Common Cause/NY Statement following Governor Cuomo's New York City State of the State Presentation

NEW YORK, NY (01/09/2017)(readMedia)-- Statement of Common Cause/NY Executive Director Susan Lerner following Governor Cuomo's New York City State of the State presentation:

"Common Cause/NY has a decidedly mixed response to the Governor's State of the State address today. The fact that Governor Cuomo failed to mention any ethics or campaign finance reforms in his State of the State address is shocking and unacceptable," said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY. "After the Governor pleaded and prodded with the legislature to hold a special session during the holiday season for new ethics reforms in exchange for a legislative pay raise, his silence is truly deafening. Simply ignoring the continuing corruption crisis within state government - including the Governor's own administration - will not make it go away. This is a glaring omission.

"At the same time, we note that Governor Cuomo has once again expressed his support for improving our state's election administration, joining the growing momentum here in New York to improve the voter experience and expand voting rights. While we look forward to working with the Governor and the legislature in the new session to see a package of voting reforms become law, we urge the Governor to consider following the lead of Connecticut, where their Secretary of State established automatic voter registration administratively, without legislative delays."

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