10 September 2021: Hochul Being Urged to Fill JCOPE Vacancies ASAP

Hochul pushed to fill ethics posts amid potential probe of Cuomo’s $5M book deal

Several good government groups are aggressively pushing for newly installed New York Governor Kathy Hochul to appoint non-Cuomo loyalists to

Gov. Kathy Hochul is being pressured by lawmakers and watchdog groups to fill at least two immediate vacancies on the state’s ethics board, as it considers whether to go forward with a probe of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — and possibly revoking approval for his $5.1 million book deal.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics is slated to meet on Tuesday, Sept. 14, but two Cuomo appointees resigned last month along with the disgraced ex-governor — former chair Camille Varlack and Commissioner Daniel Horwitz — and one more gubernatorial rep, Commissioner James Dering, is slated to depart in October.

That means Hochul — who has pledged ethics and transparency will be a “hallmark” of her administration — will soon be on the hook for naming three individuals to complete the board, which at full strength stands at 14 members.

“JCOPE can’t do its job unless it’s staffed up and that’s up to Gov. Hochul to make the appointments as soon as possible,” said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, in a phone interview Thursday.

It's fair to say that JCOPE has been fully compromised by Andrew M. Cuomo. Proposals to replace New York's flawed official ethics watchdog commission have been made, which have a long way to go before being enacted. That's why the groups are pushing Hochul to fill vacancies on the body as quickly as possible, because it's nearly the only game in town outside of investigations into Andrew M. Cuomo's legacy of scandals by multiple county district attorneys, the state attorney general, and the federal government.