More Accountability for Elected Officials and Placement Agents

After the Massachusetts House overwhelmingly passed the National Popular Vote legislation by 113 to 35, the Senate began debate on the bill then tabled it. It will be brought up again on July 7th. The proposal would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most votes in all 50 states, rather than the current winner-take all method used in all states but Maine and Nebraska. The National Popular Vote (H. 4156) legislation is sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Creem, Charles Murphy, Garrett Bradley, and 70 other cosponsors. During the last session, the bill passed the House by a vote of 129-37 and the Senate by a voice vote, but it did not receive a final enactment vote on the last day of the session. The proposal is backed by a coalition of groups that includes ACLU of Massachusetts, Common Cause Massachusetts, JALSA, MASSPIRG, MassVOTE, NAACP New England Area Conference, Oiste the Latino Political Organization, and the Sierra Club of Massachusetts.

Click here to write your State Senator.

Click here to see how State Representatives voted.  

Assemblyman Gianaris, Citzens Union, Common Cause/NY Contend Current State Law Allows Governor Paterson To Appoint Lt. Governor Shows How State Constitution and Public Officers Law Can Be Used to Break Albany Impasse

New York State Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, Citizens Union Executive Director Dick Dadey, and Common Cause/NY Executive Director Susan Lerner today sent Governor David A. Paterson a letter outlining how under current law he can appoint a Lt. Governor and in doing so resolve the impasse that has paralyzed state government.

Though it has become accepted conventional wisdom that a vacancy in the office of Lt. Governor cannot be filled until the next statewide election, the letter posits that the plain language of the Constitution and the Public Officers Law gives the Governor the power to appoint a Lt. Governor who can serve until next year's elections.

The letter contends that Section 43 of the Public Officers Law applies in this situation and is not precluded by the Constitutional mandate that the Temporary President of the Senate shall perform the duties of the Lt. Governor during a vacancy. Public Officer Law Section 43 states " [i]f a vacancy shall occur, otherwise than by expiration of term, with no provision of law for filling the same, if the office be elective, the governor shall appoint a person to execute the duties thereof until the vacancy shall be filled by an election…"

Read the full release here...

 

Our groups believe that the rules changes adopted last night include changes that will make the State Senate more open and accountable, but do not go far enough to improve the arcane internal operations of the Senate.

With the State Senate set to reconvene this afternoon, good government groups Citizens Union of the City of New York, Common Cause/NY, the League of Women Voters/N.Y.S. and NYPIRG urged senators to stick with their promises of enacting real reform. The groups pointed to statements made by various senators from both parties during the month-long stalemate declaring the crisis was fueled by the need for meaningful reform, not power politics. The good government groups urged the senators to stick with their promises for reform.

Over the past several months, the NYS Stimulus Oversight Group, Senator José M. Serrano (D-Manhattan/Bronx), and Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) have led an initiative to ensure that Federal Stimulus funds are utilized with utmost efficiency. A Stimulus Oversight Panel launched yesterday by Governor Paterson incorporates many of the major components of a bill introduced by Serrano and Gianaris.

The legislation (S5879/A8941) aimed to make New York the most reliable recipient of federal stimulus funds in the country by establishing an independent Ombudsman's office to help disburse and track the impact of Federal stimulus funds.

Common Cause applauds Governor Paterson for appointing a new Lieutenant-Governor, a bold and much-needed action that will help to bring an end to one large factor contributing to the ongoing Senate stalemate. By filling the vacancy, the Governor is ensuring the State Senate will once again have a presiding officer who can cast a tie-breaking vote and put to rest the question of succession.

Common Cause is pleased that Governor Paterson has followed the recommendation put out forth by Common Cause/New York, the Citizens Union of the City of New York and Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, and will pursue this legal and constitutional course of action. In the days since Common Cause announced its recommendation that Governor Paterson appoint a new Lieutenant-Governor, a number of legal experts and constitutional scholars have come forward in support of the idea, demonstrating its constitutional viability.

Citizens Union and Common Cause/NY today announced the formation of a group of state and constitutional legal experts who support the interpretation of how, under current law, Governor Paterson can appoint a Lt. Governor. The two civic groups, along with Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, on Monday called upon the Governor to act quickly in appointing a Lt. Governor as a means to end the partisan chaos in the state senate and clarify the line of succession to the office of Governor. At the moment, the issue of succession is unclear given that no one individual is universally recognized as Senate President pro tempore.

New York State Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, Citizens Union Executive Director Dick Dadey, and Common Cause/NY Executive Director Susan Lerner today sent Governor David A. Paterson a letter outlining how under current law he can appoint a Lt. Governor and in doing so resolve the impasse that has paralyzed state government.

Though it has become accepted conventional wisdom that a vacancy in the office of Lt. Governor cannot be filled until the next statewide election, the letter posits that the plain language of the Constitution and the Public Officers Law gives the Governor the power to appoint a Lt. Governor who can serve until next year's elections.

A coalition of long-time reform organizations today released the outline of their plan to end the Senate stalemate. Citizens Union, Common Cause/NY, the League of Women Voters, and NYPIRG issued their plea as the state Senate entered its fourth week of gridlock.

At this late date, it appears that efforts to develop a long-term solution have failed. Thus, the groups’ plan urges a “moratorium” on the debate over leadership, a bipartisan agreement to wrap up session and approval of new rules. At least initially, the plan focuses on achieving action on the immediate needs facing the state. There is a host of “must do” legislation that demands action. From local taxes to New York City Mayoral control of schools, from allowing additional debt to overhauling the state’s ethics laws, key items need action, now.

Senator José M. Serrano (D-Manhattan/Bronx) and Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) drafted a bill to make New York State the national leader in stimulus accountability and effectiveness, with the creation of a dedicated federal Stimulus Ombudsman‟s office. The proposal (S5879/A8941) is supported by the NYS Stimulus Oversight Working Group, the state‟s leading network pushing for fair and equitable distribution of stimulus investments.

"The leadership battle in the Senate has garnered attention that must be rechanneled in a more positive and productive direction. We must not lose focus, and we must continue to do the work of the people," said Senator José M. Serrano (D-Manhattan/Bronx). "With the country's current unemployment rate at 9.4 percent, it is incumbent upon us to move the economy forward and to create jobs. This bill gives New York the fantastic opportunity to be the most reliable recipient of federal stimulus funds in the entire country, and to set the example for other states to follow."

As the legislative short session draws near, Common Cause's agenda to protect our democracy appears to be gaining steam.

 

There are good reasons to be worried about Tar Heel democracy, such as the Supreme Court's recent decision to unleash corporate campaign cash in our elections and the pervasive "pay-to-play" culture on display in the now-disgraced Easley Administration.

 

But the good news is that there is an alternative to unlimited corporate influence. Statewide, nearly three in four North Carolinians see the need to reform campaign finance amongst our statewide executive branch officials. This "Council of State" is made up of people we trust to protect the public, and it is essential that they have campaign funding that is not donated by the very corporations they are sworn to regulate.

 

On the local front, five of our largest communities (Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Greenville, and Wilmington) have passed resolutions indicating their support for voter-owned elections at the local level. We believe that the time has come for state legislators to remove the ban on cities--our laboratories of democracy--experimenting with reform.

 

Call your legislator today, and tell him or her to support Common Cause's Protect Democracy Agenda in 2010!