salazar have called for protests against Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx).
Others, pointing out how much Dems were able to accomplish early on in the session with control of both the Senate and the Assembly for the first time in nearly a decade, brushed off the brouhaha as post-budget stress rising to the surface after three long weeks of late nights and endless negotiation.
“I’ve seen worse,” one lawmaker said. “Not everyone gets along. That’s just the way it is.”