In Albany, a new landscape awaits New York’s longest-serving senator

For only the second time since his election to the New York State Senate in 1976, Sen. Ken LaValle returns to Albany as a member of that chamber’s minority party.

Democrats won a decisive majority in the State Senate in November’s elections — 40 of the 63 senate seats. And while the numerical majority in the chamber has flipped from Republican to Democrat in the past decade, the four-member Independent Democratic Conference formed and entered into a power-sharing deal with Republicans. That ended last year, with the dissolution of the IDC and the Democrats’ gain, in November, of eight senate seats.

LaValle says he’s taking the power shift in stride.

New York’s most senior senator — his 42-year tenure is longer than any other senator’s — LaValle discussed the upcoming legislative session as he drove up to Albany Monday afternoon.

The new dynamics won’t change his agenda, he said.

“My agenda has never, ever changed. It’s always been ‘First District first.’ That means maintaining the environment, number one and also some of the institutional structures that are important to constituents, such as their school districts,” LaValle said.

The longtime chairman of the senate’s higher education committee hands the gavel to Queens Democrat Toby Ann Stavisky, the first woman to ever chair that committee. LaValle becomes the committee’s ranking member.

“I’ve always has a good relationship with Sen. Stavisky,” he said. “I’ve always kept her involved. I feel people send representatives to Albany to do certain things. So I’ve always kept her engaged.” He said he expects the same in return.

LaValle admits he’s not sure exactly what to expect in terms of how the chamber’s leadership will conduct business. Democrats have long held a solid majority and maintained tight-fisted control in the State Assembly.

LaValle said he doesn’t see Senate Democrats being “as extreme as” Democratic leadership in the Assembly. “But certainly I won’t have the same carte blanche,” he said.

“It will be interesting,” he allowed.

LaValle said he has no special insight into legislative and budget initiatives the Democrats will advance in New York, now that they have a trifecta of control — both chambers of the State Legislature and the governor’s mansion.

“I will say this: the Democrats will be more favorable to the teachers union agenda,” LaValle said.

“One of the things that got us into a whole tizzy was — Sen. Marcellino got into a little bit of a fight — the teacher evaluations,” LaValle said. Syosset Republican Carl Marcellino, a 24-year incumbent, was defeated in November.

LaValle said Marcellino supported linking teachers’ performance evaluations to student results on state tests, which the teachers union strongly opposes.

“I supported that,” he said of the union’s stance. “A teacher’s tenure shouldn’t be linked to tests.” He said he was in the minority in his caucus on that issue.

“I was once a teacher and an administrator,” LaValle said. “So I better understood how that all worked.”

LaValle, who will turn 80 in May, looks back on his years in the State Senate and singles out his accomplishments in environmental protection, health care and taxpayer protection.

He takes pride in being the author of the original legislation to protect the Pine Barrens.

He has championed an alliance of East End hospitals and the formation of a health care network with Stony Brook University Hospital as its hub. He says he is most proud of his work to establish a burn unit at Stony Brook.

LaValle was instrumental in establishing the Long Island High Technology Incubator at Stony Brook University and the Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton.

He has been a strong advocate of the 2-percent tax levy limit and was a major architect of the STAR real property tax relief program.

A social conservative — he opposed New York’same-sex marriage bill and women’s rights bills advanced by the governor that would have, among other things, codified Roe v. Wade — LaValle said yesterday he’s taking a “wait and see” attitude on what the majority party will push in its agenda.

The legislative session opens today with Gov. Andrew Cuomo giving a combined “state of the state” and budget address in Albany. In a press release yesterday, the governor announced a host of election reforms he will describe in detail today, including early voting, same-day registration, and a $5,000 limit on campaign contributions by limited liability companies. He also announced his intention to implement a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags and an expansion of the state bottle deposit law.