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Thursday, March 28, 2024

High Time for Speaker Silver to Resign

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For many months now, it has been well-documented across the media landscape that the New York State Assembly – under its longtime speaker, Sheldon Silver – has been a hotbed of corruption and out-of-control cronyism that has made the legislative body a virtual laughingstock among those who observe the political scene. We will herewith provide several examples of recent vintage.

Back in the spring, several members of the Assembly were arrested on charges of corruption. One of these was Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, who was charged by federal authorities with authoring legislation – in exchange for $22,000 in cash – that forbade the opening of adult day care centers in The Bronx, as any such new center would offer competition to two existing ones operated by the Russian businessmen who gave him the money. As was reported at the time, Silver is known for keeping tight control over the proposal and passage of legislation in the Assembly — and Stevenson’s bill was submitted with minimal review from Silver or his aides.

Also recently, an ethics commission investigation made headlines when it discovered that Silver purposely covered up serious allegations charging that former Assemblyman Vito Lopez had consistently committed blatant acts of sexual harassment against female staffers. Instead of referring the matter to the Assembly’s Ethics Committee, Silver authorized secret payments of $100,000-plus in taxpayer money to the victims.

Unfortunately, this is far from the only time Silver has acted in such a callous fashion. In 2003, Silver passionately defended his then-legal counsel, Michael Boxley, against an accusation of sexually assaulting a female staff member following an alcoholic binge. Boxley ultimately resigned after pleading guilty to a lesser charge. In a separate case, New York State’s ethics commission has just begun an investigation into repeated sexual harassment accusations against Assemblyman Micah Kellner, and the way the situation has been handled by the Assembly – run, of course, by Sheldon Silver.

If all this sounds really bad to you, you’re not alone. A number of newspapers across the state have editorialized in favor of Silver tendering his resignation. Republican lawmakers have spoken out with the same message. And – perhaps most tellingly – a recent poll showed that a two-to-one margin of New Yorkers believe the embattled speaker should resign. “People are certainly appalled by what’s going on,” said Maurice Carroll, the director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

We would also add that – while no specific connection to the unfolding scandal has been established – Silver’s good friend William Rapfogel has just been fired from his high-profile position as CEO of the Met Council on Jewish Poverty due to financial misdeeds.

It’s clear beyond any doubt that the stench of corruption is firmly in place around Sheldon Silver. If the people of New York State have any hope of restoring good government – and just plain decency – to one of their key statewide legislative bodies, we doubt they will get their wish if things remain as they are. There is only one clear choice – Speaker Silver must resign immediately; only then can the Assembly finally begin to clear house and restore its good name.

 

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