Last week’s news that Democrats in the state Senate are unifying behind Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Yonkers is the very definition of putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.

Reunification puts to an end a faction of senators from the Democratic Party who called themselves the Independent Democratic Caucus, a group that sided with Republicans and gave Republicans de-facto control of the chamber. Republicans will retain control of the Senate at least until April 24, when special Senate elections will fill two vacant Senate seats representing heavily Democratic areas of the Bronx and Westchester County. If Democrats win both seats they’ll have a numeric majority and a chance to take over the Senate for the first time since 2009.

“I know that together, certainly with the governor, we will be able to do all of the things that we know are important,” Stewart-Cousins said.

For years, Republicans in the state Senate have acted as a counter-balance to the tax-and-spend Democrats who control the state Assembly. For example, the only reason New Yorkers aren’t paying $4 billion more in new taxes and fees as part of the state’s 2018-19 budget is the efforts of the Republican- and IDC-controlled Senate. The only reason a $15 an hour minimum wage was blunted somewhat for less populated counties outside of New York City is because the state Senate argued for and secured a lesser minimum wage for areas like ours. Thanks to the leadership of state Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean, Western New York was represented at the upper levels of the legislative branch, bringing a rural point of view to state politics.

We have made the case often in recent years that New York state is a difficult place for businesses to thrive because of its proclivity to spend too much and overregulate the stuffing out of job creators. If it’s bad now, we hate to see what happens if Democrats claim control of the state Senate.