June 8 (Bloomberg) -- New York Republicans regained control of the state Senate with the help of two Democrats who switched sides.

Pedro Espada from the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate from Queens sided with 30 Republicans on key votes to change the Senate’s leadership. They resisted entreaties by Democratic Senators surprised by the coup.

Using the 32-vote majority provided by the two New York City lawmakers, the 30 Republican senators voted to name Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre as the new majority leader, replacing Malcolm Smith, a Democrat from Queens.

“We experienced five months of failure,” Espada, who became the Senate’s new president pro tempore, said at a press conference as he explained his actions. In that time, Democratic leaders developed the $131.8 billion budget in secret and “punished members to vote a certain way,” he said. The new coalition government “will be focused on reform.”

Monserrate said he still considers himself a Democrat and expects that in the new “bi-partisan coalition” he will continue to meet in conferences with others of his party.

Skelos, in a statement describing himself as “Senate Majority Leader,” said Smith and the Democrats “broke their promises” to reform the chamber, resulting in “the most secretive and dysfunctional session in recent history and a complete and total failure to govern.” He promised “more accountability, transparency, efficiencies, balance and fairness” under his leadership.

‘Illegal and Unlawful’

“Today will be remembered in state history as a day when real change and real reform began and dysfunction ended,” he said.

Smith issued a statement declaring that he was still majority leader. Democrats “will take immediate steps to get us back to work,” he said.

“This was an illegal and unlawful attempt to gain control of the Senate and reverse the will of the people who voted for a Democratic majority,” Smith spokesman Austin Shafrin said in a statement. He said that Smith remained in legal control of the Senate. “Nothing has changed,” he said. “The real Senate majority is anxious to get back to governing and will take immediate steps to get us back to work.”

After Democratic senators attempted to adjourn today’s meeting and left the Senate, the Republican majority appointed a new rules committee, which met on the Senate floor to adopt new rules distributed at that time. They said that all committee assignments and leadership positions announced under Smith would be revoked, with new appointments to come Wednesday.

Paralysis in Albany

“Given that the state will continue to face budgetary shortfalls, this will likely add to the paralysis in Albany,” Kenneth Sherrill, a political science professor at Hunter College in Manhattan, said in a written statement. “Negotiating with a divided legislature over budget cuts and/or tax increases will be sheer hell for Governor Paterson, and for everyone else.”

The tactics for reversing Senate control “crystallized” at meetings over the weekend, said Senator George Winner, a Republican from Elmira. “I don’t know how long there have been talks with Espada and Monserrate,” he said.

Senator Betty Little, a Republican from Glens Falls, said, “The biggest surprise is that the plan wasn’t leaked ahead of time.”

Rebellious Democrats

New York Democrats won a 32 to 30 majority in the Senate last November to take control of the Senate for the first time in 43 years. They elected Smith as majority leader after several weeks of political infighting.

Three rebellious Democrats, including Espada, had refused to support him. Senator Reuben Diaz Sr. of the Bronx and Senator Carl Kruger of Brooklyn, who had withheld support from Smith, didn’t participate in today’s rebellion.

Diaz said he opposed Smith’s position in favor of allowing same-sex marriage and wanted more positions of power for Hispanic lawmakers.

Democrats have controlled the Assembly and the offices of governor, attorney general and comptroller since 2006.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Quint in Albany, New York, at mquint@bloomberg.net; Henry Goldman in New York City Hall at hgoldman@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 8, 2009 19:12 EDT