Legislature Approves SBOE Chief Enforcement Counsel (Updated)

Last week, Gov. Cuomo nominated Risa Sugarman to serve as the Chief Enforcement Counsel at the State Board of Elections, a new position.  (Read my prior post on the nomination, and some background on the position, here.)

The Assembly unanimously approved Ms. Sugarman’s nomination before they adjourned for the year early this morning.

This afternoon, she appeared before the Senate Finance Committee, where she was questioned at length about how she plans to approach her new job.

She told Senators that the office needs to train and educate candidates and filers to provide clarity about their reporting responsibilities. She also said that she is not familiar with the State Board of Elections, so her first task will be to learn more about how it currently functions, to see where improvements can be made.

She also said that she understands the statute to be “complaint-driven,” and that she does not expect to initiate investigations “after reading the newspaper.”

She assured Senators that “politics has no place in an investigation,” and that her office will not “interfere with the political process or a campaign” by “holding press conferences.”

She also said that her understanding of the position is that it is supposed to be independent, and that she therefore does not “answer to” to Governor or the Legislature.

In one of its final acts before adjourning the 2014 session, the Senate approved Ms. Sugarman’s nomination, also unanimously.

Update:  Watch the Senate Finance Committee question Ms. Sugarman here.