The Green Party of NY State (GPNYS) said today that the arrest of Sheldon Silver on corruption charges was just the latest in an Albany "tradition" of lawmakers leaving the State Legislature in handcuffs and not election night losses. "Speaker Silver should resign immediately both because of the long and egregious nature of his behavior and his part in compromising the work of the Moreland Commission as its investigations came closer to his secret deals" said Ramon Jimenez, 2014 Green Party Attorney General candidate.
Pointing out Silver and the Democratic leadership's years of blocking real ethics and campaign finance reform, the Greens demanded the Legislature and Governor Cuomo move immediately to pass:
"At this time, an arrest does not imply guilt but Silver does not deserve to hold the position of speaker of the Assembly for one more day. Unfortunately, former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno was found not guilty on charges that included taking secret payments and lobbying for tax giveaways on behalf of clients. Hopefully this time, justice will be served, " said Gloria Mattera; GPNYS co-chair.
The Green Party has also been calling for an investigation into the enormous campaign contributions provided to Governor Cuomo, where hundreds of interests seeking favorable treatment from the state gave $40,000 or more. Cuomo shut down the Moreland Commission investigation once they began asking questions about such contributions.
"The people of New York deserve better from their elected representatives who, by and large, have done little to improve the lives of 99%. Instead, they continue to line their pockets with huge sums of money from corporations and the 1%," added GPNYS co-chair Michael O'Neil.
Pointing out Silver and the Democratic leadership's years of blocking real ethics and campaign finance reform, the Greens demanded the Legislature and Governor Cuomo move immediately to pass:
- full public financing of campaigns
- strict individual contribution limits per person
- making the legislature full-time
- and banning outside income by legislators, along with a host of other ethics reforms
"At this time, an arrest does not imply guilt but Silver does not deserve to hold the position of speaker of the Assembly for one more day. Unfortunately, former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno was found not guilty on charges that included taking secret payments and lobbying for tax giveaways on behalf of clients. Hopefully this time, justice will be served, " said Gloria Mattera; GPNYS co-chair.
The Green Party has also been calling for an investigation into the enormous campaign contributions provided to Governor Cuomo, where hundreds of interests seeking favorable treatment from the state gave $40,000 or more. Cuomo shut down the Moreland Commission investigation once they began asking questions about such contributions.
"The people of New York deserve better from their elected representatives who, by and large, have done little to improve the lives of 99%. Instead, they continue to line their pockets with huge sums of money from corporations and the 1%," added GPNYS co-chair Michael O'Neil.
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