
Jim Malatras, right, with Gov. Cuomo, center (Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)
Jim Malatras, director of state operations for the Cuomo administration, has walled himself off from healthcare issues as he prepares to leave his post early next year to join the Healthcare Association of New York State as its new chief operating officer. Precautions, including guidance from a state ethics panel, are being taken so that Malatras will avoid conflicts of interest as he continues working for Cuomo for the next several months before moving into a top role with one of the state’s most powerful lobbying entities.
Politico New York first reported that Malatras will be resigning soon after the Governor’s next State of the State address, in January. Known as a policy wonk, Malatras started his public career in 2001 working for Assembly Member Richard Brodsky. In 2007, he joined the office of Andrew Cuomo, then-Attorney General of New York State. He has been by Cuomo’s side since, save for a one-year stint as vice chancellor for policy and chief of staff at the State University of New York from 2013 to 2014. For the last two years, he has held his current position as state operations director.
In August, Malatras was approached by the Healthcare Association for its top managerial position, as current COO Richard Cook is resigning, according to HANYS. The association is one of the state’s largest trade groups and represents about 550 hospitals, nursing homes, and health care facilities. It is a $30-million operation, part for-profit and part nonprofit, which employs more than 200 people. The group also has a large lobbying presence in Albany. “The COO is the chief management role at the organization,” said Darren Dopp, senior vice president of corporate communications at HANYS. “It’s not a lobbying role, it’s not a political role. It’s a purely management position.”
Considering the scope of healthcare issues in New York State and Malatras’ position as essentially the overseer of all state agencies, the move provokes a number of questions about conflicts or the appearance of conflicts of interest. These are questions that the Cuomo administration says are being accounted for as Malatras continues to work for the governor.
“If you include federal aid, healthcare is the biggest part of the state budget,” said Bill Hammond, director of health policy at the Empire Center for Public Policy. “Even without federal aid, it’s the second biggest behind school aid.” Hammond pointed out that healthcare has “receded as a political fight” in Albany in the last few years after having been one of the major sticking points that led to budget delays in the past.
Still, there are key healthcare and hospitals-related issues facing the state. Medicaid funding levels for the city through the state budget became a sticking point this past budget season. Hammond pointed out that the Healthcare Reform Act is due to expire on December 31, 2017 and he expects that the governor will address it either in his State of the State or the next budget. Surcharges under the act bring in millions of dollars for the state and large amounts of that funding are funneled to hospitals. The act will likely be extended, as it has been in the past.
Another issue is permanent guarantee funds, which insulate healthcare providers if insurance companies go bankrupt. These funds were the subject of much debate this year following the closure of Health Republic Insurance of New York State. Hammond also said a perennial issue in Albany is whether the legislature should establish nurse staffing ratios. A “sleeper issue,” he said, for the state could be New York City Health + Hospitals, the city’s municipal health care system which is currently being overhauled to compensate for massive deficits. “At some point, there might be a push for the state Legislature to do something,” Hammond said.
Malatras has put measures in place to avoid any possible conflicts. Before even receiving an official offer from HANYS, he filed two written notifications recusing himself from all healthcare matters on August 11 and August 18. He then sought guidance from the Joint Commission on Public Ethics on the prospective job. In an informal advisory on August 26 and a supplemental informal opinion on September 12, copies of which were provided to Gotham Gazette by the Cuomo administration, JCOPE approved of the precautions that Malatras has taken and informed him of the restrictions he will face with his new employer.
“Jim has been an invaluable member of this administration and spearheaded many of the Governor’s key initiatives – such as the tax cap, Clean Energy Standard and college loan forgiveness – which have improved the lives of New Yorkers and will ensure a better a brighter future for this state,” said Abbey Fashouer, deputy press secretary for the governor, in a statement to Gotham Gazette.
“Per state ethics laws, Jim informed Counsel’s Office upon being approached for his new position as well as sought, received, and followed guidance from JCOPE regarding his ongoing duties to avoid conflicts in post-state employment,” Fashouer continued. “He intends to abide by those ongoing ethical obligations to avoid even the appearance of a conflict both as he concludes his work with the Executive Chamber and in the private sector.”
Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, praised Malatras’ foresight. “That’s why JCOPE exists,” he said, “and it sounds like the correct steps for the administration to have taken.”
As per the Public Officers Law, Malatras will face a two-year bar against appearing before a state agency or receiving any compensation for services related to cases before his former agency. Since he was employed by the executive branch, the two-year bar applies more broadly to all state agencies. He also faces a lifetime ban against providing services that would involve any matter that he directly oversaw or was personally involved in while in state government.
Hammond, describing Malatras as “a sharp guy” and “very capable and intelligent,” also said he was glad that Malatras has tried to preempt any conflicts in his work going forward. “Taking those precautions in and of itself doesn’t necessarily solve the problem,” he said, “but it’s a sign of good faith that he’s acknowledged the issue and taken steps to address it.”
The governor’s office did not make Malatras available for an interview for this article.
Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, a government watchdog organization, said Malatras will no doubt be constrained by the state’s laws. “However, having a top administration official within a large organization like [HANYS] does provide the association with the unique perspective on the governor’s thinking and the decisions that will be made over the next couple of years,” Dadey said.
Dadey lauded Malatras as a principled public servant but warned of the tough scrutiny he will face in his transition into the private sector. “[Malatras’] last couple of months in government will be examined closely,” he said, “to ensure that he acts with his usual integrity in handling of matters that affect the healthcare industry. He’s a good guy with a strong compass and I’m sure that will guide him in how he exits state government service successfully and with integrity.”
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Note: Gotham Gazette is an independent publication of Citizens Union Foundation, sister organization of Citizens Union.

New York City Hall
What to watch for this week in New York politics:
Tuesday marks three weeks until Election Day and Wednesday night the third and final Presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is scheduled to occur. Don't forget, a variety of key New York congressional and state legislative races are also in the home stretch -- November 8 is Election Day.
Mayor Bill de Blasio did more campaigning for Clinton this weekend, in Dayton, Ohio. The mayor traveled there after giving remarks at the funeral for Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson -- many other New York elected officials, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also paid their respects to Thompson and his loved ones on Saturday.
On Sunday, activists, advocates, and a variety of New York elected officials gathered at City Hall as Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood of New York City began to "celebrate turning 100 Years Strong with a press conference to commemorate the opening of the first clinic by Margaret Sanger in 1916 in Brooklyn." Participating public officials included First Lady Chirlane McCray; Comptroller Scott Stringer; City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito; Public Advocate Tish James; Attorney General Eric Schneiderman; and others.
For this week, there's a great deal happening all over the city, with many events to be aware of -- see our day-by-day rundown below.
***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
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The run of the week in detail:
Monday
The New York State Board of Regents will hold its monthly meeting on Monday and Tuesday.
Mayor de Blasio is participating in three events Monday, all of which are closed to the press: according to his public schedule, he "will deliver remarks at the 2016 NYSNA Biennial Conference," then "deliver remarks at a reception celebrating the life of Elizabeth Rohatyn," and, "In the evening, the Mayor and First Lady will host a dinner to benefit the Gracie Mansion Conservancy."
At noon on Monday at City Hall, "Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, the Co-Founders of the gun violence prevention organization Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC, will join Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, State Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, and other city and state leaders for a press conference as part of Congresswoman Giffords’ and Captain Kelly’s 2016 Vocal Majority Tour, a 14-state, 42-day national bus tour that stretches until Election Day." The event "will focus on urging the vocal majority of New Yorkers who support responsible change to help keep guns out of the wrong to vote to stop gun violence in this election." Also set to participate are Comptroller Scott Stringer; First Lady of New York City Chirlane McCray; Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance; State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; and other local elected officials and leaders.
The NYC Planning Commission will hold a Special Meeting and Review Session at 1 p.m. Monday.
On Monday, Governor Cuomo will headline a fundraiser for State Senator Todd Kaminsky, who is running for re-election, according to Politico New York.
At 6 p.m. Monday, State Senator Liz Krueger will hold a free screening of “Connie Cook: A Documentary.” This documentary focuses on a Republican Assemblymember who helped legalize abortion in New York. After the screening, there will be “a discussion with the film’s director, Sue Perlgut, and guests from prominent women’s rights groups about what Connie’s message means for us today.”
At 6:30 p.m. Monday, New America, ProPublica, and Discovery will sponsor “a discussion on the commodification of water and what’s at stake for a secure water supply, secure economy, and secure environment.”
Tuesday
Tuesday marks three weeks until Election Day.
At 8 a.m. Tuesday, the Center for an Urban Future will hold a “policy symposium on the future of middle income jobs in New York City.” This event will be held at Civic Hall and feature Maria Torres-Springer (President and CEO, New York City Economic Development Corporation), John Alschuler (Chairman, HR&A Advisors), Colvin Grannum (President, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corp.), Andrew Kimball (CEO, Industry City), and Julie Samuels (Executive Director, Tech:NYC).
On Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. "Mayor de Blasio will deliver remarks at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new office building, One Vanderbilt Avenue, which will include $220 million in local transit upgrades." At 4 p.m., "the Mayor will hold public hearings for, and sign, seven pieces of legislation into law – Intros. 899-A, 1014-A, 1064-A, 1144-A, 1183-A, in relation to increasing reporting and transparency around programs and services for inmates; and Intros. 1277-A and 642-A, in relation to aligning the City of New York’s energy code with recent amendments to the 2016 New York state energy code and ratio of biodiesel in heating oil, respectively."
At 1 p.m. Tuesday, the New York State Commission on Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Compensation will hold a public hearing and meeting at NYU Law School.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Brennan Center for Justice will host a book talk with former New York City Public Advocate Mark Green. Green wrote Bright, Infinite Future: A Generational Memoir on the Progressive Rise, which discusses “how tidal trends from the ’60s to ’16 — both political and demographic — will affect the outcome of this election.” The event is co-sponsored by the Brennan Center, Citizens Union, Common Cause New York, and New York Public Interest Research Group.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Brennan Center for Justice will hold a book talk with MSNBC’s Zachary Roth on the quieting of voices of people of color, students, and other disadvantaged groups through means such as gerrymandering and Supreme Court Decisions.
On Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., City & State NY will host its annual “40 Under 40” awards, given to “exceptional individuals working in NYC government, advocacy, media, and more” (list of honorees). New York City Council Member Dan Garodnick will give opening remarks.
Wednesday
At the City Council on Wednesday:
At 8 a.m. Wednesday, Crain’s New York Business will hold an entertainment summit which discusses a recent tax break and its potential impacts for the film and television industries. Former United States Senator Chris Dodd will deliver the opening keynote address. Julie Menin, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, will be among those participating in the panel discussion.
The NYC Planning Commission will hold a Public Meeting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, Cornell Tech will hold a press briefing to discuss the progress on the institution’s new campus on Roosevelt Island. This event will be held at Cornell Tech at the Google Building. Founding Dean Dan Huttenlocher and several others will participate.
At noon Wednesday, the Manhattan Institute will host Barry Latzer, Professor Emeritus at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center, to talk about the rise and fall of violent crime in the United States, and how America can prevent a continuation in the 2015 rise in violent crimes.
At noon Wednesday, the New York City Bar will have a Public Affairs Luncheon on “Money, Politics, and Public Policy.” Former New York State Assemblymember G. Oliver Koppell will discuss “the dominance of fundraising in politics and how that affects the political arena.”
At 3 p.m. Wednesday, the Center for Community and Ethnic Media at CUNY Journalism School will hold a Q&A session with Steven Banks, the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Social Services. NY1’s and CUNY J-School’s Errol Louis will moderate.
On Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., "thousands of teachers will rally in Foley Square to call on Mayor Bill de Blasio to support growing the charter sector to 200,000 students by 2020," per Families for Excellent Schools.
At 4 p.m. Wednesday, the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute will hold “Beyond the Kale: Urban Agriculture and Social Justice Activism in New York City.”
On Wednesday at 6 p.m., NAACP President and CEO Cornell Brooks will speak at NYU. This event will be a “conversation on issues including voting rights, Black Lives Matter, youth and education, and how leaders can work across public and private sectors to solve society’s problems.”
A public meeting of the NYC Panel for Educational Policy will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Michael J. Petrides School on Staten Island.
The third and final Presidential Debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is scheduled for 9 p.m. Wednesday. This debate will be hosted by the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and it will be moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News.
Thursday
At the City Council on Thursday:
On Thursday at 8 a.m., former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn will speak at the Association for a Better New York. She will speak about some of the recent work she has done at Women in Need (WIN), where she is President and CEO.
At 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Lower Manhattan HQ will host a breakfast panel discussion on “Women’s Rights in Policy and Politics.” The event will be moderated by Jessica Lappin (Alliance for Downtown NY President), and the panelists are Congressional Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Brette McSweeney (Executive Director of Eleanor’s Legacy), and Vivien Labaton (Co-founder of the Make it Work Campaign).
The NYC Campaign Finance Board will have a board meeting at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
On Thursday, the 71st Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner will be held at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan. Presidential Candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will both be at this dinner. The Mayor, Governor, and other current and former elected officials usually attend.
Friday and the Weekend
At the City Council on Friday:
Starting at 8 a.m. on Friday, City & State NY and NYU’s Robert Wagner Graduate School of Public Service will co-host “Government Ethics: A New Study.” The goal of this conference is to “explore how public officials, corporations, attorneys, lobbyists, nonprofits, and the public can work to create incentives, policies and programs that help with navigating through the ethical dilemmas and the conflicts of interest that cause problems in our interactions with state and city government.” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. and former New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch will be among the speakers at this conference.
"Councilman Eric Ulrich is organizing a public demonstration on the steps of City Hall to protest Mayor de Blasio's failed homeless policies. The protest will take place Friday, October 21, at 10:00 am. Community leaders and other elected officials are invited to attend."
At noon Friday, the Manhattan Institute will have Edward Coward, the Co-founder of Bain Capital, discuss “The Upside Of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine The Middle Class.”
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Have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).
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by Brendan Birth and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

Comptroller DiNapoli (photo: @NYSComptroller)
Comptroller Tom Dinapoli is not interested in pointing fingers at any of his fellow elected officials when it comes to the massive scheme alleged to have corrupted major state economic development programs under the noses of Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislators.
In the wake of corruption charges brought against nine individuals by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, DiNapoli was given multiple opportunities Friday during a radio interview, but he declined to criticize either Cuomo or the Legislature. Speaking with host Susan Arbetter on The Capitol Pressroom, DiNapoli instead called for greater oversight through his office of the large state contracts that had been awarded by SUNY Polytechnic and two affiliated nonprofits as part of Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion program and other state efforts to boost the economies of central and western New York.
Calling the bribery and bid-rigging allegations “very troubling,” DiNapoli said that the situation “seems to speak to a systemic failure, as to not having adequate checks and balances.” But asked by Arbetter if Cuomo helped create the system that was so ripe for abuse, DiNapoli demurred. After pausing and searching for his words, DiNapoli said, ”I don’t know that it’s productive to, you know, finger-point at the governor.”
The comptroller repeatedly said that the system lacked oversight and accountability, but excused the mindset behind its creation, saying that communities needed help and that he understood the desire for efficiency in moving money to projects meant to stimulate local economies that had not recovered from the Great Recession. His office, he said, is designed to approve contracts and is incorrectly known for slowing down the process -- when his office does slow something down, DiNapoli said, it is for good reason.
In September, Bharara brought charges against former Cuomo aides, prominent developers who were generous Cuomo campaign donors, and the now former head of SUNY Poly, Alain Kaloyeros, on whom Cuomo heaped praise and responsibility over years.
When Arbetter pressed DiNapoli on Cuomo and the Legislature enabling SUNY Poly and the system that appears to have been abused by what the comptroller called “a web” of stakeholders, DiNapoli again struggled to find his answer, then said, “From my perspective there was not adequate oversight in the way the process was set up, both with SUNY Poly and with the use of Fuller Road or Fort Schuyler, these nonprofits that were set up.” He pointed to the fact that the Comptroller’s oversight of construction contracts was diminished in 2011 and called for it to be restored.
Later in the interview, Arbetter asked DiNapoli why the Legislature, which he was once part of as an Assembly member, had been so quiet about the questionable system at play. DiNapoli began answering by saying officials were trying to help downtrodden communities, that there was consensus “we need to do more.”
“There is a hopeful expectation that it’s all going to be handled in the right way,” DiNapoli said of the mindset when a key priority is established by state government. Arbetter asked, “So lawmakers don’t want to get in the way?” To which DiNapoli said, “Well, unless there’s a reason to. In fairness, you did have the hearing that the economic development committee had in the Assembly and some fireworks came out of that.”
DiNapoli was referring to a recent hearing that came well after media reports of the federal investigation into the Buffalo Billion and years after flags were raised by watchdogs about the system at hand.
After Arbetter pushed back further, DiNapoli conceded, “Well, I think clearly that there’s more that could have been done, more questions asked...Clearly the lesson of this is that you can’t just trust that it’s all going to be handled in the right way.”
“I think the Legislature does have to play a more effective role in oversight,” DiNapoli said. DiNapoli's office did not provide further comment when asked on Sunday to clarify why the comptroller was hesitant to more directly hold anyone accountable.
When Cuomo and the Legislature stripped power from the Comptroller in 2011, they left the independent auditor’s office on the sidelines as hundreds of millions of tax dollars flowed to developers and other corporations through SUNY Poly. It was this cash flow, the opaque contracting process, and the state’s loose campaign finance laws that helped allow former Cuomo aides Joseph Percoco and Todd Howe to manipulate the system for their means, according to Bharara’s allegations.
While DiNapoli has called for restoration of all contract vetting powers before, he, like legislative leaders, has largely been quiet as Cuomo and others have revved up economic development programming through a system some watchdogs have long warned can too easily be taken advantage of by nefarious actors.
A careful, serious elected official who is well-regarded by many across the state, DiNapoli, a Democrat like Cuomo, is not one to throw verbal bombs or pursue headlines. Not necessarily media shy, DiNapoli is, however, inclined to let his audit and contract oversight work do the talking.
Recently, DiNapoli was on the receiving end of Cuomo vitriol when the comptroller released audits of other Cuomo economic stimulus programs, calling into question their efficacy. In turn, Cuomo called audits “opinion” and said that DiNapoli needed to “educate himself,” referring to him as “the Assemblymember” in an apparent effort to undermine him further.
DiNapoli responded in typical fashion -- by downplaying conflict and pointing to the content rather than escalating the back-and-forth. An astute headline from Politico New York read, “Cuomo thunders, and DiNapoli shrugs.” It is unsurprising that DiNapoli took the path he did on Arbetter’s show, pointing toward the future and needed changes, rather than laying direct blame with the governor or legislative leaders for past mistakes.
In May, DiNapoli did announce a series of proposed “reforms to state fiscal practices” that he led with a call for restrictions on “‘backdoor spending’ by public authorities” and requirements for “more comprehensive public authority disclosure.” In a press release, DiNapoli’s office said that “public authorities are not subject to the same checks and balances that apply to state agencies, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars being spent annually with limited oversight.”
The proposals also came after news reports of the federal investigation into Cuomo’s economic development programming.
Earlier in May, DiNapoli had released his analysis of the recently-passed state budget for Fiscal Year 2017. His office wrote, “the budget expands on actions in recent years that have blurred both fiscal and operational distinctions among state agencies and public authorities.”
Cuomo paid DiNapoli's May suggestions and analysis little public mind, but did announce plans for procurement reform in the wake of the September charges brought by Bharara. The day after the U.S. attorney outlined the criminal complaint, Cuomo said in Buffalo that the revitalization of the city would not miss a beat, but that he was immediately moving power from SUNY Poly to the Empire State Development Corp. Cuomo also said that he had received recommendations from a private investigator he had hired and that he was accepting all of them -- but he declined to make them public.
On Thursday budget and government watchdog groups called on state legislative leaders to “hold emergency oversight hearings on the allegations by the U.S. Attorney of the largest bid-rigging scandals in state history.” A coalition including Reinvent Albany, Citizens Union, NYPIRG, Citizens Budget Commission, and others said that the public deserves more information about how “more than a billion dollars in state contracts were rigged and what reforms will be implemented to address this huge and systemic failure.”
Asked by Arbetter about the call for such hearings, DiNapoli said no one should rush to do anything, that it is important for all the best minds to get together and figure out the path ahead. Noting that state legislators are focused on their impending elections next month, he said that if they want to hold hearings toward the end of the year, that would be “their prerogative.”
The watchdog groups on Thursday also laid out “five clean contracting reforms” including that all state funds be awarded through “competitive and transparent contracting” and empowering “the comptroller to review and approve all state contracts over $250k.” Additionally, they called on the state to enact “pay to play” laws as are found in 19 states and New York City that would limit what entities with state business can donate to political campaigns.
DiNapoli appears to be largely on the same page. The comptroller has not been aggressive about publicly pushing his reforms, though -- while he gave a speech in May to outline his proposals, he has not, for example, called a press conference to put more public pressure on lawmakers to act.
When asked by Arbetter what he could have done differently to protect against the type of corruption alleged by Bharara, DiNapoli said he could have been more aggressive, but focused more on his “limited authority.”
“I would hope the Legislature would look at our role, restore what’s been taken away...perhaps some areas where our role can be strengthened,” he said. When Arbetter asked if he’s going to be more aggressive, DiNapoli paused and said, “We will certainly be more vigilant.”
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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette
Note: Gotham Gazette is an independent publication of Citizens Union Foundation, sister organization of Citizens Union.