Scandal-ridden Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada announced today he won't be leaving politics or the Democratic Party, just days after the New York Democratic State Committee said it wants the to dump the state senator from its roster.
"Today for those elite Democrats who vow to take me out of office, I have word(s) for you....God is with me. I have God on my side," the Bronx politician said at a news conference.
Holding up pages that he said contained 10,000 signatures from his district, Espada said "you will not disenroll us" and he pledged he would not leave the Democratic Party.
Last summer, Espada sided with Republicans in a coup that stalemated the chamber for a month and eventually led to his ascension to Majority Leader.
Amid a recent corruption probe, the Democratic committee moved to cancel Espada's enrollment because he bartered away his party allegiance for personal benefit.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, the Bronx committee chairman said the proceedings against Espada probably couldn't be finished before the Sept. 14 primary and any subsequent court battle could last months.
According to some analysts, the move to rid the Democratic Party of Espada appears to be the latest attempt by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo -- who is the party's nominee for governor -- to assert control over the political landscape in Albany.
"I think this is totally Andrew Cuomo inspired and led, and it’s wholly un-American,” said Espada, in an interview last week. “I don’t think the arbitrary, iron fist of Cuomo or his stooges will undermine the Democratic principles we fight wars to preserve. If anything, it’s making people who had doubts come running to me.”
The move to oust Espada raises questions about the precedent of going after a lawmaker who has not been convicted or even accused of a crime — he has only been implicated in a civil suit accusing him of steering money for personal and political purposes from his nonprofit, the Soundview Healthcare Network in the Bronx, the New York Times reported last week.
