Albany, NY – Sheldon Silver’s 21-year reign as the speaker of the New York state Assembly is ending — a tectonic shift in state government that many reform-minded lawmakers say provides an opportunity rewrite Albany’s political playbook.
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Greater transparency. Less centralized power. Technological innovations to help lawmakers share information with constituents. More input by rank-and-file lawmakers on which bills get votes and who sits on which committees.
The first major changes have already been agreed to: Silver is out, and his successor will be chosen over the next two weeks.
Following two days of closed-door talks, the Assembly’s majority Democrats announced that Silver had agreed to relinquish his position by Monday. A new speaker will be chosen by Feb. 10. That will give time for speaker candidates to rally support and allow lawmakers to evaluate them openly.
“A change in the person doesn’t necessarily mean a change in the system, and that’s what we need,” said freshman Assemblyman Charles Barron, D-Brooklyn. “I think we have a real shot at changing how things happen. The people of this state are sick and tired of corruption and bad behavior.”
Silver was accused last week by federal prosecutors of influencing legislation and awarding grants to collect almost $4 million in kickbacks over a decade. He exercised strong central control and has been known as a consummate political insider.
He declined to immediately resign, predicting he’ll be exonerated.
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, a Westchester Democrat, said they’re looking at internal reforms like changing staffing allotments, making committees more driven by members and less by staff, and having more legislators involved in leadership decisions, budget decisions and every other issue. Another proposal on the table is to limit leadership posts and committee chairmanships.
Suggested external reforms include a ban or limit on outside income, Paulin said. She didn’t know the level of support on that, she said.
Candidates for speaker so far are Assembly members Carl Heastie of the Bronx, Keith Wright of Manhattan, Joseph Lentol of Brooklyn, Catherine Nolan of Queens and Majority Leader Joseph Morelle of Rochester, who will be the acting speaker until legislators vote Feb. 10.
Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, D-Yonkers, said she wants to hear candidates put forward their vision of how they want to see the chamber work. One change Mayer would like to see: technological upgrades to help lawmakers communicate with constituents.
Mayer also wants to end the traditional “three men in a room” approach to government that sees big decisions made by the Assembly speaker, Senate leader and governor.
Freshman legislator Carrier Woerner from Saratoga Springs, who worked as an executive for a software publisher and at IBM, said she’ll be working with colleagues to try to put together a process for vetting the candidates. That’s exciting, she said, since for the past 20 years there’s only been one candidate.
“When a crisis like this happens, it is a good time to re-evaluate,” said Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy of Albany, who formerly worked on Capitol Hill. “The disclosure issues are going to be very important. And as much as we can do so members feel they have a voice in things.”
Yes its all nice. But mixing in so many people to have a say and eliminating the “three people in the room” system with having 20 people in the room will just cause chaos and disorganization. Too many hands on the pot is no good either. Its all sounds nice but its silly. Forbidding law makers from having outside jobs when the whole assmebley man’s job is part time is silly too.
The most effective rule change would be that “referral fees” between attorneys becomes unethical and illegal as it has been in the medical profession for many years. It was outlawed as “fee splitting” and not in the best interest of patients. But then again, the legislature is populated by attorneys so the chances of them rewriting those laws is nil. Yet this problem is not restricted to New York – it exists in all of our government’s centers of power. Why else are former legislators or their family members hired as lobbyists? Cronyism and entree to power is corrosively pervasive. When all is said and done, I am certain that what Mr. Silver did was not illegal – it was just flagrantly excessive and offensive enough so that those who sought to oust him found a convenient avenue to stir up public outrage. Yet all those who practice law and politics be wary – he public will be now watching more closely.