GOP assemblyman says he was pressured to lay off Silver

Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor, R-Fishkill, Dutchess County, contended today that he was pressured by his conference's leadership to not hold a critical press conference in 2013 that called for Speaker Sheldon Silver's resignation.

Lalor was one of four Republicans today to criticize Assembly Republican Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, for his leadership and write in a letter that they should delay Kolb's re-election set for Thursday.

Lalor was among a handful of Assembly Republicans in May 2013 who called for Silver's resignation and an investigation after it was revealed he quietly settled sexual harassment cases against disgraced Assemblyman Vito Lopez, D-Brooklyn, for $103,000 in taxpayer money.

Lalor said, "The message was: Do this in your district. There’s no reason to do it here in Albany."

Asked about Lalor's contention, Kolb said it's not true, saying he only has encouraged members to first hold news conferences in their districts.

"That’s just not true," Kolb said. "All we’ve ever said is: Always represent your district first. So if you want to try out an idea in terms of a press conference and its impact, positive or negative, do it in your district first. Not don’t do it."

Kolb himself had refrained from calling for Silver's resignation, but he said his members have been free to say what they want on the issue -- pointing out that several of them have.

But Lalor said the conference's inability to capitalize on Silver's troubles had been a mistake.

"We did nothing as a conference on that, and I don’t think we’re representing the people of New York as conference being quiet when a majority is involved in really, really bad things," he said.

He added, "I don’t think there was any time in the last decade when Silver was as vulnerable than at that moment, and as a conference we had a chance to push him over the edge and out and we did not try as a conference. That’s emblematic of the whole thing."

He said he would not vote for Kolb as leader, but said he's not interested in running for the post. Kolb, though, is expected to win re-election.