Lawmakers must act now

To the editor:

There has been an increasing call to do something about the influence of big money on our state government. Despite a majority of elected officials going on record as supporting reform, Gov. Cuomo and the New York state legislature did not respond by hammering out legislation to lessen the power of big money. Instead, they created a commission to deal with this issue.

Now their Public Campaign Financing Commission has come out with a very flawed plan.

Although it lowers the maximum amount a contributor can give a candidate, it would still leave New York’s limits among the highest in the country.

It also abets Gov. Cuomo’s grudge against the Working Families Party. He is still angry that the party did not endorse him in the Democratic primary. The governor made sure the plan makes it much harder for third parties to get on the ballot in New York.

This provision of the plan, which is not very relevant to big money in our politics, will make life tougher for the WFP, if it doesn’t kill it. Other minor parties will likely be collateral damage.

The commission’s plan will become law if the legislature does not either modify it, or vote it down by Dec. 22. The legislature is not currently scheduled to meet in December. Our local state legislators should call on their leadership to reconvene it in December so this plan can either be modified, or voted down, so a better plan can be drafted in 2020.

Gene Binder

The author is a steering committee member for Concerned Citizens for Change.

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