IS THE GRIDLOCK REALLY OVER?

Dear Friend:


The 31-day gridlock in the New York State Senate is finally over.


This session will be recorded as a painful and embarrassing episode for the Senate and New York State's government. The personal agendas of a few elected officials and a few private citizens were allowed to disrupt the democratic process and put the State into a potential constitutional crisis.


As one angry and anguished legislator, I am still struggling to put what happened into a broader context and come out the other side a better and more savvy elected official.


I thought that the Senate would change for the better when my party, the Democrats, took control six months ago after 44 years of Republican control (actually, 70 years, with one quick blip on the radar screen in 1965). I was wrong. I expected more from my Democratic colleagues. But I also knew that it had taken a long time for things to get this bad and that we could not fix everything overnight.


Now, after weeks of well-publicized embarrassment, I can sincerely say that things will never be the same again in the Senate...and I believe that is a good thing! After all, I ran for the State Senate on a platform of reform and change (even before they were the political buzzwords they are now).


While the Senate clearly has work to do in becoming a functioning body, in the end we did pass major legislation which had been bottlenecked for years by the former Republican Majority. Equally important, we reformed significantly the rules under which we will operate going forward (below I outline some of these rules changes and why I think they will be so valuable). Thus, despite the clear dysfunction of the last few weeks, history may record the legacy of this period as a turning point for New York State governance.


But first I would like to address some of the more disturbing lessons I have learned from the recent power plays and the underbelly of corruption of some of my colleagues revealed so evidently by their actions.


I once read an article which argued that the problem with any ethics laws in politics or business was that none of them really worked unless you first ensured that you only elected or employed ethical people. History has given us plenty of lessons from politics and business which back up that argument. But after the last few months in Albany, it seems more crucial than ever that we address this issue in politics.


Here's my personal rule: no one forced me to run for elected office. I asked the people of my district to vote for me and allow me the great privilege of making the laws under which they live. Thus, I am obligated to meet higher standards of legal and ethical behavior than other citizens.


Unfortunately, the only formal standard which is currently written into law is that "elected officials who are found guilty of felonies must resign their office." These cases, particularly corruption of office, can take years to resolve and are very hard to prove. Shouldn't our standards for elected officials be higher than "yet to be convicted of a crime"? To quote one journalist, writing about some of the Senators involved in the flip-flopping coup and counter coup: "They are unburdened by the responsibilities and weight of high public office."


Speaking for myself, I urge any and all citizens to challenge any elected official, regardless of party, who fails to live up to the high personal and professional ethical standards to which elected officials should be held.


To address a specific question asked by so many of you:


I did NOT elect Pedro Espada to office or vote for him for anything, including Majority Leader. The Majority Leader title was changed in the Senate Rules to have no substantive power, and is now an appointment by the President Pro Tempore - just like all the Committee Chairs and all Conference titled positions.


Senator Espada has appeared to sell his vote and his party affiliation multiple times. He has also been implicated in any number of questionable activities (take a look at the New York Magazine cover story about him: http://nymag.com/news/politics/57759/ ).


However, I do not believe he alone is at fault. Others inside and outside of government allowed these behaviors to be considered acceptable when they are not. And other colleagues of mine have also had ethical and legal issues raised about them.


One obvious, needed reform to some of these problems is real campaign finance reform. New York State Llaw currently allows nearly limitless contributions - including those by Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs) which can each give the maximum of over $9,000 per Senator - even when controlled by the same person or company. And if you don't submit campaign filings or correct records, all you get is an angry letter from the Board of Elections and maybe a small fine. That's it! If we change the campaign finance laws, unethical people may still try to buy politicians, and some politicians may still be for sale, but at least it will be more obvious to see who the bad guys are.


The next big question many have asked: did I support the deal to ensure the Democrats kept Majority control even if it meant taking back Pedro Espada? No, I did not welcome back Mr. Espada. I would have preferred not to have taken him back into our conference, but it was necessary to do so in order to break the gridlock and begin moving critical legislation. As a result, we have passed important rules reforms, legislation needed for laws which were sunsetting, and local tax bills in order for NYC and many counties to balance their budgets. We also passed some other very important legislation in the last few weeks; to see a list of some of these bills, go to: http://www.lizkrueger.com/endofsessionbills2009.html . Politics (like life) is a series of compromises, hopefully in order to achieve the greatest good. I believe the compromise which allowed the Democrats to maintain control of the Senate has already yielded more positive results than the decades of Republican rule and will continue to yield benefits for the people of New York.


In fact, let's talk about the big silver lining - Rules Reform. Out of this debacle, we passed new Rules of Operation which represents a historic shift in the way the State Senate will function. For decades New Yorkers have been clamoring for an end to "business as usual" in Albany and I am proud that after years of my arguing for these changes, we finally have taken a giant step toward a more fair and transparent government which truly serves the people's interests.


Most of you know that I have been advocating for these changes since I first ran for the Senate. In 2002, after I was in Albany for just six months, I was still surprised by the extent of antidemocratic, secretive practices I found. I unveiled my reform plan in a proposal entitled "Waking Up the State Senate: 34 Proposals for Reinvigorating Democracy in Albany through Rules Reform." (Go to http://www.lizkrueger.com/wakingup.html to view the original proposal.)


Since then I have pushed the Senate to pass these proposals every year. I even went so far as to take the State Legislature to court in 2005 in order to force reform on constitutional grounds.


Ironically, over the past couple of months, in one of the most troubling periods in the history of the Senate, "Reforming Albany" became more than a campaign slogan - it became a promise we kept.


The reforms we passed will increase transparency, strengthen the committee process, provide the public with more information, and give every Senator a greater ability to bring bills to a vote in committees or by the full Senate. In addition, term limits will be placed on legislative leaders and Committee Chairs, and resources for members will be equitable so each Senator can function effectively to represent his or her constituents.


The biggest winners from these actions will be the citizens of New York. The new rules will make our jobs harder but they will also force us to be better Senators. While it took decades for Albany to reach the depths we saw in the past month, I am proud that these reforms are the culmination of all that transpired. After seven years as a Minority Senator and just six months in the Majority, these reforms are especially gratifying. Here is a link to an outline of the specific Rules Reforms we passed: http://www.lizkrueger.com/rulesreforms.html .


Of course, there is much more to be done, and I was extremely disappointed by the failure to address school governance before we left Albany. While there was plenty of posturing by all sides on this issue, I believe we should have brought the Assembly bill to the floor and had an up-or-down vote on it, regardless of whether other issues were addressed.


I know how important school governance is, and have been actively working to bring the Mayor and my leadership together to resolve this issue and to protect our schools. Sometimes it seems both sides are more focused on insulting each other than getting this done, but I am working to keep the focus on what is best for the 1.1 million public school students. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail soon.


Some people say being a politician is like being on a constant audition where you always face rejection by the voters. So, in fact, as one of the 62 Senators, I know I must work to keep or earn back your trust and respect through the actions I take moving forward.


In the weeks and months ahead, it will be critical for all of us to take the lessons of this difficult period to heart. I know I have found the last six weeks incredibly painful and frustrating, because I know we can and should do so much better. We must build on the new legislative procedures and on the real accomplishments of this legislative session. We must find ways to build consensus in the Senate around the critical issues which face New York. I will continue to use my voice to move us toward these goals and, as always, I welcome your constructive input.


Sincerely,


Liz Krueger
State Senator