Building a Government as Good as our People

The history of Albany is littered with corruption and broken promises. Our mission every day is to win back the trust of our bosses: the people of New York.

For decades Republicans used their position in the majority to enrich themselves and increase their personal power at the expense of their constituents. Operating behind closed doors, they used government as their own personal piggybank, and effectively shut Democrats and the citizens of New York out of government. They funded unnecessary and redundant programs, failed to engage in rigorous oversight of government programs, and hid the true costs of their excess underneath accounting gimmicks and taxes on New York’s middle class.

In our short time in office, the New York Senate Dems have taken unprecedented steps to open up government to the people and let the sunlight into Albany’s backrooms. We have rejected the fiscal gimmicks of the Republican era and rooted out millions of dollars in unnecessary spending, and retooled or cut programs that do not work.

We are changing Albany and building a government that works for all New Yorkers.

• We passed the most sweeping rules reforms in a generation. In our first year in office we passed the recommendation of the Bi-Partisan Commission on Rules Reform and established a stronger committee system, fairer distribution of senate resources, and increased transparency in the legislative process.
• We passed the most sweeping ethics reform in a generation. For the first time in a generation we passed legislation that would increase financial disclosure from elected officials, enforce campaign finance regulations, and establish commissions to monitor and enforce ethics rules.
• After years or reckless spending by Republicans, we passed a Deficit Reduction Plan that closed a budget deficit of $1.7 billion within days of achieving the majority. Since then, we’ve closed over $21 billion in budget deficits.
• We established a Task Force on Government Efficiency that has identified hundreds of millions of dollars in wasteful spending and potential cost savings.
• We harnessed the power of the Web to make government more open and accountable to the public. New and innovative online tools like NYSenate.gov and Open Senate not only disclose information, but seek public input to create real dialogue between senators and their constituents.