Senate to grapple with future of Monserrate
As soon as today — or sometime before it takes all of next week off to celebrate Presidents Day — the state Senate is expected to decide what to do with Hiram Monserrate, the Queens legislator convicted in October of the misdemeanor assault of his girlfriend.
A special Senate committee recommended Monserrate be censured — essentially a slap on the wrist — or expelled. Democrats, who hold a slim 32-30 Senate majority, are divided over his punishment.
Some want him ousted as a domestic abuser, as do Senate Republicans, while others — Monserrate’s allies and Democrats who fear losing his East Elmhurst seat to a Republican — are pushing for censure.
Yesterday, state Sen. Pedro Espada, D-Bronx, submitted a bill that would expel any senator convicted of a Class-A misdemeanor. Only felony convictions currently result in automatic removal from office. The bill, which is not retroactive, would have no effect on Monserrate.
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