In Legislature, It’s All About Power

The match has been lit on ethics reform By [Alan S. Chartock] I like Sheldon Silver. I"ve interviewed him on the radio hundreds of times. He"s personable and funny and very smart. He is a student of political power. He is cool under pressure. He has done some very good things to help people who need help. His troops adore him. He is a first rate leader and, above all, he is a survivor. Of course, I don"t always agree with him. For example, I don"t agree with him on ethics reform. Unlike Shelly"s half-a-loaf, I think we have to go all the way. Once you are a legislator, in order to protect the people, you have to disclose who is giving you every penny that you receive. That"s the only way we can prevent influence peddling. If you are working for a law firm, you should have to divulge your income to the penny. If a woman hires you to defend her in a divorce case, that woman has choices. She can go to any lawyer. If she chooses to go to a connected lawyer, she may be trying to influence him on another matter or she may be trying to use the legislator/lawyer"s personal influence. After all, in this world, the decision about who ultimately becomes a judge is often influenced by the same legislators who may be appearing before them. That"s why we need financial disclosure. If the so-called ethics reform leaves the door open just a little, there will be those who take advantage. When you get folks like Pedro Espada in the State Senate, who appears to be playing fast and loose with his power in order to help himself, you have to understand why people need a clearer picture of what"s going on. It"s all about power. I disagree with Shelly about other things as well. The idea that those in power in a so-called democracy would be allowed to draw legislative district lines, giving themselves the political advantage, makes a mockery out of our political process. That"s like allowing the owner of the Yankees to also be the umpire behind the plate. Former Mayor Ed Koch, who is certainly not a paragon of virtue in all his judgments, is absolutely right when it comes to his campaign to change that system. He has asked legislators and citizens alike to sign a pledge to change the system so that everyone who runs for the legislature can have a fair chance. A lot of legislators have taken Koch"s pledge. They"ve signed on the bottom line. The Republican leader, Dean Skelos, recently told me that he had signed the pledge. Such a thing would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago, but now that Skelos" party is in the minority, he knows full well how easy it is to be taken advantage of. He has learned his lesson about the abuse of power. Of course, the devil is in the details and a lot of the people who have taken the pledge will have to vote on a good (rather than a phony) bill, once they have the chance. There is a new day coming. The sleeping giant is beginning to awaken. Things are very tough out there among the voters. Many people have no idea who represents them and most have no idea about any bills that come up for vote. We treat our politicians like plumbers or car mechanics. We assume they are doing what"s right, but every once in a while, the cover comes off and we see the sausage factory. We see the unholy relationships between the lobbyists and the legislators. When everyone is doing OK, the people don"t care. But things are tough now. When teachers are threatened with losing their jobs; when class sizes go up; when people are denied the right to have primaries and the political bosses tell them that it will be the bosses, not the people, who make decisions, you had better believe that the system will come under fire. The match has been lit and the dynamite is dangerously close to exploding. If I were Shelly Silver, I would be anxious to get out in front of the process, not lagging behind. He has it within him to make the changes that will bring democracy back into balance. It will be good for him and good for all of us. 's Alan S. Chartock is president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio and an executive publisher at The Legislative Gazette.