The Watertown Family YMCA and its patrons will pay for Albany's shabby political gamesmanship.

Republicans in the state Senate for no good reason are holding up a home-rule bill that would save the YMCA probably thousands of dollars in taxes.

The YMCA wants to buy the former Ultimate Goal building which it now leases from Watertown Savings Bank. The current lease includes $27,000 in taxes which could be reduced or eliminated if the YMCA owned the building. The savings could be redirected to facility improvements that better serve residents or passed on to patrons.

However, to clear the way for the $1.7 million transaction, the YMCA needs the state Legislature's approval to lease five acres of the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds from the city of Watertown. The land lease is covered now through the arrangement with the bank and former operator of the Rand Drive facility.

There has been no opposition to the lease YMCA plan. So it should be a simple matter to approve a city lease of the land to the YMCA.

Simple anyway until Albany politics takes over.

The home-rule legislation easily passed the Democratic-dominated Assembly. It did not matter that the sponsor, Assemblywoman Dierdre K. Scozzafava of Gouverneur, is a Republican.

But in the Senate, party interests are taking priority. Democratic Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, sponsored the legislation. However, Republicans who narrowly control the chamber aren't in any mood to give a Democrat credit for helping his constituents, especially in this election year.

The legislation remains bottled up in the Local Government Committee controlled by Republican Sen. Elizabeth O'Connor Little of Queensbury.

Sen. Aubertine has suggested removing his name as bill sponsor if that is what it would take to move the routine legislation forward, as he did for another bill.

This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. Republicans, though, are trying to gain political advantage where there is none. People will see through their motives.