Schneiderman Ethics Tour Stops In Buffalo
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman continued his tour of the state Monday promoting his ethics reform legislation in Buffalo.
The state’s top law official joined representatives from good-government groups and continued to call on state lawmakers to take up his bill and change the system that has allowed for a parade of scandals in Albany, including the arrests of the legislative leaders in both chambers.
Schneiderman, who held an event in Long Island promoting the legislation last week and stopped in Rochester on his way to Buffalo today, said that with both the Assembly speaker and the Senate majority leader dethroned over charges of corruption, now is the time to push for the long-overdue reforms.
“I truly believe that this year we are in a very unique position to pass comprehensive reforms,” Schneiderman said. “Not only is it possible, it’s being demanded by average New Yorkers in every part of the state.”
The legislation, which has several sponsors in the Assembly but has yet to find support in the Senate, contains several drastic changes to the rules of the Legislature, including a bump in the length of terms from two to four years, the end of outside employment for office holders and an increase in lawmakers’ compensation.
In addition, the bill would strengthen laws and sentencing guidelines for those caught breaking the rules and would change campaign finance law—eliminate the LLC loophole, lower contribution limits, allow public financing of campaigns—creating a political system Schneiderman says would be less ripe for abuse.
Schneiderman said that while some reform measures have passed the Legislature in recent years, none have had the teeth to cause real change in a state Capitol that has seen too many legislators taken away in handcuffs.
“I am done with advocating for halfway measures,” Schneiderman said. “The people of New York are done with that too. Bold change, real change, transformational change is what people are demanding.”
The attorney general stood in front of County Hall with about 40 people from various good-government groups—including Common Cause New York, Citizen Action New York, the Partnership for the Public Good, People United for Sustainable Housing and the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York—as he delivered his remarks.
Will Yelder of Citizen Action New York said the current system limits the participation of the public in government and diminishes their standing in what is supposed to be an opportunity to influence change for regular people.
“We’re tired,” Yelder said. “Tired of our voices being drowned out by billionaires who are connected to politicians.”
Schneiderman’s visit comes on the heels of raids of the homes of political operative Steve Pigeon, former deputy mayor of Buffalo-turned-consultant Steve Casey and Rep. Chris Collins’ Chief of Staff Chris Grant, conducted by the FBI in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Office and the state police.
When asked by a reporter about the raids and whether the investigation had any connection to his push for the bill, Schneiderman declined to comment.
The session ends June 17, and while the bill lacks a Senate sponsor, Schneiderman said that two weeks in Albany is a long time to work with, stressing that there is plenty of opportunity to find someone in the chamber to take up the legislation.
“Let us not confuse a lack of time with a lack of will,” Schneiderman said. “We’ve got the time. We need to get the political will to pass real, meaningful reform.”
However, Schneiderman and his allies will have a hard time gaining support from the Republican majority in the state Senate for all the provisions of the bill, particularly public financing of campaigns and the closing of the LLC loophole, which they view as limiting the First Amendment.
Sen. Daniel Squadron, a New York City Democrat, pushed legislation that would close the LLC loophole, but that bill was killed last month in the Corporation Committee, chaired by Western New York Republican Michael Ranzenhofer.
Still, Schneiderman has vowed to continue his push through the end of the session, holding out hope that public pressure—a recent Siena College poll found that 90 percent of New Yorkers view corruption in the Legislature as a problem—will convince both Senate Republicans and Assembly Democrats to put his legislation up for a vote.
Schneiderman said the cycle of prosecution, weak reform measures and then another scandal needs to be broken.
“It has been repeating itself over the last number of years,” Schneiderman said, “and it’s simply not good enough.”