"Independent" Dems In State Senate Will Push De Blasio's Tax Hike

More payback against Sheriff Andy - his former allies in the State Senate, who worked with Senate Republicans and Cuomo to push through a "pro-business" agenda, are now looking to stick it to Cuomo:

ALBANY — On the eve of Tuesday’s mayoral election, Democratic front-runner Bill de Blasio’s push to tax the wealthy to pay for universal prekindergarten has received crucial support in the Legislature.

Senate co-leader Jeffrey Klein, who had backed former city Controller Bill Thompson in the Democratic mayoral primary, says he will aggressively push for passage of the city tax hike plan during next year’s state budget talks.

“I think his proposal has a lot of merit,” Klein (D-Bronx) said. “I want to become the major advocate on behalf of it.”

Klein — head of a group of four breakaway Democrats who run the chamber with the GOP — said de Blasio’s plan to raise taxes on those making more than $500,000 a year “is not taxing for the sake of just taxing. This is for a really important purpose.”

Sure, the proposal has merit, but if this were a few years ago, Klein wouldn't go near it if Cuomo didn't want him to.

 

But with Cuomo attacking Klein and other "independent" Dems over corruption, they're looking to stick it to him:

Klein’s public support for the tax hike comes among heightened tension between the breakaway Democrats on one side and Cuomo and the regular Dems on the other.

Cuomo reportedly has discussed possibly backing a primary against Klein next year. And last week, Cuomo’s handpicked state Democratic Party executive director urged another breakaway Democrat, state Sen. Diane Savino of Staten Island, to get out of the party after she co-sponsored a bill with a Republican to boost the independence of investigative committees created by a governor.

Klein denied that his backing for de Blasio’s proposal was linked to recent Dem-on-Dem skirmishes.

Sure it isn't.

As I wrote earlier, it's going to be an interesting year in Albany.

The knives are starting to come out for Cuomo.