And in a double defeat to Democrats, Swanick said he will re-register as a Republican, handing the GOP its first true majority in the Legislature since 1982.

His surprising decision ends a leadership stalemate plaguing the Legislature for the past several weeks and represents a major disappointment to Democrats, who had hoped to regain control after Democratic Legislator Albert DeBenedetti returned to the Democrats following a stint as leader of a Giambra-friendly coalition.

Swanick said that he had watched the Legislature founder without a leader over the past few weeks and that after extensive talks with Giambra and Erie County Republican Chairman Robert E. Davis realized he had more in common than not with the county executive - another onetime Democrat who became a Republican.

"I'm 54 years old, I've been here 23 years, and I'm past wasting time," Swanick said Sunday night. "With a strong county executive and a strong chairman, I think we can accomplish some things."

In addition, the incoming chairman said he is increasingly impressed by a Republican agenda he believes is oriented toward policy and results, rather than what he called Democratic preoccupation with power and personal agendas.

As a result, he accepted Davis' agenda to join the GOP, as well as accepting Republican Michael H. Ranzenhofer of Clarence as majority leader.

"I just feel that in the last year or two, the Legislature hasn't accomplished much," he said. "I've now had the opportunity to talk to most Republican legislators about this effort, and their discussion was never about the chairmanship or personalities, it's about moving the agenda through the County Legislature."

Giambra, who recently attempted to forge another coalition by offering the legislative top spot to Democrat George A. Holt Jr. of Buffalo, was elated over the decision of the man he once labeled an "obstructionist."

The talks between Giambra and Swanick intensified over the past few days, when the Legislature was unable to agree on a new leader, and the power to appoint a chairman fell to the county executive through provisions of the County Charter.

"I saw the opportunity to enlist Chuck as part of our agenda, and his experience and political acumen will be helpful to us," the county executive said.

Giambra acknowledged his past difficulties with Swanick, whom he relentlessly portrayed in 2001 as the main impediment to his "mandate for change." But he said they never stopped talking, especially over the last several months.

"Chuck and I had the opportunity over the past several months to see that philosophically, we were close," he said.

Davis, a one-time GOP chairman in Swanick's Town of Tonawanda home turf, said he unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to switch parties as far back as 1981. But Davis said a Legislature now committed to working with Giambra constitutes "a significant win for the taxpayers of Erie County."

Both Giambra and Swanick said no hidden deals regarding an eventual administration job for Swanick are involved. And Swanick said he is committed to running on the Republican line in November for another term.

Because his switch to the GOP does not become official until 2004, he will officially remain a Democrat and could be challenged on that line in the September primary.

Democrats will still maintain a 9-8 advantage in bodies over legislative Republicans, but will not control the Legislature because of a court-imposed weighted voting system based on population stemming from its inability to adopt a reapportionment plan in 2002.