Aubertine sues Assembly

The North Country’s own Darrel Aubertine provided the latest twist in the Senate stand off today. He’s suing the state Assembly.

I’ll repeat that: Darrel Aubertine filed a lawsuit with the New York State Supreme Court demanding the Assembly recognize the bills passed by the Senate on June 30th.

You remember the events of June 30th. That’s when Republican Senator Frank Padavan walked through the chamber to get a drink.

The Democrats–who were already in session–siezed on this, declared a quorum and started passing bills.

After this session, Governor Paterson said he wouldn’t sign any of the legislation because:

A) The Democrats’ claim of a quorum was shaky, and
B) He said any bill passed under the circumstances could too easily be challenged and struck down in the courts.

If you’re wondering why Aubertine would sue the Assembly, it appears to be a procedural move.

Forcing the Assembly to recognize the bills triggers a chain of events that would also put the legislation on the Governor’s desk for his signature.

But, since the Governor already said he wouldn’t sign these bills, Aubertine’s lawsuit raises more questions. Like this one:

If Aubertine is willing to go to such extraordinary lengths to get ‘Power for Jobs’ and other bills passed, why doesn’t he simply walk into the Senate chamber during a Republican session and vote?

This wouldn’t require him to switch parties. It would get these bills passed. And it wouldn’t require taxpayers across New York State to pay for another lawsuit.

You can hear Aubertine explaining his court filing in this clip sent to radio and TV stations Monday evening.