Alan Hevesi

It's hard to believe anyone with leadership and public spirit would be willing to hang around Albany. Cynicism and despair aren't going to get us anywhere, but there are days when you find it hard to feel anything else.

The leadership stalemate of 1965 occurred at the start of the session, when bill expiration deadlines weren't looming. Pedro Espada's defection (facilitated by Hiram Monserrate) flushed months of hard-fought negotiations and legislative footwork down the toilet.