 |
| Yana Paskova/Getty Images |
NY TIMES
Sheldon Silver, the longtime speaker of the New York State Assembly, agreed on Sunday to relinquish his duties on a temporary basis as he fights federal corruption charges.
His decision came amid mounting pressure from his fellow Democrats in the Assembly, who worried that the criminal charges would impair his ability to carry out the duties of one of the most powerful positions in the state’s government.
Under the plan, which the Assembly’s Democratic caucus is to consider in a closed-door meeting on Monday afternoon, Mr. Silver would “not specifically step down, but step back,” according to a person briefed on the situation, who insisted on anonymity because the plan had not yet been presented to the caucus.
Immediately after Mr. Silver’s arrest on Thursday, Democrats in the Assembly rallied behind him. Mr. Silver, who has proved adept over the years at withstanding ethical and legal scrutiny, predicted he would be vindicated.
But in the past few days, as legislators conferred and newspaper editorials called for Mr. Silver’s resignation, some members of his caucus grew convinced that he could not continue to be effective in his post with the cloud of scandal hanging over him.
Assembly Democrats faced some urgency because negotiations on the state budget, which must be finished by April 1, are getting underway.
Under the tentative plan developed on Sunday, the Assembly majority leader, Joseph D. Morelle of the Rochester area, and the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Herman D. Farrell Jr., Democrat of Manhattan, would assume responsibility for budget negotiations.
Three other senior Democratic members — Carl E. Heastie of the Bronx, Catherine T. Nolan of Queens and Joseph R. Lentol of Brooklyn — will round out the leadership team.