Campaign Finance Reform, Public Corruption Update
This are heating up in Albany in terms of campaign finance reforms and addressing public corruption.
Thus, there is a long list of link-worthy items today:
Yesterday, the Assembly passed its bill to put in place system of public financing of state campaigns (A.4980-C). The purpose of the 2013 Fair Elections Act is to “to remove the influence of special interest money, give elections back to the people, and restore confidence in our electoral process. ” Watch the floor comments of Assemblyman Bill Nojay (R- Pittsford), who opposes the use of taxpayer money to pay for vacations, dinners and campaign consultants.
In today’s Journal News, Senators Klein and Carlucci of the Independent Democratic Conference explain why they support ethics and campaign finance reform. Senator Carlucci (D-Clarkstown) is hosting a public hearing on “comprehensive campaign finance reform” in Valley Cottage later today.
Fellow IDC member Senator David Valesky (D-Oneida) explains his campaign finance and anti-corruption bills in an interview.
Former Secretary to Gov. Cuomo discusses the possibility (threat?) of the Governor appointing Moreland Commission to look at public corruption.
The latest ads being run by the state Democratic Party feature Gov. Cuomo explaining his anti-corruption agenda. The message: “Tell your legislators it’s time to clean up Albany, because we all deserve a government we can trust.”
Watch yesterday’s the Senate Elections Committee hearing (approximately 4.5 hours long) examining abuses in New York City’s public funding system. The decision to bar protestors from the hearing room caused some controversy. Read news coverage of the circus hearing in the Daily News, the Times Union, the New York Times, the Syracuse Post-Standard and the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.
NYPIRG released a report which identified over 100,000 campaign finance violations to highlight the “abject failure” of the state’s campaign finance laws. Gov. Cuomo agrees, and cites the report as “further evidence that we cannot wait on passing real reforms to our election system.”
The Watertown Daily Times points to gerrymandering as an enabler of public corruption.
The Assembly cancelled its session today to hold mandatory ethics training: