BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | Updated Wed., Dec. 2: Assemblymember Deborah Glick, a longtime colleague of Sheldon Silver’s in the state Assembly, called the former speaker’s conviction on corruption charges on Monday “a sad day.” She also vigorously called for the elimination of outside employment for all legislators, saying it can be a pitfall, as Silver’s case clearly shows.
“This is a sad day in Albany and New York State,” Glick said in a lengthy statement. “The verdict in the Sheldon Silver corruption case is extremely disheartening for all the honest and hardworking legislators. The charges against former Speaker Silver were shocking, as he has advanced many key democratic initiatives, but this case has highlighted the potential conflicts that outside income can have for legislators.
“Those of us who believe government can help solve the problems we face depend on our fellow citizens to trust government. Today’s events make trust in government that much harder,” Glick said.
“I have always served as a full-time legislator, as have many of my colleagues, and I have long supported the elimination of separate employment for all legislators,” she continued. “I hope that today’s verdict can be the impetus to make the necessary changes to see the elimination of dual employment.”
The New York State Legislature is only in session for half of each year, from January through the end of June, and legislators are allowed to have outside jobs in addition to collecting their salaries as politicians.
In Silver’s case, he was convicted of profiting from $4 million in what the U.S. attorney argued were effectively kickbacks in connection with two schemes in which he provided referrals to the outside lawfirm he worked for. In one scheme, Silver helped funnel asbestos patients to the lawfirm, while in the other, he benefited from a real estate scam, prosecutors charged.
Furthermore, Glick said, Albany needs campaign finance reform.
“In addition,” Glick said, “our system of financing campaigns needs to be revamped. The Clean Money Campaign, led by Citizen Action, has been the model for reforms repeatedly passed by the Assembly, including the closure of the LLC loophole, which has unfortunately stalled in the state Senate.”
Yet she also put some of the onus for stalled reforms on the voters — particularly for not supporting a pay hike for legislators.
“The public has demanded change in Albany but has also been resistant to some of the changes necessary to eliminate outside income, such as a review of the compensation for legislators,” Glick noted. “We need a diverse Legislature, and if eliminating outside income, we must ensure that the position is not just left to those with family and financial resources to serve. Nor can candidates for public office be limited to the wealthy. Public financing of campaigns must be on the agenda in the upcoming session.
“In addition, we must work diligently to ensure the highest standards of ethical behavior,” she said. “I am honored to serve the 66th Assembly District and will continue to do so with integrity. I look forward to the start of the next session, where we can tackle not just restoring the public’s trust in the Legislature, but also passing effective legislation that makes New York an even better place to live.”
Unlike Glick, Richard Gottfried, another longtime colleague of Silver’s in the Assembly’s Manhattan delegation, didn’t have anything to say publicly on Silver’s conviction.
Brice Peyre, a Gottfried spokesperson, said, “He is going to refrain from commenting.”
After Silver’s arrest in January, both Glick and Gottfried had jumped to his defense, saying he was, of course, “presumed innocent until guilty.”
Silver championed bread-and-butter Democratic causes, such as supporting social-service programs, education and unions.
“There is no one in public life in New York who has fought more effectively, for decades, for almost everything I care about in public policy than Sheldon Silver,” Gottfried told The Villager then.
“Obviously, he’s been upholding Democratic principles in this state,” Glick told The Villager, regarding the speaker.
A hard-hitting Daily News editorial about Silver this Monday (headlined “Sheldon Silver’s Accomplices”) referenced Glick’s quote, above, and perhaps — in noting that Gottfried described Silver as a “hero” — referred to another line in the same Villager article where the word “hero” was used: “Gottfried said that, in fact, in his view, Silver is a political hero.” (The Villager — not Gottfried — used the word to describe Gottfried’s view of Silver.)
At any rate, the News blasted the pair of West Side pols as the former speaker’s enablers, calling Glick Silver’s “consigliere” and Gottfried Silver’s “Manhattan underboss.”
For her part, Councilmember Margaret Chin came out with a strong statement Monday:
“As an elected official who proudly represents some of the same people who repeatedly put their faith in one man to further their best interests in Albany, I have been troubled by the steady stream of revelations regarding Mr. Silver’s conduct,” Chin said. “Today’s verdict by a jury of his peers confirms the worst of those allegations. By committing the crimes of which he now stands convicted, Mr. Silver betrayed the trust of voters who have the right to expect honesty, integrity and ethics from their elected representatives.”
Silver had memorably raised a beaming Chin’s hand in a victory salute at her post-election party in 2009.
In January, after Silver’s arrest, state Senator Brad Hoylman came out early and forcefully calling for his resignation in a pair of tweets — and no doubt took flak from Democratic partisans furious that he would dare inject himself into the Assembly crisis.
“Another shameful day in Albany,” Hoylman had tweeted, later adding, “Speaker Silver should resign for the good of the people of New York.”
A longtime local Democratic politico, practically worked up into a raging froth, told The Villager at that time how outraged he was over Hoylman’s audacious tweets.
But after Monday’s verdict, a spokesperson said Hoylman was not commenting.
Greenwich Village District Leader Arthur Schwartz blasted Silver, as well as his political nemesis, Glick.
“Shelly Silver’s conviction shows how deep the problems are in our political process,” Schwartz said. “Silver blatantly and openly pursued his personal-injury lawsuit scheme for years, and his colleagues failed to challenge him — and some, like our assemblywoman, Glick, stuck with him till the end. We need term limits, we need public financing of elections, and we need to end contributions by corporations or LLC’s to campaigns.”
He said Glick should resign.
