Let the Sunlight In

Common Cause/NY Responds to Arrest of Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos

NEW YORK, NY (05/04/2015)(readMedia)-- Today's arrest of a second of Albany's three men in a room raises serious questions about the Capitol's ongoing culture of entitlement that leads to corruption. Senator Skelos is innocent until proven guilty, but the charges suggest a willful and shocking disregard for the public's expectation of how the people's business will be conducted.

Our state elected officials must disabuse themselves of the notion that once they make it to Albany or obtain leadership positions they're entitled to use their office for personal gain. Half measures negotiated in secret for inclusion through the budget are clearly not enough. The ethics review commission appointed last Friday is a start, but the Capitol is still in need of a serious overhaul.

Unfiltered sunlight is necessary to ensure that honest discussions about ethics are held in the open. Too much important business needs to get done this session-the people of New York deserve a functioning state legislature, one that is not crippled by scandal.