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Picnic and Making it a Great Success
4/29/2008
Politicians call for widespread reform of government, but not the ones who can make it law
| Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo spoke at today’s Reform Day event at the Sign of the Tree restaurant at the state plaza.The three spoke passionately about the need for reform, to restore trust in government, and said that they were personally in support of many of the issues that reform advocates want. Smith said he was in support of public financing of campaigns (he’s the sponsor of a Senate bill to create a public financing system) and said he’s in support of redistricting reform, but that his conference isn’t quite there yet. What’s more, he doesn’t have the votes to make it happen right now. But Smith did issue a warning to Senate Majority Joseph Bruno, that his time is over, “reform is on the way”. Something to keep an eye on during the elections, where this will certainly be campaign issue. It will also be interesting to see what happens if there’s a switch in the majority. It’s certainly hard to give up the power to redistrict, the millions more in pork, the multiple staffers, and campaign fundraising advantages once you’re the one getting them. DiNapoli said he’s in support of public fundraising, and joked, “I’d like to be the guinea pig for public campaign finance…I would love by the end of session for your bill to be enacted, it would make my life a lot easier,” referencing that he’s getting ribbed about the fact that he hasn’t started fundraising yet. Cuomo said he’s in support of reform in government, including an independent Ethics Commission, an independent redistricting commission, change to the operating rules of the legislature recommended by the Brennan Center, and campaign finance reform. But since he isn’t a legislator, Cuomo can’t enact any of these things himself. (In case you are wondering what Cuomo is doing in the picture above, he’s telling the story of a man who falls off a cliff, clings to a branch and asks for help from above. The voice asks him if he has faith, the man replies “yes” and God says, “if you have faith, let of the branch.” The man then replies, “is there anyone else up there.” All this to say that “there isn’t anyone else up there” and that advocates needed to persevere for reform. Cuomo is thus clinging to the proverbial branch) Paterson didn’t speak at this year’s reform day. Below is a video of his speech at last year’s reform day, when he, as Lieutenant Governor, wasn’t in the position to do anything about reform besides speak his mind. |
