Ethics

July 24, 2015 - With state senators Thomas Libous and John Sampson convicted of corruption, the number forced from office crosses 31 since 1999.

May 20, 2015 - New York's leading reform organizations today urged Governor Cuomo and the legislative leaders to make ethics reform a top end-of-session priority.

May 5, 2015 - Good Government Group believes Senate Leader Skelos has violated trust of the public.

March 31, 2015 - A NY state ethics deal may have been reached, but no one has yet seen a bill.   Only 15 hours remain before the deadline of the state budget’s required passage is reached.

March 31, 2015 - New York needs a much stronger response than the ethics bill finally presented mid-afternoon today by the governor and the legislature to solve Albany’s crime wave of political corruption.

March 18, 2015 - Good government groups see agreement that still leaves much unfinished reform on the table.

March 12, 2015 - Good government group wants to cap and disclose all outside income, boost legislative salaries, increase JCOPE role and budget, expand disclosure of executive and legislative lump sum funds, and end use of budget for policy changes.

February 5, 2015 - Citizens Union’s corruption tracker shows Albany’s crime wave continues to rise.

February 2, 2015 - Citizens Union finds promise in Governor Cuomo’s call today for comprehensive ethics reform to end the culture of secrecy in Albany that has fed the crime wave of corruption.

January 26, 2015 - Good government group believes speaker Sheldon Silver no longer has the trust of the public to govern effectively.

January 22, 2015 - Calls for improvements in ethics enforcement and in addressing outside income.

December 2, 2014 - Citizens Union today sent a letter to the Conflicts of Interest Board (the “Board”) requesting an investigation into whether a meeting on July 14, 2014, attended by Mayor Bill de Blasio and sponsored by Local 1182 of the Communications Workers of America (“CWA”) at P.S. 66 in Brooklyn may have violated the conflicts of interest provisions of the New York City Charter.

July 23, 2014 - Citizens Union calls upon the Governor to hold news conference to explain administration’s reported interference with Moreland commission whose members were appointed deputy state attorneys general and told to investigate all matters of corruption. Commission was formed to fight corruption and restore public trust, but NY Times account helps Erode the Public’s Trust in government.

July 1, 2014 - Ten unethical legislators in 2013-14 is double the previous record of 5 in 2007-2008.

December 10, 2013 Reforms will increase transparency and tighten oversight to further ensure a healthy democracy.

December 9, 2013 - Stating that the board of elections “must go,” groups call for new campaign finance enforcement agency to regulate and enforce campaign finance laws for both public and private financing of elections.

December 4, 2013 - We at Citizens Union know that corruption and influence peddling are widespread, but the Moreland Commission did a great job bringing to light specific details of how wrongdoing – even when it is legal - takes place in our state capitol.  

December 3, 2013 - Citizens Union welcomes broad scope of recommendations.