Common Cause/NY Statement on Arrest of Assembly Speaker

Common Cause/NY Executive Director Susan Lerner issued the following statement:

NEW YORK, NY (01/22/2015)(readMedia)-- "The arrest of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver by federal authorities for undisclosed income further reveals the crucial role the Moreland Commission played in bringing corruption in New York State government to light. This sad development underscores, yet again, the sorry state of ethics enforcement in New York. These circumstances make it particularly egregious that the statutorily mandated Review Commission which was supposed to have been appointed by the Governor and legislative leaders to review and evaluate the performance of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics and the Legislative Ethics Commission was never named. Common Cause/NY supports requiring New York's Legislature to work full-time for New Yorkers along with strict limits on outside income. In the meantime, New York State needs stricter disclosure laws requiring elected officials to fully open their books to public scrutiny and a wholesale overhaul of ethics laws and enforcement. New Yorkers deserve a Legislature that does not function under a persistent and permanent ethical cloud. Common Cause/New York urges the U.S. Attorney and Speaker Silver to do everything possible to facilitate an early trial to resolve these troubling charges."