Ethics, Campaign Finance Update

No big stories today, but a few interesting ones in the wake of last week’s indictments by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY.

NY LEAD, a group pushing for public financing of political campaigns in New York,  announced some new members today, including prominent Democratic fundraiser Dennis Mehiel (read Crain’s coverage here).

Read the indictment of (now former) Assemblyman Nelson Castro, which was unsealed yesterday.

Comptroller DiNapoli announced that five more companies in which the New York State Common Retirement Fund is invested have agreed to disclose their political spending.

Also yesterday, two New York City mayoral candidates announced their anti-corrputpion proposals.  Read what Democrat Bill De Blasio proposes, and what Republican George McDonald calls for.

Finally, read Jonathan Soros’s argument for enacting a system of matching public funds, in today’s Times Union.