“Operation Clean Up Albany”: An

Explanatory Case Study on Corruption and

Public Ethics Reform within New York State

GovernmentDaemen College By: Ebony Regine Fripp

December 8, 2015

A senior thesis submitted to the History and Political Science Department of Daemen College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts

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Introduction

“New York State is upside down and backwards; high taxes and low performance.

The New York State government was at one time a national model. Now, unfortunately,

it’s a national disgrace. Sometimes, the corruption in Albany could even make Boss

Tweed blush.”1 –Andrew Cuomo, 2010. This statement, made during the current

Governor of New York’s 2010 campaign announcement, gives an account of how New

York State’s government is seen around the country. For decades, New York State

officials have been caught up in political scandals and corruption charges. New Yorkers

have, in a way, begun to accept its rich history of corruption as just the way it is. In 2015

alone, both our Assembly and Senate Leaders have been arrested on corruption charges,

not to mention our governor is under threat of investigation for the disbanding of his

Moreland Commission on the basis of it being corrupt.

With all of this corruption going on it would seem that we as a state would be

implementing some serious ethics reform. In a logical world, high levels of public

corruption plus high levels of public dissatisfaction with corrupt officials would seem to

equal the perfect atmosphere for ethics reform. However, in New York State, this is not

1 This quote was stated during Governor Cuomo’s’ 2010 campaign announcement. In the speech, he proposes a “New New York Agenda” based on a number of principles, Clean Government being one of them. He also proposes a “Clean Up Albany Plan,” which would outline strict new ethics laws, require full disclosure of Legislators’ outside income, new campaign finance laws, and other laws restricting legislative outside reach. http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2010/05/24/speed-reading-the-coverage-of-andrew-cuomos-campai William M. Tweed or “Boss Tweed” is mostly remembered for his unfair political practice as the leader of Tammany Hall during the 1860’s and early 1870’s, in which he and his network of corruption, known as the “Tweed Ring,” cheated the city of New York out of massive sums of money. Boss Tweed was tried and convicted in 1873; charged with larceny and forgery. However, he escaped from prison in 1875 and fled to Cuba and Spain. He was arrested in Spain, extradited to the US, and then died in prison from pneumonia in 1878.

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the case. Why is this? This thesis explores why serious ethics reform is not happening in

a state with such a need for it.

If you have high levels of public corruption within state government and high

levels of public dissatisfaction with corrupt state officials, why is serious ethics reform

not being passed? Corruption and public ethics violations within state government are

always an issue, mainly because the decisions of state officials affect everyone in their

respective state. Decisions made by government officials affect people’s daily lives and

the things they care about, like public health and safety measures, the raising or lowering

of property taxes, and what services are given and taken away from individuals and

communities. The people who elect these officials and give them their powers expect

them to act with honesty and integrity, because they have put trust in them. So, when you

have cases like Sheldon Silver (former Assembly leader) making headline news, and the

Governor implementing and then disbanding commissions made to help prevent public

ethics violations, citizens get concerned.2 It is important to identify what reforms have

been implemented in the past, so that we can evaluate them and their success or failure. It

is also important to find possible reasons why reform efforts have been shut down, or in

some cases, ignored. For the purpose of this paper, I am only looking at serious

legislative efforts. By doing this we can truly begin our efforts to “Clean Up” Albany’s

cesspool of corruption.

I will be conducting an explanatory case study, in which my unit of analysis will

be New York State government. I am covering different high profile political corruption

2 Quinnipiac University Poll. https://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/ny03192015_nh54dfds.pdf (accessed June 23, 2015). This poll expresses that 89 percent of New York States voters say that corruption is a serious problem within the state and that 84-13 percent of voters want government officials and their spouses to disclose their outside income and investments.

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cases from 2005 to the present, a 10-year timeframe, as well as past and present public

ethics reforms that have and are being implemented in New York State. I have used

concepts and definitions made by political science scholars. To define corruption, I am

using a broader definition given by Michael A. Genovese and Victoria A. Farrar-Myers in

Corruption in American Politics. They state that for something to count as political

corruption, it must have a public impact, be a part of some public violation of trust.3

Part I of this paper is a review of existing literature surrounding my topic,

political corruption. This includes studies from scholars on what corruption is, and why

some state officials feel comfortable enough to participate in public ethics violations. I

explain the literature I have read on why the public’s trust in government officials matter,

and how trust can shift the allocation of resources in a state. Lastly, I review literature on

New York State’s reform history, as well as its present case. Part II of this paper consists

of past and current ethics reforms and ideas, and where New York State stands now on

the basis of corruption and reform. I examine three major cases of government based

public ethics violations, two current and one former, providing an overview of the cases

and their effects on public trust. In addition, I provide a layout of Governor Cuomo’s

Moreland Commission, explaining why it is relevant to the study of reform and public

ethics commissions. Lastly, Part III of this paper consists of the conclusions I have gained

through my research, which have allowed me to answer the central question of this paper,

if there are high levels of public corruption within state government and high levels of

public dissatisfaction with corrupt state officials, why is serious ethics reform not being

passed? 3 Michael A. Genovese and Victoria A. Farrar-Myers, Corruption and American Politics, (Cambria Press, 2010), 3.

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Part I: LITERATURE REVIEW

The existing literature on political corruption focuses on the different definitions

and causes of corruption, as well as the process of reform. Because of the large amount of

power abuse and heavy government presence in less developed countries, there are many

existing theories on political corruption in these places. However, there is less research on

existing theories on corruption in New York State. Fortunately, the already existing

theories are generalizable, allowing them to be applied to New York as well as other

states.

In addition, there are theories that hint at different parts of my topic; Elazar’s

theory of political culture is one of them. Based on Elazar’s theory of political culture

there is a high tolerance for corruption in states with a dominant individualistic culture.4

In the individualistic culture, there is an “emphasis on limiting government intervention

into private activities.”5 Elazar theorizes that in states with this type of culture (mid-

Atlantic) there is a significant degree of cynicism about government, and people accept

dirty politics as a fact.6 New York is indeed one of the states said to have this

“individualistic culture,” possibly explaining why corruption is primarily accepted as

normal among leaders and citizens.

Daniel Elazar felt that in order to understand the relationship of a government to

its people, and how those people are going to act towards that government, it is necessary

4 J. Wesley Leckrone, State and Local Political Culture, http://theamericanpartnership.com/tag/elazars-political-culture/ (accessed June 12, 2015).5 Sarah F. Liebschutz, New York Politics & Government: Competition and Compassion. (U of Nebraska Press, 1998), 21. 6 Political Culture of the United States. http://academic.regis.edu/jriley/421elazar.htm (accessed June 12, 2015).

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to study what those people believe about themselves and government.7 His idea was that

the attributes enshrined in a political culture were the result of ethnic and religious values

of settlers, in colonial America, in specific regions of the country.8 Political culture refers

to what people feel and believe about government and how they think people should act

towards it.9 According to Elazar, in the original thirteen colonies Puritans, followed by

Scandinavian and Northern Europeans, settled New England states. They embedded their

highly religious values creating a moralistic culture based on community and “good

society”. In southern states, due to slavery and a strong sense of family and social

hierarchy, there formed a traditionalistic culture where maintaining the status quo was

priority. Lastly, in Mid-Atlantic States with a highly German and English population

seeking wealth and individual prosperity, formed an individualistic culture; this is where

New York State falls. These settlers, during western expansion, migrated west and took

their political cultures with them to their new settlements. Migrational patterns of frontier

expansion transported these political cultures almost directly westwards, explaining why

for the most part Northern states have dominant moralistic cultures, southern states have

dominant traditionalistic cultures, and mid-Atlantic, mid-west states, mid-western states

have a dominant individualistic culture. These different political cultures help to explain

how government is seen by its citizens and what they expect from government officials,

as well as what the people in power feel their role and duty is as a public official.

7 Political Culture of the United States. http://academic.regis.edu/jriley/421elazar.htm (accessed June 12, 2015).8 J. Wesley Leckrone, State and Local Political Culture, http://theamericanpartnership.com/2013/12/18/state-and-local-political-culture/ (accessed June 12, 2015).9 John T. Ishyama, Comparative Politics: Principles of Democracy and Democratization, (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), 94.

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From this idea, Elazar developed a theory, which states that political culture

subtly affects states government operations in three ways.10 First, it helps set the

perceptions of the purposes of politics and its range of permissible actions.11 Second, it

sets the boundaries of who can participate in politics and how much people involvement

it encouraged in the policy making process.12 Lastly, it affects the way that government is

practiced; this includes ethical tolerance of corruption as well as willingness to innovate

in public policy.13 This body of work gives me a better explanation of New York States

history and the cultural values that have been embedded within its society over time.

What Is Corruption, and Why Does Public Trust Matter?

In the book, Corruption and American Politics by Michael A. Genovese and

Victoria A. Farrar-Myers, the authors outline many different forms of corruption, as well

as how they relate to each other, individuals, and institutions. They set forth the idea of

individual corruption versus systemic corruption. The former refers to individual

misdeeds or wrongdoing, like an officeholder or a legislator who exchanges his vote for

money.14 The latter, in contrast, refers to a broader aspect: a bad system. Examples the

authors use are the undermining of democratic legitimacy and equality, and campaign

financing practices. This type of corruption runs deeper than just an individual crime. It

focuses on the imbedded error within the day-to-day operation of a system.15 In focusing

10 J. Wesley Leckrone, State and Local Political Culture, http://theamericanpartnership.com/2013/12/18/state-and-local-political-culture/ (accessed June 12, 2015).11 Ibid.12 Ibid.13 Ibid.14 Genovese and Farrar-Myers, Corruption and American Politics, 3. 15 Ibid.

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on the individual we often overlook the systemic issues because it is easier to “catch,

punish, and condemn” a state official rather than fix a whole institution.16

Chris Shortell, in his essay, draws a distinction between two different forms of

corruption, acute corruption versus systemic corruption. Acute corruption takes place

when an individual is acting immorally for their own personal interests or gain, such as

representatives taking a bribe. This form of systemic corruption differs from the former in

the way that there is a gain for a particular political part of government or regime, such as

the Nixon administration and election reform. James A. Thurber, in his essay, states that

he wonders if our efforts at reform are misplaced, and if current reform efforts deal more

with appearance than reality.17 In the book Corruption in America, Mark Warren explores

the connection between perception of corruption and the decline of trust in government in

his essay. He demonstrates that “perceptions matter,” and a “problem of trust… now

plagues the American polity.”18 He argues that this has a damaging effect on citizen’s

attitudes. He asks us to consider “corruption of the democratic process” as the most

damaging form of political corruption.19

Some of the ideas in this chapter mesh with the ideas in the book Why Trust

Matters: Declining Political Trust and the Demise of American Liberalism by Michael J.

Hetherington. In fact, he states that Americans have remained supportive of many federal

programs such as, Social Security, Medicare, public education, and environmental

protection. What has changed though, in his view, is that Americans are less supportive

of redistributive programs put through by government, which deal with efforts by

16 Ibid.17 Ibid. 18 Genovese and Farrar-Myers, Corruption and American Politics, 5. 19 Ibid.

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government to divide resources among broad classes or groups of the population. An

example of this would be the United States’ welfare program. He challenges the norm

and casts political trust as an independent variable rather than a dependent variable. By

doing this, he demonstrates that the fast decline in Americans’ political trust since the

1960’s is crucial to explaining the right turn in public policy. As people lost faith in the

federal government, they began to support progressive ideas much less believing that

government did not have the people’s interest in mind; so as political trust declined, so

did support for redistributive programs, such as welfare, food stamps, and race-targeted

programs. These two books shape my work by giving me a strong foundation in what

corruption is and what exactly counts as political corruption. They also explain why

public trust truly matters in a political system, and how it can affect the policy making

process. A firm knowledge of these two subjects allows me to understand why my topic

is important and what else needs to be answered regarding this topic.

Causes of Corruption and Dishonest Acts of State Officials

To really get a sense of why corruption happens and why state officials participate

in public ethics violations, I focused on the book Corruption, Inequality, and the Rule of

Law: The Bulging Pocket Makes the Easy Life by Eric M. Uslaner. Uslaner suggests that

the “roots” of corruption are firmly planted in economic and legal inequality and low

levels of generalized trust, which he states do not quickly or easily change. In addition,

these are accompanied by, poor policy choices, which may be more likely to change.

Economic inequality provides the perfect environment for corruption, and successively

leads to further inequalities. He expands this idea of inequality by introducing the

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principle of the “inequality trap.”20 The basic nature of the inequality trap is that

corruption leads to less trust in other people and in turn to more inequality. This “trap” is

the reason why corruption carries on in societies over long periods of time and why it is

so difficult to clean up. Corruption becomes accepted as part of culture (referring back to

Elazar’s theory of political culture.) Uslaner provides a cross-state analysis of reporter’s

perceptions of corruption in state legislatures in the United States to help outline his case.

He states that “corruption is sticky,” and societies evolve into “cultures of corruption”

because they are stuck in the constant pattern of high inequality, low trust, and high

corruption.21 He suggests that people do not participate in dishonest acts because they like

to or want to, but simply because there is no other way to survive; there is no way out.

New York’s Reforms (Past and Present)

A number of books helped in giving me a sense of where New York stands based

on past and current ethics reforms. The first was Honest Government: An Ethics Guide

for Public Service by W.J. Michael Cody and Richardson R. Lynn. In this text, the

authors examine and seek to answer the question of “how we should measure the routine,

day-to-day ethics of men and women in public service.”22 The authors express that, rather

than focusing on legislating ethics, they hoped to “make a case for reasonable statements

of duties owed by public officials to citizens and to the government itself.”23 One of the

authors, R. Lynn, writes that the biggest idea blocking widespread support and action on

20 Eric M. Uslaner, Corruption, Inequality, and the Rule of Law: The Bulging Pocket makes the easy life. (Cambridge University Press, 2010), 4.21 Eric M. Uslaner, Corruption, Inequality, and the Rule of Law: The Bulging Pocket makes the easy life. (Cambridge University Press, 2010), 6. 22 W.J. Michael Cody and Richardson R. Lynn, Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service, (Praeger, 1992), 1723 W.J. Michael Cody and Richardson R. Lynn, Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service, (Praeger, 1992), 18

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making high standards for public ethics is “the feeling that it is a sign of “weakness” to

insist on high standards or point out unethical conduct by others.”24 This is a very

important statement because if officials feel that they are being demeaned or if reformers

feel that it is demeaning to impose restrictions on officials, widespread public ethics

standards will possibly never be set.

At the beginning of the book, Lynn gives a list of six basic principles that are

“self-evident” rules of conduct for all public servants.25 They are, (1) Public servants

must never lie, cheat, or steal in any official capacity and they must obey the law, and tell

the truth to the public, governmental bodies, and the press, except in limited

circumstances like war or national emergency, (2) Public officials must avoid all conflicts

of interests created by business, friendship, or family relationships and must always be

careful to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, (3) Public officials owe a fiduciary

duty to taxpayers and all citizens to ensure that public funds are used efficiently, (4)

Public officials must not allow zeal for their duties to cause them to violate citizens’ legal

rights and public officials should not be rude or unresponsive when dealing with the

public, (5) Public officials should cooperate with other officials and agencies to

maximize the public good, rather than acting out of cronyism or advancing politicians or

a political machine, and lastly (6) Public officials must perform their duties based solely

on the public good, rather than their best political interests and they should not pressure

public employees to assist in the officials’ political career or reelection efforts.26 The

principles that are most applicable to my research are the first three, because the public

24 W.J. Michael Cody and Richardson R. Lynn, Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service, (Praeger, 1992), xiii 25 W.J. Michael Cody and Richardson R. Lynn, Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service, (Praeger, 1992), 926 Cody and Lynn, Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service, 9

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officials involved in the cases I present in this paper have broken at least two of these

three “self-evident” rules. I will come back to these rules as we explore further.

Cody and Lynn write on the importance of self-interest as a theme in ethics study.

They state, “the actions of an office holder to increase his or her net worth while in office

is exactly the kind of self-interest that leads to the most obvious ethical problems.”27 They

argue that there is an absence of a “standard” for public service ethics, or a widely

approved statement or set of bylaws on what those rules and behaviors should be. “… if

we are to hold them truly accountable (public officials), the standards of behavior must

be as clear as possible.”28 There must be no room for an official to say they did not know

or “this does not apply.” In New York State, I believe we are lacking the clear “standard”

that the authors talk about, and this may be a potential answer to why corruption happens

so freely within our state.

The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics, by Beth A. Rosenson,

talks about how New York was the first state to enact a general ethics law that set

standards to guide and restrict the behavior of public officials, including legislators in

1954.29 She looks closely at the many laws that have been enacted since the first, and the

reasons why many of them came to be. By using both qualitative historical sources and

statistical analysis, Rosenson seeks to answer when and why, from 1954 to 2005,

legislators have enacted laws that could possibly hurt themselves in the end. This book

focuses on the precise ways in which states have sought to regulate potential conflicts of

27 Cody and Lynn, Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service, 728 Cody and Lynn, Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service, 429 Beth A. Rosenson, “The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics,” (Georgetown University Press, 2005), 5.

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interest involving legislators,30 and seeks to answer two central questions. The first is why

lawmakers, despite their well-known dislike of ethics laws, nevertheless enacted many

such laws in the second half of the twentieth century. And the second, is why states differ

in the extensiveness of their legislative ethics regulation and how they enforce their ethics

laws.31 Rosenson comes up with her reasons for the second question, but I believe that

Elazars’ theory of political culture could definitely play a part in the answer to this

second question. This book shines a light on the conditions that help cause the passage of

ethics laws,32 and explains why despite major pullback from legislators, the job,

sometimes, still gets done.

Rosenson points out that ethics laws frequently restrict legislators’ relationships

with business people, potential clients, lobbyists, and others, all to prevent such

relationships from influencing their decision making.33 In my conclusions, I explain why

this very issue, the restriction of legislators outside reach, can be such an issue when

trying to get ethics laws passed. This book also addresses the question of why ethics

reforms fail sometimes and succeed other times.34 Moreover, it defines failure as a reform

proposal not being enacted, and success is the passage of the same or very similar

legislation.35 This book provides a view on reform actually being passed by legislators,

despite them not wanting to. I, however, am arguing that legislators in New York State

are not passing serious ethics reform because they do not want to pass it.

30 Beth A. Rosenson, “The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics,” (Georgetown University Press, 2005), 4.31 Ibid.32 Ibid.33 Rosenson, The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics, 834 Rosenson, The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics, 1835 Rosenson, The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics, 19

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According to Rosenson, author of The Shadowlands of Conduct, in legislative

debates over ethics reform, two stances are typical, (1) only legislators themselves should

be the arbiters of legislative ethics, and (2) ethics regulation is merely a symbolic way of

appeasing misguided journalists, reformers, and the public.36 In New York an ethics

reform proposal that failed in 1985 and 1986 was enacted in 1987. This bill was known

as the Ethics in Government Act. Rosenson states that, the law strengthened existing

financial disclosure requirements for state lawmakers and limits on lawyer-legislators’

activities.37 This suggests that for New York, the period of failure was from 1985 to 1986,

and the period of reform success for New York was 1987 to 1988.38 In 2005, when this

book was published, New York had strong disclosure laws for legislators, a relatively

strong gift restriction, a two-year “revolving door” limit on legislators becoming

lobbyists after leaving office, and a ban on lawyer-representing clients before state

agencies.39

In The Scandal of Reform: The Grand Failures of New York’s Political Crusaders

and the Death of Nonpartisanship (2009), Francis S. Barry suggests that New York

State’s reform community does not wear a “white hat” like they like to make it seem, and

are sometimes perceived. In fact, this book claims “reformers are more self-righteous

than right and more interested in power than in democracy.” Barry examines the slow

growth of political reform and challenges us to reconsider our trust in reforms and

reformers, because he believes they are no longer serving the public’s interests. This

book builds its foundation off the controversy of nonpartisan elections. For decades

36 Rosenson, The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics, 837 Rosenson, The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics, 1838 Rosenson, The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics, 1939 Rosenson, The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics, 9

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before 2003, New York State reformers, being led by Citizens Union, argued

unsuccessfully for non-partisan elections. However, when they finally got their chance to

make the change, when the mayor of New York City, Michael R. Bloomberg, appointed

the Charter Revision Commission putting the issue to voters in a 2003 referendum, every

reform group in the city opposed it, the very first being Citizens Union. From this,

nonpartisan elections have become hated and rejected in New York State’s contemporary

reform community. The question this book is trying to answer is, how did reformers go

from all in for nonpartisan elections to complete disgust about the idea alone? To answer

this question, the author begins by examining the “evolution of reform in New York,”

from the first days of the American Republic up until 2009, and reconsiders the

achievements reformers tend to hold dear, such as government subsidization of campaign

funding.40 By doing these two tasks, the author shows us that many of the factors that

characterize traditional corruption scandals have also been found to characterize past and

current reform movements. Here we see “reform opposed by reformers,” 41 This book

helped shape my perspective on a reason why reform does not happen in New York State.

Some New Yorkers and legislators, like Barry, do not trust reformers and do not believe

that reform is to serve the publics interests. Rather they believe reformers’ underlying

agenda is to get more political power and political arm.

Overview of the Moreland Commission

40 Francis S. Barry, The Scandal of Reform: The Grand Failures of New York’s Political Crusaders and the Death of Nonpartisanship. (Rutgers University Press, 2009), 3.41 Francis S. Barry, The Scandal of Reform: The Grand Failures of New York’s Political Crusaders and the Death of Nonpartisanship. (Rutgers University Press, 2009), 4.

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On July 2, 2013, current Governor on New York, Andrew M. Cuomo, appointed

the Commission to Investigate Public Corruption to probe systemic corruption and the

appearance of such corruption in state government, political campaigns and elections in

New York State.42 The Commission was given, by Cuomo, broad investigative authority

to carefully examine matters that “involve public peace, public safety and public

justice,”43 and to issue subpoenas and critically examine witnesses under oath. They were

tasked with among other things, reviewing the adequacy of existing state laws,

regulations and procedures involving unethical and unlawful misconduct by public

officials and the electoral process and campaign finance laws.44 Some areas where the

Commission was focusing its investigation on included but were not limited to, criminal

statutes for corruption and misconduct by public officials, such as bribery laws, and

campaign financing including but not limited to contribution limits and other

restrictions.45

Governor Cuomo abruptly disbanded the commission halfway through its,

proposed, 18-month time period, and when asked if it was a legal question by a reporter

he stated, “It is not a legal question.”46 He claimed that the Moreland Commission was

indeed his commission, and that he had the power to appoint it and disband it as he

pleased. Still, the conduct of the commission was severely criticized by the New York

42 Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption Releases Report. http://publiccorruption.moreland.ny.gov/ (accessed February 22, 2015).43 Ibid.44 New York State Association of Counties, 2013 State Legislative Session Summary. http://www.nysac.org/legislative-action/documents/LegislativeSummary2013-final.pdf (accessed March 24, 2015).45 Moreland Commission. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-appoints-moreland-commission-investigate-public-corruption-attorney-general (accessed March 13, 2015).46 Chris Bragg, “Cuomo on Moreland tampering: It’s my commission.” The Insider, April 24, 2014. Accessed August 19, 2015. http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140424/BLOGS04/140429924/cuomo-on-moreland-tampering-its-my-commission

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Times. During the time of the disbanding, they had administered a 3-month examination

and found that the governor’s office had messed with the work of the panel, butting in

whenever the commission focused on groups with ties to Cuomo. This was an issue

because the governor publically vowed that the commission would be “totally

independent” and that the panel was free to pursue wrongdoing anywhere in the state

government, including his own office.47 The New York Times found that this was not true,

and provided the first full account of how deeply the governor’s aides were involved in

the commission’s work and the level of disruption it caused.48 Many commissioners and

investigators within the panel saw the demands from the governor’s office as politically

motivated interference.49 In addition, a subpoena issued to a media-buying firm, listing

Cuomo as one of its clients, was withdrawn once news reached the governor’s office,

showing how the commission was fixed from the very beginning.

In response to the New York Times, governor Cuomo stated in an official letter,

“A commission appointed by and staffed by the executive cannot investigate the

executive,”50 once again contradicting his initial statement of an independent

commission. In the end, Cuomo got the legislature to agree to a package of ethics

reforms, claiming this as proof of the panel’s success. The commission was supposedly

made to help gain the trust of the citizens, but it failed. In fact, it lowered trust of citizens

and raised suspicion concerning the governor and the reasons he shut down the

47 Susanne Craig, William K. Rashbaum, and Thomas Kaplan, “Cuomo’s Office Hobbled Ethics Inquiries by Moreland Commission.” The New York Times, July 23, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/nyregion/governor-andrew-cuomo-and-the-short-life-of-the-moreland-commission.html?_r=0 (accessed May 2, 2015).48 Ibid.49 Susanne Craig, William K. Rashbaum, and Thomas Kaplan, “Cuomo’s Office Hobbled Ethics Inquiries by Moreland Commission.” The New York Times, July 23, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/nyregion/governor-andrew-cuomo-and-the-short-life-of-the-moreland-commission.html?_r=0 (accessed May 2, 2015).50 Ibid.

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commission so suddenly. Voters say almost unanimously that they do not think Cuomo is

doing a good job combating corruption, in fact, he is part of the problem.51

CORRUPTION: NEW YORK’S CURRENT STORY

Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon “Shelly” Silver

Sheldon Silver, who served as speaker of the New York Assembly for over

twenty years, was arrested in February 2015 on claims that he had exploited his position

of authority in order to obtain millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.52 He had been

telling people for years that his outside work consisted of him being a personal injury

lawyer, but according to the New York Times, a federal prosecutor said that he created

this lie in order to cover up $4 million in payoffs.53 Silver was charged with honest

services mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud, using his

official position to commit extortion, money laundering, and extortion conspiracy.54 The

investigation that led to the charges against Silver began after Governor Andrew M.

Cuomo unexpectedly shut down an anti-corruption commission he created in July of

2013. I will discuss this “Moreland Commission” later in this paper. Before Cuomo shut

down the panel, which was made to investigate the outside income of lawmakers,

Sheldon Silver was one of many legislative leaders who sued in order to stop further

inquiry.

51 Quinnipiac University Poll. https://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/ny03192015_nh54dfds.pdf (accessed June 23, 2015).52 William K. Rashbaum and Thomas Kaplan, “Sheldon Silver, Assembly Speaker, Took Millions in Payoffs, U.S. says,” New York Times, January 22, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/nyregion/speaker-of-new-york-assembly-sheldon-silver-is-arrested-in-corruption-case.html (accessed February 28, 2015).53 William K. Rashbaum and Thomas Kaplan, “Sheldon Silver, Assembly Speaker, Took Millions in Payoffs, U.S. says,” New York Times, January 22, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/nyregion/speaker-of-new-york-assembly-sheldon-silver-is-arrested-in-corruption-case.html (accessed February 28, 2015).54 Ibid.

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Former Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver was reportedly receiving a portion of the

legal fees paid to a firm he referred to developers, called Goldberg & Iryami. In addition,

he purposely refused to list the payments from the firm on his annual financial disclosure

filings, which in the state of New York is required. One could say this is probably

because he had not actually done any work for the developers, which then means that the

income received from the firm was in fact a kickback. An even bigger moneymaking

scheme, according to prosecutors, involved clients who Silver referred to Weitz &

Luxenburg, an asbestos cancer law firm.55 He was said to have secretly funneled state

grants, worth $500,000 in total, to pay for the doctor’s research.56 By doing this, he

received more than $3 million in fees for the patients he referred to the law firm. By the

time of the investigation, Silver had spread $3.8 million among eight bank and asset-

management accounts. Silver resigned after his indictment and pleaded not guilty to the

charges made against him.

On November 30, 2015, ex-Assembly leader, Sheldon Silver was found guilty on

seven counts of corruption. Including four counts of honest services fraud, two counts of

extortion, and one count of money laundering.57 Silver now faces a maximum of 130

years in prison; reporters say he will however not likely get more than 20.58 Sheldon

Silvers sentencing has not yet taken place; however, he and his attorney do plan to

challenge the court’s decision. This being such a current case, it shows directly how

55 Ibid.56 Ibid.57 Sheldon Silver Found Guilty on all Counts in Corruption Trial, http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/11/30/sheldon-silver-juror-corruption-trial/ (accessed December 1, 2015).58 Dana Sauchelli, Kevin Sheehan, and Kate Sheehy, “Sheldon Silver Found Guilty on All Counts in Corruption Trial,” New York Post, November 30, 2015, http://nypost.com/2015/11/30/sheldon-silver-found-guilty-on-all-counts-in-corruption-trial/ (accessed December 1, 2015).

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corruption is so prevalent in New York State. Looking back at the first three of R. Lynn’s

six basic principles that are “self-evident” rules of conduct for all public servants,

referred to earlier, Sheldon Silver has broken rule (1) public servants must never lie,

cheat, or steal in any official capacity and they must obey the law, and tell the truth to the

public, governmental bodies, and the press (2) public officials must avoid all conflicts of

interests created by business, friendship, or family relationships and (3) public officials

owe a fiduciary duty to taxpayers and all citizens to ensure that public funds are used

efficiently.59

Former Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos

Sheldon Silver was not the only leading legislative officer arrested this year. May

2015 marked a month of family affairs, or “arrests.” Both Dean G. Skelos, former Senate

majority leader, and his son, Adam B. Skelos, were arrested and indicted by a grand jury

on charges of extortion, wire fraud, conspiracy and bribe solicitation.60 The indictment

also includes an additional accusation that states that the former senator secured over

$100,000 in payments and health benefits from a medical malpractice insurer that gave

his son a no-show job in return for lobbying the senator on legislative matters.61 At the

heart of the charges is the accusation that Skelos agreed to take official actions to benefit

a small Arizona environmental company, and a large New York developer, as long as the

companies agreed to pay his son.

59 Cody and Lynn, Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service, 960 William K. Rashbaum, “Grand Jury Indicts Dean Skelos, Ex-New York Senate Leader, and Son in Corruption Case.” New York Times, May 28, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/nyregion/dean-skelos-ex-senate-leader-and-son-are-indicted-in-corruption-case.html (accessed June 12, 2015).61 Ibid.

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The government argues that AbTech Industries, a storm-water company, only

hired Skelos’ son, Adam, after his father pressured Glenwood Management, a New York

City real estate developer with business before the state, to find him a job.62 Prosecutors

are saying that Glenwood needed Dean Skelos on their side in order for their business in

New York to prosper, so they did some quid pro quo action. The men have been charged

with, fraud conspiracy, extortion, and bribery.63 Wiretapped phone conversations as well

as email conversations revealing plenty of hard evidence are currently being used in court

to support the ongoing case. An executive of AbTech, also Adam Skelos’ supervisor,

Bjournulf White, cooperated with the FBI and wore a wire when meeting with him

exposing Skelos and his son to even more dirt. Compared to Sheldon Silver’s case this

one is a doozy for prosecutors. Literally all of the evidence is laying right at their feet.

The case has yet been brought to trial, but if I had to guess, I would say neither of these

men will be walking the streets of New York for a very long time. Skelos is now the fifth

straight state Senate majority leader in Albany to face criminal charges.64 With this

scheme, Dean Skelos has broken rule one and two of R. Lynns six basic principles that

are “self-evident” rules of conduct for all public servants.65

MY FINDINGS

62 Susanne Craig, “ Dean Skelos' Defense Minimizes Talks with Son’s Employer,” New York Times, December 2, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/nyregion/dean-skeloss-defense-minimizes-talks-with-sons-employer.html?_r=0 63 Ibid. 64 Alan Greenblatt, “Congratulations, New York, You’re #1 in Corruption,” Politico Magazine, May, 5, 2015, http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/05/how-new-york-became-most-corrupt-state-in-america-117652 (accessed May 23, 2015).65 Cody and Lynn, Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service, 9

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My contribution, in this paper, is providing the answers as to why New York State

is not getting ethics reform passed in spite of high levels of public corruption and high

levels of public dissatisfaction with state officials. Based on the research I have

conducted, if these things are true, ethics reform is not likely to take place, (1)

Individualistic political culture (2) high levels of economic inequality, and (3) low trust in

reformers/ reform. Based on Elazar’s theory of political culture, states with embedded

individualistic cultures are more likely to accept corruption as just the way it is. Being so

corruption and scheming becomes a way of life, allowing government officials to feel

comfortable committing unethical acts. In addition, citizens are more likely to forgive

these actions, giving officials the chance to be re-elected after offenses as well as leeway

to repeat offenses. Being that New York has this individualistic culture embedded deep

into its society, corruption is more prone to continue, while reform stays on the back

burner. The same goes for other states with this individualistic culture.

Scholars know that at least part of legislators’ resistance to ethics laws is rooted in

economic interests.66 Government’s purpose is to be useful for those who participate in it,

not comfortable to those who sit back and watch it. Ethics laws also pose a potential

threat to legislators’ political security; some legislators’ find the very idea of ethics

regulation to be demeaning, “an insult to their integrity.”67 “Corrupt acts are almost

always hidden. If you are behaving honestly in either the public or the private sector, you

will rarely have a need to hide your actions.”68 However, transparency is a big issue in

New York State. This individualistic culture thrives off limiting community and

government intervention into private activities. State officials do not want to be

66 Cody and Lynn, Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service, 967 Ibid.68 Uslaner, Corruption, Inequality, and the Rule of Law: The Bulging Pocket makes the easy life, 8

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accountable to anyone but himself or herself. In the state of New York where we have

outside income disclosure laws this becomes a problem. Government officials feel like

they should not have to share how they make their money outside the office. The purpose

of these laws are to protect the citizens and lower possible corruption, yet there is

constant rebuttal from state officials when it comes to disclosing outside information.

And although providing documentation of outside employment is a requirement in New

York State, legislators, like Sheldon Silver, have refused to do so.

To add another idea, Richardson R. Lynn, states in his book “more than a hundred

of the honest, well-respected people who entered the highest levels of government

encountered the “sleaze factor” and left government under a cloud of suspicion because

they acted as if they were still in the private sector, without a specially heightened

sensitivity to ethical questions.”69 I believe this refers to people coming from the private

sector into the public sector, not knowing, or not truly understanding that once you enter

the “public” sector all your business becomes “public.” This then makes them not to fond

of the idea of disclosing outside information and being restricted from some outside

work, in the end not knowing how to function or act in this new position. Ethics laws

frequently restrict legislators’ relationships with business people, potential clients,

lobbyists, and others, all to prevent such relationships from influencing their decision

making. This restriction of officials outside reach can be an issue when trying to get

ethics laws passed. However, once a public official, your private business is done. For

one embedded in this individualistic culture, this is not okay.

69 Richardson R. Lynn and W.J. Michael Cody. Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service. (Praeger, 1992), 5.

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When there are high levels of economic inequality within a state, ethics reform is

not likely to be passed, even when there is a strong need for it. The 2010 American

Community Survey conducted by the US Census Bureau shows that New York State just

behind DC has the largest income disparities between wage earners in all income

categories. In 2010, New York State held a Gini coefficient of 0.499 and DC held a

0.532.70 A Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality; a score of zero means complete

equality, while a score of one means complete inequality. Eric M. Uslaner demonstrates

in his book how high levels of economic inequality lead to less trust in government and

then to high levels of corruption. He shows how this cycle constantly repeats leaving no

room for reform to take place. This is the situation of New York State. Because New

York has such high levels of economic inequality, low trust and government, and high

levels of public corruption ethics reform is not likely to take place.

Reform does not happen because citizens and government officials like Francis S.

Barry, author of The Scandal of Reform, do not trust the reformers and do not believe that

reform is to serve the publics interests. Rather they believe it is to give reformers more

political power and political muscle. They say why combat corruption with more

corruption; instead let us just leave it the way it is. New York State is a prime example of

this notion. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2013 Moreland Commission left New York

citizens in a mental frenzy. The governor, acting as a reformer, put together a

commission to combat public corruption and then suddenly disbanded it, commenting

that it was his and he could do what he wanted with it. Actions like this show, just like

with reformers and non-partisan elections, demonstrated in The Scandal of Reform,

70 Amanda Noss, Household Income for States: 2010 and 2011, https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acsbr11-02.pdf (accessed September 3, 2015).

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reformers fighting for a cause, ultimately getting what they want and then suddenly

changing their minds. This leaves the public questioning whether they should even trust

reform. Especially if untrustworthy reformers have their hands in it. This is where New

York fall concerning this issue, leaving the cycle of corruption untouched.

CONCLUSION

This thesis has provided practical answers to the question “if you have high levels

of public corruption within state government and high levels of public dissatisfaction

with corrupt state officials, why is serious ethics reform not being passed?” It has

suggested that (1) one’s political culture (2) high levels of economic inequality, and (3)

low trust in reformers characterize some of the reasons why reform is not getting passed

in New York State, and these suggestions can be applied to other states with the same

issue. This thesis contributed to the knowledge of political science by helping answer the

question to why. Many scholars have identified countries dealing with the issue of

corruption but I provide an explanation to why a specific state within a country might be

caught up in corruption with slim chance of serious public ethics reform. Others have

looked at the causes of corruption and why public trust matters at a broad scale, looking

at a wide array of countries, mostly less developed. I, however, have presented a case

study on one state, New York, and have analyzed its history of corruption in a search to

find why reform has not taken place despite high levels of public corruption and high

levels of public dissatisfaction.

While this paper answers the question of why, it leaves this question “how do we

fix it” unanswered. What is left to find are solid solutions to the answers to why, and

solid ethics reform. If I had more time I would conduct a comparative analysis of the

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similarities between New York State and states with similar political cultures, on the

basis of corruption and the blatant abuse of powers from state officials. I would examine

the current public ethics reforms implemented within these states, and hopefully find

elements that could be used as a laboratory for New York State Public ethics reform.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Primary SourcesA. Government Documents/Reports

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. A.G. Schneiderman Proposes Sweeping Legislation to Reform New York State Government, May 27, 2015. http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-schneiderman-proposes-sweeping-legislation-reform-new-york-state-government

Daniel J. Horwitz. Report From the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, February 2015. JCOPE. http://www.jcope.ny.gov/pubs/POL/JCOPE%20Third%20Year%20Report%20FINAL.pdf

Governor. “Governor Cuomo details comprehensive reforms to prevent public Corruption, Modernize New York’s Voting Laws, and Reduce the Influence of Money.” New York State. Last modified June 11, 2013. Accessed May 23, 2015.

Governor. “Governor Cuomo details ethics reforms in 30-day budget Amendments.” New York State. Last modified February 20, 2015. Accessed February 24, 2015. http://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-details-ethics-reforms-30-day-budget-amendments

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. Video and Transcript: Governor Cuomo Outlines 2015 Ethics Reform Agenda at NYU School of Law, February 2, 2015. New York State. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-and-transcript-governor-cuomo-outlines-2015-ethics-reform-agenda-nyu-school-law

Moreland Commission. Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption Releases Report, December 2, 2013. New York State. http://publiccorruption.moreland.ny.gov/press-release/moreland-commission-investigate-public-corruption-releases-report

26

NYS Joint Commission on Public Ethics. New York State Public Integrity Reform Act (“PIRA”): An Overview for Public Officials. http://www.jcope.ny.gov/training/NYSPIRA%20-%20A%20Guide%20for%20Public%20Officials%20and%20State%20Employees%20FINAL.pdf

The Center for Public Integrity. New York State Corruption Risk Report Card. State Integrity Investigation. http://www.stateintegrity.org/newyork_story_subpage

44th Street Blog. Albany Reform Tops City Bar’s 2015 Legislative Agenda – Statement by President Debra L. Raskin. February 5, 2015. New York City Bar. http://www.nycbar.org/44th-street-blog/2015/02/05/albany-reform-tops-city-bar%E2%80%99s-2015-legislative-agenda-statement-by-president-debra-l-raskin/

B. News Articles

Benjamin, Michael. “Andrew Cuomo’s ethics reforms are too weak.” New York Post, February 6, 2014. Accessed February 6, 2015. http://nypost.com/2014/02/06/andrew-cuomos-ethics-reforms-are-too-weak/

Blain, Glenn. “At Least 16 State lawmaker’s targets of ethics reform regarding income disclosure.” New York Daily News, February 9, 2015. Accessed February 10, 2015. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/16-state-lawmakers-targets-income-ethics-reform-article-1.2109066

Bragg, Chris. “Cuomo on Moreland tampering: It’s my commission.” The Insider, April 24, 2014. Accessed August 19, 2015. http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140424/BLOGS04/140429924/cuomo-on-moreland-tampering-its-my-commission

Burns, Alexander, and Susanne Craig. “Pushing Ethics Reforms, Cuomo wants lawmakers to reveal income or lose it.” New York Times, February 2, 2015. Accessed February 13, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/nyregion/cuomo-seeks-ethics-reform-after-sheldon-silver-arrest.html?_r=0

Cheney, Brendan. “Capital Data: How Corrupt is Albany? Capital New York, January 29, 2015. Accessed February 28, 2015. http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/01/8560720/capital-data-how-corrupt-albany

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Craig, Susanne, William K. Rashbaum, and Thomas Kaplan. “The Many Faces of State Political Scandals.” New York Times, last modified January 22, 2015. Accessed February 6, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/23/nyregion/23moreland-commission-and-new-york-political-scandals.html

Hamilton, Matthew. “Democrats pushing ethics reforms.” Times Union, February 20, 2015. Accessed February 10, 2015. http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Democrats-pushing-ethics-reforms-6071708.php

Kaplan, Thomas. “Panel Appointed by Cuomo says Corruption is Commonplace in Albany.” New York Times, December 2, 2013. Accessed February 28, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/nyregion/panel-appointed-by-cuomo-calls-corruption-commonplace-in-albany.html

Lovett, Kenneth. “State pols say ethics package should include public disclosure for Cuomo.” New York Daily News, February 23, 2015. Accessed February 26, 2015. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/lovett-state-pols-ethics-package-cover-cuomo-article-1.2125601

O’Brien, Rebecca D., and Erica Orden. “Federal Prosecutors Launch Assault on Public Corruption in New York State.” Wall Street Journal, last modified March 6, 2015. Accessed March 6, 2015. http://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-prosecutors-launch-assault-on-public-corruption-in-new-york-state-1423534577

Orden, Erica. “Former N.Y. Senator Malcolm Smith Convicted of Bribery.” Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2015. Accessed February 6, 2015. http://www.wsj.com/articles/former-n-y-state-senator-malcolm-smith-convicted-of-bribery-1423184469

Precious, Tom. “Corruption, scandal takes further toll in Albany.” Buffalo News, last modified February 5th, 2015. Accessed February 6, 2015. http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/albany-politics/corruption-scandal-take-further-toll-in-albany-20150205

Reisman, Nick. “Senate Republicans finds issue with Ethics Proposal.” Time Warner Cable News, February 18, 2015. Accessed February 18, 2015. http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2015/02/18/senate-republicans-finds-issue-with-ethics-reform-proposal.html

Stashenko, Joel. “Ethics Reform is at the Top of City Bar Legislative Agenda.” New York Law Journal, February 23, 2015.

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The New York State Senate. Legislation. Albany, NY. Accessed September 4, 2015. http://www.nysenate.gov/legislation

Wilson, Reid. “The Most Corrupt State(s) in America.” Washington Post, January 22, 2014. Accessed June 13, 2015. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/01/22/the-most-corrupt-states-in-america/

II. Secondary Sources A. Books

Armstrong, Michael F. They Wished They Were Honest: The Knapp Commission and New York City Police Corruption. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2012

Barry, Francis S. The Scandal of Reform: The Grand Failures of New York’s Political Crusaders and the Death of Nonpartisanship. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2009

Collins, Patrick M. Challenging the Culture of Corruption: Game-Changing Reform for Illinois. Edited by Gregory F. Augustine Pierce. Skokie, Illinois: ACTA Publications, 2010.

Cooper, Terry. Handbook of Administrative Ethics: Public Administration and Public Policy. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2000.

Etzioni, Amitai. The New Normal: Finding a Balance between Individual Rights and the Common Good. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2015.

Genovese, Michael A., and Victoria A. Farrar – Myers. Corruption and American Politics. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2010.

Hetherington, Marc J. Why Trust Matters: Declining Political Trust and the Demise of American Liberalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005.

Lachman, Seymour P., and Robert Polner. Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American Statehouse. Albany, NY: The New Press, 2006.

Lynn, Richardson R. and W.J. Michael Cody. Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for Public Service. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1992

Nowlan, James D., and J. Thomas Johnson. Fixing Illinois: Politics and Policy in the Prairie State. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2014

Rosenson, Beth A. The Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics.

Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2005

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Uslaner, Eric M. Corruption, Inequality, and the Rule of Law: The Bulging Pocket makes the easy life. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2010

B. Journal Articles

Meier, Kenneth J., and Thomas M. Holbrook. “I Seen My Opportunities and I Took ‘Em: Political Corruption in the American States.” The Journal of Politics 54, no.1, (1992):135-155. Accessed March 4, 2015.

Rosenson, Beth A. “The Impact of Ethics Laws on Legislative Recruitment and the Occupational Composition of State Legislatures.” Political Research Quarterly 59, no.4, (2006): 619-627. Accessed March 4, 2015.

Stengel, Andrew M. “Albany’s Decade of Corruption: Public Integrity Enforcement after Skilling v. United States, New York’s Dormant Honest Services Fraud Statute, and Remedial Criminal Law Reform.” Albany Law Review 76, no. 2, (2013): 1357-1408. Accessed February 22, 2015. http://www.albanylawreview.org/Articles/Vol76_2/76.2.1357%20Stengel.MLD.pdf

Crider, Kayla, and Jefrey Milyo. “Do State Ethics Commissions Reduce Political Corruption? An Exploratory Investigation.” UCI Law Review 3, no. 3, (2013): 717-732. Accessed March 8, 2015. http://www.law.uci.edu/lawreview/vol3/no3/crider_milyo.pdf

C. Other

Dincer, Oguzhan, and Michael Johnston. “Measuring Illegal and Legal Corruption in American States: Some Results from the Corruption in America Survey.” Center for Ethics-Harvard University, December 1, 2014. Accessed June 3, 2015. http://ethics.harvard.edu/blog/measuring-illegal-and-legal-corruption-american-states-some-results-safra

J. Wesley Leckrone, “State and Local Political Culture.” The American Partnership, December 18, 2013. Accessed June 12, 2105. http://theamericanpartnership.com/tag/elazars-political-culture/

Voters Want Leaders’, Spouses’, Live-Ins’, Income, Quinnipiac University New York Poll Finds; No Budget Without Ethics Fix, Voters Say, Quinnipiac

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University Poll, March 19, 2015. Accessed June 23, 2015. https://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/ny03192015_nh54dfds.pdf