Common Cause

Running out of City Hall this afternoon - where there’s been some chatter by folks lingering in the lobby that there might be a deal on the city budget as early as tomorrow night - I saw Dick Dadey and some good-government activists outlining changes they’d like to city put in place before the elections later this year.

The ideas suggested by Citizens Union, Common Cause and other groups are fairly granular for the most part, but they could, if actually enacted, amount to a significant change in the way things work on Election Day. The proposals include:

1. Increase the number of quality of poll workers by offering comp time for city employees working the polls.  read more »

Good government groups are taking advantage of the lull in news on Day 2 to outline the proposals they'd like Eliot Spitzer to include in his state of the state address tomorrow.

The ten proposals, presented at a press conference by Blair Horner of NYPIRG and Rachel Leon of Common Cause, include creating an independent ethics commission, ending "pay to play" and restricting the personal use of campaign contributions.

Unlike the executive orders for state employees Spitzer signed yesterday, these reforms would apply to legislators -- and would require their approval.

How would the new governor get that? Precedent would suggest the precise sort of three men in a room-style of compromise building that has characterized Albany lawmaking for years.

Still, Horner said, if that's what it took to get ethics changes, it wouldn't be so bad.

The list of ten proposals is after the jump.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

Common Cause sifted through the massive 2,000 page report on the Assembly's pork projects, bringing to light some note-worthy numbers. CC's report is here.

Funding for the 2,675 projects ranged from $500 to $4,912,000, with the average being $19,501. The Southern Teir Senior Center explained why they got funding from the state by simply writing the word "piano," CC noted.

A cursory (and randomly conducted) skim also revealed that the The Sunset Park Business Improvement District got $3,000 to "provide entertainment for the 15-block street festival event," the Sandy Creek Historical Society received $3,000 to "update office equipment" and the American Legion Post 731 in Schaghticoke got $6,000 to buy "kitchen equipment." (Insert "pork" joke here.)

The Assembly's report came out on September 13th, from which time there is 30 days for the public -- and gubernatorial candidates, theoretically -- to comment.

-- Azi Paybarah