Citizens Union Report Finds Opaque Discretionary “Lump Sum Funds” Persist in State Budget
March 19, 2015 - Proposed $2.6 Billion in spending needs greater accountability and transparency.
Ethics Proposal by Governor and Speaker is an Improvement Over Status Quo
March 18, 2015 - Good government groups see agreement that still leaves much unfinished reform on the table.
Citizens Union Urges Comprehensive Action on Ethics Reform to Address Full Scope of Corruption and Restore New Yorkers’ Trust in Albany
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.
Malcolm Smith’s Conviction First of the Year, With 4 More Possible
February 5, 2015 - Citizens Union’s corruption tracker shows Albany’s crime wave continues to rise.
Citizens Union Hails Heastie’s Election As First Assembly Speaker Of Color
February 5, 2015 - Good government group pleased to hear his public interest in ethics and compensation reform.
Good Government Groups Call for Ethics and Rules Changes as Assembly Picks New Speaker
February 2, 2015 - Urge lawmakers to seize opportunity to restore public's faith in state government.
Citizens Union Supports Governor Cuomo’s Call for Ethics Reform
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.
Good Government Groups Send Letter to Speaker Candidates Asking for Commitment to Public Forum
January 29, 2015 - Groups urge a transparent process in selection of new assembly speaker.
Citizens Union: The Speaker Must Go
January 26, 2015 - Good government group believes speaker Sheldon Silver no longer has the trust of the public to govern effectively.
Citizens Union Statement on Disturbing Arrest of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
January 22, 2015 - Calls for improvements in ethics enforcement and in addressing outside income.
Citizens Union Welcomes Proposals by Governor Cuomo
January 21, 2015 - Supports legislative and executive pay commission and urges deliberative review of police accountability reforms.
Citizens Union, Reinvent Albany, New York Public Interest Research Group, Tri-State Transportation Campaign
December 27, 2014 - Statement regarding Gov. Cuomo’s veto of Port Authority reform.
Citizens Union Statement On The Death Of Two NYPD Officers and The Need For Our City To Honor, Heal And Hope
December 27, 2014 - The execution of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos is a horrible tragedy. Coming as it did after two weeks of heated words, unfortunate demagoguery, and continuing protests makes the police officers’ deaths more painful and unsettling.
Mayor de Blasio Signs New Legislation Expanding Pro-Voter Law, Will Help Enfranchise Thousands
December 12, 2014 - Voting rights coalition applauds Mayor and City Council.
Citizens Union Expresses Dismay Over Eric Garner Case Calls For Widespread Reform
December 10, 2014 - Changes needed to public oversight of police misconduct and criminal justice system.
NY and NJ Elected Officials and Advocates Hold Press Conference Encouraging Governors Cuomo and Christie to Sign Historic Port Authority Reform Bills
December 9, 2014 - State Assemblymembers Jim Brennan and Amy Paulin along with New Jersey State Senator Robert Gordon and New Jersey State Assemblymember Valerie Vainieri Huttle, joined fellow legislators and advocates today to urge Governors Cuomo and Christie to sign two bi-state reform bills aiming to overhaul the Port Authority.
Citizens Union Requests Conflicts of Interest Board to Investigate Mayor de Blasio Appearance at A CWA Local 1182 Meeting in a Public School
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.
New York City Council Enacts New Legislation to Strengthen Voter Registration, Will Help Franchise Thousands
November 25, 2014 - Voting rights coalition applauds City Council, Mayor, and Agency Leadership in expansion of City’s pro-voter law
Joint Statement on Passage of Port Authority Reform Bills
November 14, 2014 - The Port Authority owns and manages some of the most significant infrastructure assets in our region—bridges, bus facilities, tunnels, the PATH, ports, airports, and the World Trade Center site.
Citizens Union and the League of Women Voters of NYS Statement on Prop 1
November 5, 2014 - We are pleased that voters seized this once in a fifty-year opportunity to fix our state’s rigged redistricting process and end the practice of drawing districts to favor incumbents, protect majority party control, and discourage competition.
White Paper: Effects Of Partisan Gerrymandering Deepen In Upcoming Election
October 29, 2014 - New analysis shows lack of competition in 2014 election cycle: many legislators already elected without a single vote being cast.
Statement On Attorney General Schneiderman’s Announcement On Prison-Based Gerrymandering’s Continued Ban With Prop 1
October 23, 2014 - Citizens Union is pleased to hear that Attorney General Eric Schneiderman believes that Prop 1 – the proposed constitutional amendment that bans legislative maps drawn for political advantage – does not change the state’s law banning prison-based gerrymandering.
Citizens Union Announces Candidate Preferences In September Primary Elections
August 22, 2014 - Supports Challengers Leroy Comrie, Jr. and Dell Smitherman to Two Indicted State Senators.
Citizens Union Hails Mayor De Blasio’s Signing Of Laws To Put Online Important City Government Information
August 7, 2014 - Transparency measures will improve public access to government.
Governor Cuomo Has A Lot Of Explaining To Do
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.