If any more New York State elected officials get thrown in jail, federal prisons will be required to air their daily lunch time proceedings on C-SPAN.
Two more Albany politicians who allegedly behaved badly were locked up in recent weeks. State Sen. Thomas Libous, known as a Republican power broker, was busted for allegedly lying to prosecutors about using his influence to help his son secure a job at a major law firm.
Former Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa, a Democrat, recently lost her seat after pleading guilty to committing marriage fraud. She reportedly entered into a sham marriage with a U.S. citizen in order to standardize her immigration status. That’s a new one, even by Albany’s low standards.
Libous and Rosa now find themselves members of the Party of Shame, a who’s who of more than 30 Albany bigwigs since 2000 caught betraying the public trust in one form or another.
Some of Queens’ representatives are part of that dubious list, including State Sen. Malcolm Smith, who allegedly tried to buy his way to the Republican mayoral nomination and is awaiting retrial; former State Sen. Shirley Huntley, who embezzled state funds through a nonprofit organization; the late Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, who used a consulting firm he formed to accept kickbacks; and former Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin, who reportedly ratted out a bunch of other corrupt cronies after getting caught stealing $2 million in state and labor funds.
That list doesn’t even include former Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who-according to an ethics commission report- sexually harassed female staffers, but apparently bent the law just enough to avoid breaking it.
Why has New York State’s legislature become rife with corruption? Why do so many corrupt lawmakers think they can break the law and get away with it? We believe much of this has to do with the way lawmakers are elected and re-elected.
Members of the Assembly and State Senate are classified as “part-time” employees. Their sessions only run from January through June each year and only meet thereafter under emergency circumstances. Lawmakers are also allowed to hold private sector jobs to supplement their govenrment income, which averages at about $80,000 annually. (By contrast, a New York City Council member makes $112,500 a year for what is also described as a part-time gig).
Moreover, Albany lawmakers each serve two-year terms-so they are forced into a perpetual campaign and constantly raise funds for their re-election. Those desperate for a competitive edge will promise anything to anyone to get the cash they desire.
Though voters tend to cry “Vote the bums out!” when something bad happens in Albany, they almost never do. Assembly and State Senate incumbents are re-elected at a ridiculously high rate every two years; some lawmakers don’t even face a challenger on Election Day.
What do we do to fix this broken system? Crazy as it might sound, lawmakers’ terms should be extended from two to four years-but with term limits to end permanent incumbency. Annual pay should be increased to at least $100,000-but lawmakers should be barred from holding private sector jobs while serving in the legislature.
These measures may not root out all the corruption, but it will keep most of the good lawmakers from breaking bad.
