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Quote of the Day
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Robert Wechsler
“Unless
you out-and-out stick it in your pocket and walk away, everything’s
legal.”
--Spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections
Ethics programs are worthless if the laws are worthless, and if the enforcement bodies are politicized and toothless. Yesterday the New York Times ran a full-length editorial about the need for a culture change in New York's state government. The editorial refers to an "inbred system [that] allows so many lawmakers to abuse the public trust," something familiar to those who follow local governments. This editorial pulls together a number of familiar problems and offers equally familiar solutions.
The first section is entitled "Albany Needs Adult Supervision." In 2007 the commission on lobbying was merged with the ethics commission, apparently to get rid of the lobbying commission executive director, who was doing his job too well. Then a gubernatorially appointed ethics commission director was caught passing information to the governor. The Times calls for independent monitoring.
Tighter campaign finance laws need to be paired with tighter enforcement. "One assemblywoman has been fined 63 times for not filing any campaign contribution data for over a decade." The Times calls for public campaign financing.
Budget details are state secrets. The Times calls for a completely transparent budget.
The editorial goes on to deal with other issues, such as gerrymandering.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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--Spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections
Ethics programs are worthless if the laws are worthless, and if the enforcement bodies are politicized and toothless. Yesterday the New York Times ran a full-length editorial about the need for a culture change in New York's state government. The editorial refers to an "inbred system [that] allows so many lawmakers to abuse the public trust," something familiar to those who follow local governments. This editorial pulls together a number of familiar problems and offers equally familiar solutions.
The first section is entitled "Albany Needs Adult Supervision." In 2007 the commission on lobbying was merged with the ethics commission, apparently to get rid of the lobbying commission executive director, who was doing his job too well. Then a gubernatorially appointed ethics commission director was caught passing information to the governor. The Times calls for independent monitoring.
Tighter campaign finance laws need to be paired with tighter enforcement. "One assemblywoman has been fined 63 times for not filing any campaign contribution data for over a decade." The Times calls for public campaign financing.
Budget details are state secrets. The Times calls for a completely transparent budget.
The editorial goes on to deal with other issues, such as gerrymandering.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
---
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