FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 13, 2017
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Newell
paul@newellnyc.org
Statement on Appeals Court Ruling on Sheldon Silver
Today’s ruling in no way undoes the tremendous damage done to New Yorkers by Sheldon
Silver and a persistently broken Albany. The facts remain that Sheldon
Silver used his power and position to enrich himself by nearly $4 Million
at the expense of New Yorkers.
Silver’s legacy will always include the weakening of rent protections
for over two million New Yorkers at the behest of one of New York’s
biggest landlords. Many people lost their homes as a result, and many
others had their family budgets further burdened by rising rents. Silver’s
pay-to-play governance remains a crime, regardless of today’s ruling.
I will leave the question of a retrial to the prosecutors. He is out of
government, and frankly, I’ve never been a big believer in prisons
as a solution to our problems. More important now than a retrial, is a
reexamination of how we govern our state. Silver’s defenders, both
in court and in the press, argued that his actions were just “business
as usual in Albany.” And they were right.
This "business as usual" must come to an end. We must end outside
income for legislators and backroom legislating that lead inevitably to
this kind of corruption. When the laws for 19 million people are written
in a secret room, you can be sure that moneyed interests will buy their way in.
As it happens, New Yorkers have an opportunity to change this year. In
November, we will vote on whether to call a
Constitutional Convention. While such a convention has some risks, it is by far the most likely
path to a state government that represents New Yorkers. The urgent need
for this convention has never been more clear. Those frustrated by today’s
ruling and the culture of corruption in New York State, should join me
in voting Yes on that convention this November.
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