One Star for Ethics Reform

Daniel L. Squadron

New York legislators proposed an ethics reform package last week that would definitely improve the miserable status quo in Albany. But the plan is not the full-fledged housecleaning necessary for a place that has gone too long without the slightest dusting of reform.

The reforms proposed by Senator John Sampson, the Democratic leader in the State Senate, and the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, would inevitably get the best-we-can-do-at-the-moment label. That’s not good enough...

...The lawmakers’ proposal is an important step forward for a Legislature that has become a national embarrassment. As State Senator Daniel Squadron, a New York City Democrat, put it, “It is better to have a good bill than a perfect press release.” But it is only the beginning, however useful, of what must be a sustained, cathartic effort to restore the public trust.

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