This weekend during the budget frenzy, the state senate somehow found time to confirm Pete Grannis as the new head of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

No this is not an April Fool's joke, it's just how Albany works sometimes.

It was an amazing turn of events, considering the talk on the street was that this was to be put off until later this month [0].

Although Pete passed the test, it is worth noting that nearly a third of the senators tried to flunk him. Capitol Confidential [1] reported that 18 senators (17 Republicans and 1 Democrat) voted against his candidacy (the senate has 62 members.)

Here are the members who tried to torpedo Pete:

DeFrancisco, Farley, Griffo, Lanza, Leibell, Libous, Little, Maltese, Maziarz, Nozzolio, Rath, Robach, Seward, Valesky(D), Volker, Winner, Wright, and Young.