12 December 2021: Editorial - Too Many New York Pols are No Shows When Ethics Reforms Are on Table

Editorial: New York state’s own watchdogs blow off ethics

This editorial blasts five of New York's seven ethics oversight organizations for public officials for being no shows when reforming the state's oversight system was on the table.

The state’s key internal watchdogs had a perfect opportunity to bring their experience and expertise to the table last week and help legislators build a better government. They blew it off.

That speaks volumes about the sad state of ethics enforcement in New York — and offers a sad commentary, however unintentional, on the integrity of these enforcers of integrity.

Invited to appear at a state Senate Ethics Committee hearing Thursday, five state investigative bodies declined or didn’t even bother to respond: Attorney General Letitia James; the Legislative Ethics Commission; the state inspector general; the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations; and the Joint Commission on Public Ethics....

The point of the hearing, led by committee chair Alessandra Biaggi, was to look at the state of enforcement of ethics and other rules in government with an eye toward improving it. And there’s surely room for improvement: JCOPE, created under Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is widely regarded as a failure — dominated by appointees of the governor, easily hobbled by political factions, and too secretive for the public to fully know the scope of official corruption. The Legislature aims to overhaul or replace the panel. (JCOPE’s former executive director did meet with the committee in August, but its new top staffer, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s appointee Jose Nieves, did not attend last week’s hearing.)....

Explaining their work; openly discussing challenges, obstacles, and limitations to fulfilling their mission; and helping legislators understand what good government in New York could look like is very much part of the job of all these bodies. And the first requirement in any job, public or private, is to show up. They didn’t.

That was a show of disrespect not just to the committee but to the people of New York on whose behalf the Legislature does this sort of work. Lawmakers should bear that in mind as they try to build a better system — and, hopefully, a more accountable one.

Perhaps its better they didn't show up. Why would you want those officials to have any say in what reforms are ultimately implemented?