As a relative newcomer to New York politics, I sometimes hear about the severe dysfunction up in Albany. I’ve always paid attention to government accountability issues at the federal level–but what about transparency and better governance right here in New York state? As The Albany Project makes clear, electing Democrats is simply not enough:
I hate the secrecy. I hate not knowing who voted for what in which committee and where that bill went and what the debate on the floor was and more importantly what the debate in the back room was. There is no excuse – NONE – for the New York State government to do ANYTHING in secret. They’re not holding state secrets. They’re not in charge of national security. What school districts are connected enough to qualify for double-secret-extra-bonus state aid should probably be known.
The worst part is not knowing who stuck what in a bill. That has to end. Now.
We [Democrats] control both legislatures and the Governors office for the first time in decades. And we’ve fixed NOTHING.
…We need better Democrats, who like openness and prefer doing the right thing to getting re-elected . This isn’t too much to ask, 30+ states have functional legislatures.
And change starts at home. Every person here IS A PART of the establishment, whether you acknowledge it or not. When 2010 comes, don’t support people because they can win. Support them because they’ll be good for NYS, or don’t support them.
It really doesn’t HAVE to be this way! You can end this!
We need better Democrats!
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