In an interview with our NY1 colleague Zack Fink, Sen. Jeff Klein says he wants his newly empowered Independent Democratic Conference to have a strong role in pushing “core” Democratic values, but are depoliticized with a power sharing agreement.

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Klein told Zack that he wants to achieve Democratic goals such as increasing the state’s minimum wage, campaign finance reform and womens’ reproductive rights measures, but he also wants a say over the run-of-the-mill Senate operations and have a seat at the table for the budget.

“Naturally that would give us a role in the budget, that would give us a role in setting the active list, which means the legislation that comes to the floor in the Legislature. That gives the IDC a role in the policy of the New York state Senate and the legislation that we pass. But more importantly that gives us a major role in making sure these Democratic issues get done,” Klein said.

In the interview, Klein isn’t pitching this coalition as one side of rogue Democrats backing the Senate Republicans, but as a “policy-driven coalition” that can accomplish things.

“We want to be powerful, but we want to powerful when it comes to policy,” he said of the IDC, which includes himself, Sens. Diane Savino, David Carlucci and David Valesky.

Such a set up would require rules changes in the chamber.

It’s unclear what position, if any, Klein is formally seeking. Does he want to be Senate president, a title that is actually in the state’s constitution unlike the majority leader post, or does he want to lead a committee like Finance?

And it’s unclear what Republicans would get out of this deal. Given the state’s demographics and voter enrollment, keeping control of the chamber is nearly impossible, even in a year in which the GOP controlled the redistricting process.

As envisioned by Klein, the IDC, Republicans and Democrats would all have to lend votes on thorny issues such as overhauling campaign finance laws (which may or may not include public financing of campaigns), increasing the minimum wage and reproductive rights measures, all of which floundered in the GOP-controlled chamber in the past year.

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