Paterson Proposes New Ethics Commission
May 18th, 2009
Last week Gov. David Paterson called on the 12 members of the Public Integrity Commission to resign. And, well, they didn’t. So, Paterson announced by press release today that he will introduce legislation later this week to create a new Government Ethics Commission. The new commissions purpose will be to oversee “State government, lobbying and campaign finance.” It is not yet clear how the new body will be constituted and whether the legislation will address the standing Ethics Commission.
Paterson’s call for the commissioners resignations followed a blistering report from the Inspector General that found the executive director of the commission, Herbert Teitelbaum, leaked information about the Troopergate investigation to a member of then-governor Eliot Spitzer’s cabinet.
Paterson was stunned by the commissioners refusal to resign and did not receive much support from his colleagues in the legislature on the matter. Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver have made public their support for the individual commissioners they appointed. Paterson would need their support to pass legislation to create a new ethics watchdog. Good government groups were expected to meet with Paterson today on the topic of ethics reform.
Paterson’s press release follows:
STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON ON THE FUTURE OF THE PUBLIC INTEGRITY COMMISSION
The Report of the Inspector General released last week indicates that there were serious leaks of confidential information from the Public Integrity Commission that the Commission tolerated by inaction. I was careful not to accuse any one Commissioner of wrongful conduct; I have no information to indicate that any single commissioner was at fault. However, the Commission was notified of unauthorized leaks and in my judgment, and that of the Inspector General, collectively failed to act but should have. As a result, the Commission has been compromised and its public standing is in question.
The sad reality is that this issue is much larger than the Public Integrity Commission. The general perception is that the ethics process in Albany is broken and I believe it is. This is the urgent challenge that we in government must address. I intend to submit legislation later this week to create a new Government Ethics Commission that would be independent and have jurisdiction over State government, lobbying and campaign finance.
Government depends on the trust of the public and must be accountable to its citizens. The publics trust is a function of its confidence that government affairs are conducted honestly, ethically and without conflict of interest. It is my intention to put in place an independent commission structure that will restore the publics confidence in our government.
By David King on May 18, 2009, 1:48 pmIn category: Albany, Eye on Albany | No Comments »

