This week we saw a historic moment as we voted for the Assembly’s first African-American Speaker, Carl E. Heastie. As he made clear, one of Speaker Heastie’s top priorities is instituting much-needed ethics reform. I’ve been fighting for tougher measures to crack down on elected officials who violate the public’s trust because public officials are elected to serve the people – not betray their confidence.

In the time I’ve been in the Assembly, I’ve worked to root out corruption. In 2013, I sponsored legislation to strip any official convicted of a felony of their pension (A.7173 of 2013 and A.377 of 2015). In March of last year, I joined a group of bipartisan legislators at a press conference to make our voices heard on ethics reform. Our efforts gained momentum, and in June, the bill passed the Assembly Governmental Operations Committee. In 2015, I will continue to push for this reform, including greater disclosure of outside incomes and campaign finance reform.

Going forward, it’s vital that we have greater transparency in government and institute stronger reforms. New Yorkers deserve to have elected officials who put their best interests first – not politicians who are looking out for themselves. That not only means enacting ethics reforms, but also passing an on-time budget, fully funding our schools, creating and growing good-paying jobs in our community and providing tax relief for middle-class families and local businesses.

As we turn a new page, I look forward to working with Speaker Heastie and having him visit Central New York to discuss the issues facing families here and throughout Upstate. I’m confident that New York will continue moving forward, and I’ll keep fighting for the things that matter to Central New Yorkers.