Political lay-offs in Albany

Assuming the Democrats really do take a majority position in the state Senate, a lot of faces will change in Albany.

The Times-Union reported this week on a letter circulated by state Senator Frank Padavan, a Republican, warning his staff that the ripple effect could be painful.

Here’s an excerpt:

“This is not an easy letter for me to write but in fairness to all of you I want you to know what is going on.

“In light of the pending changes to the Senate Majority my staff allocation will be reduced by more than half and some difficult choices must be made. If you are eligible for retirement I would suggest you submit your papers. Those of you who are not retirement eligible should consider seeking other employment.

“In the very near future I will have to begin a task that I hoped I would never have to do and that is making staff reductions.”

I have some good friends working in GOP offices in the Senate and this is a particularly tough time for this kind of shake-up.

With the economy hitting conservative think-tanks and the widespread Republican losses at all levels — from Albany to Washington — there aren’t a lot of perches open out there.