22 August 2021: Editorial - Changes Needed to Fix NY's Public Corruption

Changes in power, ethics must follow the Cuomo era

The editors of the Albany Times-Union are focusing on New York's biggest unresolved problem being left behind by Andrew M. Cuomo on the eve of his departure from office.

Come 12:01 Tuesday morning, New York will have a new governor. Whether the state enters a truly new era, though, will depend on whether its people have learned the hard lessons of the Cuomo years — and do something about it....

Yes, its people. We certainly expect Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul to live up to her promises to be a different kind of leader than Andrew Cuomo when she takes over as governor. But simply hoping that the governor — any governor — will serve with integrity and humility while wielding the enormous power that comes with the job is just a form of semi-autocracy, however benevolent and efficient it may seem. It’s the people — as represented by the Legislature — that must bind the governor to rules and norms that keep his or her power and the ability to abuse it in check.

If there is one overarching lesson of the Cuomo administration, it’s an age-old one that people too often forget when a leader’s agenda seems to be in sync with their own: Power corrupts.

The editors lay out a series of incidents that should have raised show-stopping red flags in Albany, but didn't. Instead, the public corruption permeating throughout New York's state government from Cuomo's influence was tolerated by its legislators.

Mr. Cuomo did not accomplish all this alone. He did it with the complicity of a Legislature that has become far too deferential to governors when it comes to allowing them to dominate so much of the government. If Mr. Cuomo believed he could get away with cover-ups and inappropriate behavior, it was because, in no small part, the Legislature did little to disabuse him of that notion until his wrongdoing reached a critical mass that his fellow Democrats could no longer ignore.

That must change, and the Legislature must lead the way, creating a truly independent ethics watchdog — and presenting to the public the necessary constitutional amendment — and a state inspector general unbeholden to the governor. And it would do well to look at all the state’s boards and commissions with an eye toward correcting the imbalance of executive and legislative appointments.

To accomplish reform, New York will need to amend its state constitution. That means the state is at least two legislative cycles away from adopting the reforms advocated by the editors. State legislators need to get started on that work now.