While there has hardly been a seismic shift in party politics with the victory of Republican candidates in three Queens City Council races last week – Democrats still hold a 46-5 advantage – their elections could have an immediate impact on who will be the next speaker of the City Council.

While no one has emerged yet to challenge Christine Quinn's speakership, should one arise, the Queens Democratic Party's ability to deliver 14 sure votes in Quinn's favor in exchange for lucrative chairmanships on powerful committees has been compromised.

While not readily discussed, it's widely known that the heads of the city's powerful county Democratic parties generally jockey for power by promising a bloc of votes from their individual council members to a speaker candidate.

Add to those original 14 votes the vote of Diana Reyna, who represents a portion of Ridgewood and has had a very public falling out with Kings County Democratic Party chair Vito Lopez, and the Queens party could have conceivably had 15 sure votes.

That would have tied Brooklyn, which has been notoriously fractitous in the past. And given Queens County chair Joseph Crowley's ties to the Bronx – part of his congressional district is in that borough – and that borough's eight votes could vote with Queens in exchange for a greater piece of the pie.

While City Council members are, of course, free to choose who to vote for, no group of council members has been more unified than the members from Queens over the years.

And it's paid off. Members from Queens headed very high-profile committees, from Land Use to Finance to Public Safety to Transportation. Even Tony Avella, a known renegade when it comes to matters before the City Council, secured the very powerful chairmanship of a Land Use Subcomittee that reviewed the Bloomberg administration's aggressive rezoning policies.

Now with the election of three Republicans, the Democratic Party can't use party politics to deliver the votes of the entire Queens delegation should a challanger arise.

“That's the fundamental difference between the Democratic and Republican parties in New York City,” said Eric Ulrich, a Republican who held on to a seat in South Queens that he won during a February special election. “The Democratic party is a machine and runs well as such and is revered or feared, depending on your circle, whereas Republicans are more independent and accountable to their constituents.”

Ulrich said Republicans can act as “free agents,” and as such their vote is highly coveted – and rewarded. He pointed to the example of Staten Island Republican council member Jimmy Oddo, who was able to bring home the second highest dollar figure of city money to his district, despite being overwhelmingly in the City Council minority.

“I wouldn't be surprised if myself, Dan Halloran, or Peter Koo brought home more money for our districts than some Democrats,” Ulrich said. “I am sure that there will be times when [we] don't agree, but the difference is we can disagree without being disagreeable or fear political retribution.”

Councilman-elect Peter Koo, who will represent Flushing, said Christine Quinn contacted him immediately following his victory to congratulate him. He said if there was a race for the speaker post, he would consult with his fellow Republicans in the council, but would ultimately make up his own mind.

"It's entirely my decision who to vote for," he said.

Councilman-elect Dan Halloran of Bayside said if there is a race for speaker, he would meet with his fellow Republicans in the City Council and consult with Oddo, who is currently the minority leader. He said that while there are only five Republicans in the council, they had a chance to sway more conservative Democrats, such as Peter Vallone, Jr. of Astoria, to vote with them.

“In the end, we could have a voting bloc of 10 or so members, which gives us considerable influence,” said Halloran.

Phil Ragusa, chairman of the Queens County Republican Party, said if there is a race for speaker, the Queens GOP will be in the unfamiliar position of being able to impact that race.

“We've never been at the table before,” he said. “We've never had a reason to be at the table.”