Four Democratic state senators, three of them Hispanic, have established an Independent Caucus to negotiate the future State Senate leadership and achieve a more equitable distribution of power.

Senators Rubén Díaz and Pedro Espada (Bronx), Hiram Monserrate (Queens) and Carl Kruger (Brooklyn), are threatening not to vote for the African-American Senator Malcolm Smith of Manhattan as leader of the Senate.

Since the election on Tuesday, the Democrats are assured of 32 of the 62 seats in the Senate chamber, so the votes of these four senators would be decisive in order for the party's electoral majority to become a voting majority.

The Hispanic leaders agree that the moment has come for Latinos to share in the power. So far, Latino legislators have been regarded as nothing more than votes in the consolidation of power for others. Now they want guarantees that Hispanics will be part of the government, and at what level.

Díaz told El Diario La Prensa “We've got a Black President, a Black Governor, and a Black Comptroller thanks to the Hispanic vote, and now they want to impose Smith, but we don't have Hispanic representatives. They always say, 'Wait your turn,' but Blacks use us for their interests but are never there for us. Smith says he has to be a Democrat, but when Fernando Ferrer ran for mayor he supported Bloomberg. Got to be a Democrat, but when it's for us, no? We're ready for an end to this little game. For next year, why not guarantee that there will be a Hispanic comptroller?”

“I'm one of them,” Espada assured El Diario La Prensa, referring to the newly-formed independent group, “but the idea is not to give power to the Republicans but to change the government and make it favorable to our community. We think there's a leadership that Hispanics have supported, so that now it's our turn. Hispanic leadership should emerge from this effort with a formal position, and the adoption of stipulations in the Senate so that it will recognize Latinos and their needs, and so they will be included in its bills and laws.”

Contacted by telephone, Smith neither admitted nor denied anything. “There won't be a decision until January 9th, and there is a lot to do after 40 years in the minority. The transition will take some time, and it will all be decided at the Democratic Conference,” he said.

For Smith, “The party now has an Independent Caucus in the same way it has a Women's Caucus and a Black Caucus... and that's a great idea for presenting concerns and concrete proposals.”

Senator Díaz, who is also a Reverend, explained that his position is also related to a question of belief: he is opposed to gay marriage; Smith favors it.

“I won't vote for anyone unless he promises me that he won't bring homosexual marriage to the State of New York. If he gets in, let it be without my vote,” declared Senator Díaz.

Smith refused to speak about such a law and said, “The primary focus of the Party is the economy; that's our objective.”

Telephone calls to Kruger's office were not returned, and it was not possible to locate Monserrate, but in a press release on Wednesday, the latter declared, “We must continue to fight so that our diverse communities will be represented.”