| The most important pieces of the reform puzzle that have yet to be placed are those that attack the culture of incumbency that lives at the root of all the corruption, cronyism and corporatism that has thrived in Albany for over half a century.
Those pieces won't be an easy fit, because they must come in the form of legislation...legislation that must be written, introduced and passed by the very people who have been beneficiaries of the incumbency culture.
One of those keystone pieces is the Clean Money, Clean Elections bill that Citizen Action will be pushing through the Assembly this Spring. They won't be alone. Eliot Spitzer has said of CMCE:
We're going to persuade voters over the next few years that Clean Money Clean Elections is the way to go. We're going to do it because we care deeply about it. And it is something that is essential to restoring good government to the State of New York.
The true test of Eliot Spitzer's will and political power will come when he confronts the Republican held State Senate...a formidable and historically effective roadblock to election reform. They have maintained their strangle hold on the Senate by blocking all incumbency busting legislation while, at the same time, helping to write incumbency favoritism into the statutes.
Having run for office myself, I have a personal understanding of the power the perks of office can wield in the election process. From the politically motivated Member Item delivery system, to the tax-payer funded mailings, to the partisan redistricting process, the legislature has institutionalized incumbency. Without electoral accountability, there can be no real reform. I, myself, pledged that one of my first acts as Senator if elected, would be to pass legislation making it easier to replace me.
We need to support candidates who are willing to reform the process, even if it takes away their incumbency advantage.
I am pleased with Gov. Spitzer's initial steps, but real reform won't come without the cooperation of the legislature. We, the public, have to cover the Governor's back and insist that the all important election reform steps are taken.
We will be watching. |
The orders affect how state agencies and authorities do business, which is well within the Governor's executive order power. The 
