Gov. Kathy Hochul mulls next steps after fellow Democrats reject Hector LaSalle to head state Court of Appeals
NEW YORK -- There are charges from Gov. Kathy Hochul that a member of her own party changed the rules to block her pick to head the state's highest court.
Fresh off an unprecedented defeat by members of her own party, Hochul was cagey about what she will do next after the Senate judiciary committee said "no way" to her nomination of Hector LaSalle to head the state Court of Appeals.
READ MORE: Senate votes against Gov. Hochul's nomination of Hector LaSalle for New York's top judge
"I did not say what course we're taking, I just said we're weighing all of our options," she said.
As CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer reports, the governor could decide to sue to force a vote by the entire Senate or she could subscribe to the theory that revenge is a dish best served cold. For example, she has enormous power over what goes into the budget, and programs dear to some senators could find themselves on the shelf.
How miffed was she? Upset enough to accuse the Senate of stacking the deck against LaSalle by increasing the size of the committee.
"If you look at the original composition of that committee before it was changed, there were enough votes to go forward. You'd have to question why there was unexpectedly four more votes added to that committee, two of which had firmly said they were against," Hochul said.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins defended her decision to add three Democrats to the judiciary committee.
"Because of the incredible interest in what happens on this judiciary committee based on what we all have gone through over the past year with decisions on the national level, with decisions right here on the state level. There was an increased interest in this committee," she said.
That's Albany speak to explain that progressives want the New York Court of Appeals to be a liberal counterpoint to the U.S. Supreme Court. They argued that LaSalle, a former prosecutor, was just too conservative.
It's still unclear whether the governor will give in to them.
