In gay marriage push, Griffo is seen as a (small) possibility

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and advocates for legalizing gay marriage in the state are looking for a few more Republican senators to support the measure, and it's possible, though in my view unlikely, that Sen. Joe Griffo will be in the mix.

Mr. Griffo, who represents Lewis County and part of St. Lawrence County, voted against it last time it came before the Senate, in 2009. And his position hasn't changed: He believes that marriage is between a man and a woman, he tells me.

But he has tantalizingly refused to say how he'll vote on it this time around. A sign that he's thinking about switching his vote?

Possibly. But it seems unlikely. In my travels with the intrepid Mr. Griffo, he's always particular about what he comments on, and will generally turn down opportunities to stake out positions without seeing bills first.

But Rick Karlin at the Times-Union makes some very interesting points. Mr. Griffo won by a wide margin in his last race. He didn't need the Conservative Party line to bolster his numbers.

Mr. Karlin also mentions Sen. Betty Little of Queensbury as part of the equation. That's also been reported by Fred Dicker at the New York Post. Mr. Karlin's blog post, meanwhile, is the only mention (outside of my own) I've seen of Mr. Griffo being a possibility.

Mr. Griffo told me today that he was waiting until the GOP conferences the bill before he takes a position. So we'll know tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we'll have to do some speculatin': If Mrs. Little or Mr. Griffo support the legislation, they risk losing Conservative (and small-c variety) support. Speaking from purely cynical terms, What possible horsetrade do these two have? What can they win to make up for the loss of Row C?

Prisons? Mr. Cuomo holds all the cards in his effort to close half a dozen in the state; Mr. Griffo and Mrs. Little have a boatload in their districts. But like I said, that's rank speculation.

Very few, but very interesting, signs point to Mr. Griffo as one of the predicted 35 possible "yes" votes on gay marriage, among them his wide margin of victory.

But what seems to seal the deal for me is, there was no apparent lobbying, no commercials aired in his district, and very little speculation about whether it was possible. And though he's being cagey, it's sort of just his M.O.

We'll see tomorrow. I, for one, cannot wait.