Governor Nominates Chief Enforcement Counsel for Board of Elections

On Friday, Gov. Cuomo nominated Risa Sugarman to serve as the enforcement counsel at the State Board of Elections (SBOE). If she is confirmed by both houses of the Legislature, Ms. Sugarman receive a five-year term to head the SBOE’s Election Law Enforcement Division. But this may pose something of a challenge, as just four scheduled session days remain in the 2014 session.

Ms. Sugarman currently serves as Deputy Commissioner of the Criminal Investigations Division at the Department of Taxation and Finance. She previously served in the Attorney General’s office and the Bronx District Attorney’s office.

The enforcement counsel position was created in the 2014-15 state budget (Chapter 55 of 2014, Part H, Subpart B). Election Law § 3-100 was amended to add a new subdivision 3-a, which provides:

“There is established within the state board of elections the office of chief enforcement counsel to head the division of election law enforcement. Such counsel shall serve in said office for a fixed term of five years commencing September first, two thousand fourteen, and may only be removed by the governor for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, or the inability to discharge the powers or duties of office, upon notice with an opportunity to be heard. The chief enforcement counsel shall have sole authority over personnel decisions within the enforcement division. All hiring decisions made by the chief enforcement counsel shall be made without regard to political affiliation. The chief enforcement counsel shall not hold any other public office, be a party officer during his or her term of office, or otherwise engage in outside employment. He or she shall be chosen by the governor which choice shall be confirmed by each house of the legislature separately by a majority vote of the members elected to each house of the legislature.”

In their highlights of the 2014-15 enacted budget, Gov. Cuomo’s press office described the new office and position:

Independent Enforcement Unit at Board of Elections: The State Board of Elections’ ineffective structure, consisting of four commissioners who are evenly appointed by each major party, leads to gridlock and rarely produces any serious investigations of election law violations. The Budget legislation creates a new, independent enforcement division headed by a chief enforcement counsel, who is appointed outside of the Board to a 5-year term, vested with authority to investigate violations of the Election Law. It would also create a compliance unit that would make complying with the Election Law’s reporting requirements a priority and help ensure a transparent system of election finance reporting.

Read news reports of the Governor’s appointment from Capital NY and the Times Union.