The gridlock in New York's state capitol has gone on for way too long. It is becoming increasingly clear that working in Albany to bring about change in the way Albany operates is not enough. This election year, which may bring historic change to the State Senate, provides us with a perfect opportunity to use the election and campaign events to move reform issues back to the center of political discussions in New York.  We have to show our elected officials that the issues that we work on to bring effective and accountable state government to New York are supported by ordinary New Yorkers throughout the state. We can't do that simply by lobbying officials once they've arrived in Albany.  We have to move the discussion into districts throughout the state. The Pledge for Change campaign is designed to do precisely that.
 

On Wednesday, Common Cause/New York, along with our coalition partners Citizens Union, the League of Women Voters of New York and NYPIRG issued a Reform Report Card, pointing out that two years after extensive promises of reform in Albany, little has been accomplished.

Final grade, as of today: F. Aware of our criticism, and having been urged on several occasions by CC/NY and its coalition partners to introduce a strong campaign finance bill, Governor Paterson finally got off the dime and announced the details of a bill he plans to introduce - as we were holding our press conference. At least we know we had some effect! You can watch Albany Channel 10's report about the press conference and the Governor's actions.

Here in New York, we've been roiled over the last month and a half by repeated revelations of huge amounts of public money paid out at the sole discretion of an individual elected official. Over $350 million in the New York City budget is controlled by individual City Council members, state legislators' member control items totaling almost $140 million, and over $1 billion in the state budget is controlled by the Governor and legislative leaders for discretionary "capital projects."

Elected officials like to call these amounts "discretionary funds."  Here at Common Cause/New York, like other members of the public and the press, we call them what they are: slush funds. Why do we even have these slush funds at all?

Common Cause/NY is saddened by the situation which led to Governor Spitzer's resignation today. Our thoughts are with the Spitzer family and we hope that they will weather this storm.

At the same time, we look forward to working with Lt. Governor David Paterson as he assumes the responsibilities of the governorship of our great state. We are genuinely impressed with the bi-partisan reputation that precedes Mr. Paterson's entry to the Governor's Mansion and know firsthand that he is a strong supporter of meaningful reform.

On Monday, New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer held a news conference at New York City Hall to address newspaper reports that he had been directly involved in a prostitution ring. While Common Cause adheres to the core American belief that individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty, Governor Spitzer's brief statement did nothing to quell that suspicion.

Common Cause/NY is stunned and saddened by law enforcement allegations that Gov. Spitzer was involved in such activities. While news reports have raised concerns about the origins of the investigation, the allegations remain deeply troubling and problematic because Mr. Spitzer ran for governor of New York as an ethical reformer, and has spent his legal and political career fighting corruption. It is disappointing to see that an official with such promise, in whom so many New Yorkers had placed great hope, would allow himself to become embroiled in such a scandal.

Common Cause/NY believes an elected official's most important job is to uphold the public trust. And sadly, that appears now to be broken. As this saga unfolds, Common Cause/NY remains committed to working with New York's leaders to bring about the reforms that New Yorkers so clearly want. We invite you to join us in the ongoing fight for open and accountable state government.