In NY, it isn’t who is best for office, it’s WHO greases the right palms….

Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos, Nassau County, right, talks with Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Rochester, left, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, on Tuesday. MIKE GROLL/ ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gary Stern and Joseph Spector

Albany Bureau

ALBANY — A joint session of the state Legislature on Tuesday re-elected three incumbents to the state Board of Re­gents and chose an upstate judge to fill a vacancy, ending the most closely watched Regents vote in memory.

Advocates and some legislators pushed in recent months for lawmakers to replace incumbents because of the Board of Regents’ much-criticized han­dling of the rollout of new student testing and teacher standards.

But legislators re-elected at-large members James Cottrell of Brooklyn and Wade Norwood of Rochester and Staten Island representative Christine Cea. Josephine Finn, a village justice in Monticello, Sullivan County, was chosen to replace Albany representative James Jackson, who decided late Monday not to seek re-election.

Some lawmakers protested the vote and choose not to endorse any candidate because of their criticism of Common Core, the testing standards.

“I think a statement was made,” Sen. George Latimer, D-Rye, Westchester County, said. “You had no controversy for years, but this year you had a number of us saying that we’re not happy and that we are reflecting what we’ve heard in our communities. You hope the board will hear the message.”

Regents are elected by a majority joint vote of the Assembly and the Sen­ate, a process controlled by Assembly Democrats because of their large num­bers. Several legislators called Tuesday for a revamping of the process, and Sen­ate Republicans said they would intro­duce legislation to do so.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, said that the process needs “openness and transparency.”

Overall, 186 legislators participated in the session, much more than in recent years. Senate Republicans have tradi­tionally boycotted the vote because of their lack of say.

The 17-member Board of Regents sets education policy for New York. Mem­bers are elected to five­year terms. The three incumbents who were re-elected have been generally supportive of the reform agenda championed by Chancellor Merryl Tisch and Education Commission John King. Norwood, for example, led a Regents task force that recommended a number of changes to the Common Core implementation, in­cluding a delay of certain graduation re­quirements.

“I am obviously delighted that three of our members were re-elected,” Tisch told reporters. “It is an honor to serve with them. They are good people that serve their communities honestly, judi­ciously. They put a lot of effort into it and a lot of thought into it.”

Some 20 first-time candidates for the board interviewed with legislators last month. Finn submitted her résumé and was interviewed Monday, even though the deadline for becoming a candidate was Jan. 31. Assemblywoman Jane Cor­win, R-Clarence, expressed concern that Finn was allowed to bypass the deadline while other potential candidates may not have had the opportunity.

Norwood is a former city councilman from Rochester. Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, Monroe County, praised Norwood’s ten­ure in public service.

“As a student of public policy, Mr. Norwood is one of the most knowledge­able individuals I know, particularly as it pertains to the education of our chil­dren,” Morelle said on the Assembly floor.

GSTERN www.twitter.com/garysternNY