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Cuomo "Cleans" Albany By Letting Campaign Donors Pick Judges
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 13, 2011
Modified Jun 13, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jun 13, 2011
Modified Jun 13, 2011
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Governor Cuomo ran on a mandate to "clean up Albany." But everyone knows that cleaning is hard, and those little Swiffer pads get dirty really quick, and there's supposed to be a really good Game of Thrones on tonight and ovens clean themselves anyway so that's practically done. Plus your girlfriend keeps things relatively tidy. Why clean when you can just spruce up a little? That seems to be Governor Cuomo's MO after the passage of a seriously watered-down ethics bill. And now come revelations that Cuomo is packing his judicial appointment committees with attorneys who just happen to be major campaign donors.
The Daily News reports that half of Cuomo's appointees—11 out of 22—to the judicial screening committees "ponied up a combined $446,000 to the governor." Committee members receive no pay for their work, but they "help select judges that many of their law firms could ultimately appear before." One appointee gave Cuomo $50,000, while her husband, who was recently nominated to lead the Thruway Authority, gave another $50K. While it's common for governors to reward donors with appointments and perks, the governor's actions are particularly suspect given that he vowed to end the "degradation" in Albany.
A spokesman for Cuomo explained that the appointees are merely civic leaders, and "people who care enough to volunteer to help the state usually care who is elected to office and therefore contribute to campaigns." Yeah! We're confident that Cuomo's future appointments will be chock full of Paladino contributors, seeing as they care about Freedom too.
Tagged
Albany
andrew cuomo
backdealing
change we can believe in
clean up albany
ethics reform
governor cuomo
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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