Editorial

Albany continues to disappoint

Posted

Sen. Dean Skelos resigned Monday as the majority leader of the State Senate. He stands accused by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of official corruption.

Republican senators met Monday, before Skelos’s resignation, and chose John Flanagan, a Republican from East Northport, as the new leader.

Until Skelos has his day in court, and the facts are established, he is presumed innocent of the charges leveled against him.

But with new leadership, we hope there can be the start of a new ethical attitude in Albany. It is sorely needed.

Public service is about more than bringing home the bacon and soliciting contributions to assure re-election and greater power. It’s about trust. We must have confidence that the people we elect are in office for the right reasons. We are entitled to believe that they act on our behalf, not their own. Our leaders must be credible.

Flanagan must demonstrate — right away — even more trustworthiness than most. He must be the person other members of the Senate look to for guidance and good example. Without the trust of his colleagues and constituents, he cannot lead effectively.

Flanagan will now wield great power. Skelos himself made that clear. According to the transcript of a wire-tapped phone call included in the 43-page federal criminal complaint against him, Skelos said, “I’m going to be president of the Senate, I’m going to be majority leader, I’m going to control everything. I’m going to control who gets on what committees, what legislation goes to the floor, what legislation comes through committees, the budget, everything.”

Also accused of official corruption, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, is gone. So two of the infamous “three men in a room” have had to give themselves up to the feds. The third, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, must be shaking in his shoes. And who knows where else Bharara’s hunt for corrupt practices will lead him?

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