December 1, 2006

Those of us who write about ethics in government usually call our readers' attention to unethical conduct by public officials or the lobbyists who succor them.  There is certainly plenty of that behavior in Albany, steeped as it is in the culture of pay to play.  But today, December first, we are pleased to report good news from the capital of the Empire State: new ethical standards (were there any old ones?) imposed by Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer on himself and his incoming administration. The changes are substantial and far reaching.  They are based on integrity, transparency and self-restraint.

You can link directly to the press release from the transition office to get the complete program, which will be implemented by executive orders.  A comprehensive story by  Michael Cooper appears on B1 in today's Times.  Under the headline: SPITZER TO CUT SIZE OF GIFTS HE ACCEPTS, Proposes Revisions in Fund-Raising, Cooper wrote: "Moving swiftly in his efforts to change culture of Albany.  Spitzer said Thursday that he would unilaterally stop accepting campaign contributions greater than $10,000, which is less than a fifth of the $50,100 in individual donations currently allowed by state law.

"In addition, he unveiled a series of ethics rules for members of his administration, including a pledge that neither he nor his aides would hold fund raisers in Albany during the legislative session.  That is prime fund-raising time for politicians here, since they are always able to corral lobbyists to attend their events. "The changes would be seismic for Albany..."

The reform program was presented in full in Fredric U. Dicker's  comprehensive Post article on p16, ELIOT PLEDGES AN ETHIC$ SHAKE-UP. Dicker wrote that Spitzer also promised to hold regular news conferences and interviews, to establish numerically based measures for government performance, and require pork-barrel member items in the state budget to be enumerated specifically, not concealed in a huge lump sum. Dicker has long championed reform in Albany and has aggravated many state officials by reporting on their peccadilloes.

The Sun placed the story, by Jacob Gershman,  on page one, SPITZER WILL 'UNILATERALLY DISARM' ON DAY ONE,  We quote Gershman: "The self-imposed restrictions were also a direct challenge to Albany's establishment, often criticized for its lax lobbying and campaign finance laws and its culture of secrecy. The Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, called Mr. Spitzer's announcement 'welcome news', saying that he has championed similar measures."

The News ran a picture of Spitzer and Lieutenant Governor-elect David Paterson above the headline, KISS GIFTS BYE-BYE  Eliot vows immediate ban on presents, fundraisers. Joe Mahoney's story cited the two officials as saying that more changes are to come as they try to make government more transparent.  We couldn't find the Newsday story by John Riley and Melissa Manfield in the newspaper,  but it did appear on their website, so you can link to it.

Another symbol of a new era is Spitzer's pledge not to appear in state-funded TV commercials, attacking smoking or promoting state programs in housing and health.  These commercials, often bought and paid for by tax dollars, are, in effect, free political advertising for the incumbent, and the practice irritated us, no matter who was doing it.  That particular commitment may be the hardest to keep, because the temptation to explain your programs to the beneficiaries of your work, in their homes, can be almost overwhelming.  It is easier to give up money than face time
  
The governor-elect's self-imposed restrictions are significant and should be welcomed warmly.   These are the first substantive changes to be announced by the incoming  administration.   We recall that Spitzer met with a group of civic reformers on the morning of November 13, his first day back from Puerto Rico, and the same day he met with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.  The unilateral ethical standards announced yesterday  will, hopefully, set the tone for the new administration, and inspire the legislature to take similar action to clean its own houses. On the basis of past inaction, we would not, however, hold our breath until the solons reform themselves.
 
It is a change of pace from previous ethics pronunciamentos by Governor Pataki and other statespersons. Those were sometimes conditioned on legislative action which never occurred. Senator Bruno scoffed yesterday at the proposed ban on fund-raisers during legislative sessions.  "If they want to support people here, they ought to be able to do it," he said.  It is true that Albany fund raisers are much more important to legislators than to state-wide elected officials.  Nonetheless, there is something unseemly about taking a lobbyist's money in the evening and voting on his pet bills the next morning.  A legislator would have to be a profound ingrate to ignore his satisfied throat, stomach and nether regions.
 
The legislature is highly unlikely to reform itself spontaneously, particularly where money, the traditional mother's milk of politics, is concerned.  The Assembly will probably be somewhat more sympathetic, at least to cosmetic reform, than the Senate, because it is controlled by the governor's party, and because so few of them have competitive races for which they need to raise serious money, gerrymandering and demographics having done their work for a generation. (There are 108 Democrats to 42 Republicans in the Assembly, and 34 Republicans to 28 Democrats in the Senate.)
 
Just as the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the test of ethical standards will lie with their enforcement.  There is really nothing that hard to do in the new rules, but a newly appointed inspector general and a revived State Ethics Commission should help assure compliance. BTW, does anyone know what happened to the SIC (the State Investigation Commission), which was once an important agency?
 
The reform we like best is the renunciation of speaking fees, which afforded both Governors Pataki (140) and Cuomo (128) six-figure incomes.  That is a disproportionate result, since Governor Cuomo is the more eloquent speaker.  We will wait to see whether the new Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, also renounces this sweetener to his state salary. He certainly should.  The Albany Times-Union reported that young Cuomo received $122,000 in speaking fees while he was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, although the money went to his former wife. We also wonder what policy the State Comptroller will follow on this issue.  He is currently in limbo, while other authorities plot his doom.  
 
In Washington, speaking fees are often a thinly disguised way for a trade association to launder money paid to a legislator who thinks the same way the lobbyists do.  Mayor Koch never accepted speaking fees when he was mayor, although he does now as a private citizen. There was a scandal in Washington a while back when former Speaker Jim Wright wrote a book, and lobbyists bought thousands of copies of his wise words.  There was a modest stir a few years ago about a children's book published in New York State.  It would be better if the ban on speaking fees applied to public officials' immediate families as well as themselves, unless it can be shown that the relative is an independent expert in the subject matter of his/her oration or promotional appearance, and there is no connection whatsoever to the officeholder's duties, position or prestige.  We suspect Governor Spitzer will not tolerate such paid speeches by surrogates.

Cynics will say that Governor-elect Spitzer can afford to limit contributions and ban gifts and speaking fees because of his family's wealth and his incumbency.  That may have an element of truth in it, but the restrictions imposed are still salutary measures to reduce the influence of money in politics.  The governor-elect has set a high standard of probity for himself and his appointees. We are unaccustomed to unforced, positive actions in this area.

We are curious to see how the boys who hang in the once-smoky taverns of Albany react to the white knight.  We welcome the fact that he has adopted a broad program of ethical reform.  We hope the legislature acts to limit payments by persons with an obvious commercial interest in pending bills, such as pension enhancements at public expense.   We hope the senators and assemblymembers agree to publish the income tax returns of their leaders, and limit outside income from people or businesses who have matters pending before the legislature.   If all this happened, it might be attractive for some of the senior members to retire on their already generous pensions, and provide some turnover at Madame Tussaud's.



#334 12.01.06  1417wds