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CNY lawmakers react to Hochul’s plans for a more ethical Albany

Don Pollard
/
Office of the Governor

As the New York state legislative session gets underway, one focus will be on creating a more ethical Albany, after a tumultuous 2021.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the era of “three men in a room” is over, and she wants to restore New Yorkers’ faith in government.

In her State of the State address, the governor proposed limiting all statewide elected officials to two terms in office and banning most outside income for those officials. She also plans to introduce legislation to repeal and replace the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, or JCOPE, which has received criticism from watchdog groups in the past.

Democratic Assemblymember Pam Hunter (D-Syracuse) said she thinks the governor’s plans are a good start.

"She seems very committed to making sure that government is for the people and wanting to make sure that the folks and the residents and constituents who live and work and play in the state of New York feel comfort and trust in government," said Hunter.

Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) said he would probably support term limits and limits on outside income for statewide elected officials. However, the Republican lawmaker said he believes any replacement for JCOPE would have to be bipartisan to effect any real change.

"Democrats obviously have an interest in keeping Republicans accountable, and Republicans have an interest in keeping Democrats accountable,” said Barclay. “Until you have that true bipartisan oversight of ethics, I think you're going to see kind of a wink and a nod, and things slide, and that's certainly what happened with JCOPE when it was controlled by the governor."

On the other side of the aisle, Democratic Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli (D-Syracuse) expressed skepticism the governor’s plans would solve ethics problems in Albany.

"I was chair of the ethics committee in the Assembly,” said Magnarelli. “It was very clear what was right and what was wrong. We promulgated God knows how many laws since then dealing with ethics, and people still do the wrong thing."

Magnarelli said he thinks education will be the key to improving ethics in state government.

"The real thing that has to be dealt with is educating people on what is right and what is wrong and putting up different situations and scenarios," said Magnarelli.

Jessica Cain is a freelance reporter for WRVO, covering issues around central New York. Most recently, Jessica was a package producer at Fox News in New York City, where she worked on major news events, including the 2016 presidential conventions and election. Prior to that, she worked as a reporter and anchor for multiple media outlets in central and northern New York. A Camillus native, Jessica enjoys exploring the outdoors with her daughters, going to the theater, playing the piano, and reading.