GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY) was elected in 2010. TRANSPARENCY Gov.

Cuomo has been criticized as having a transparency problem stemming from efforts to block access to records from his time as governor and as New Yorks attorney general.1 The governor does not use e-mail to conduct state business.2 His aides do not regularly discuss substantive issues over e-mail, and some routinely delete their electronic inboxes and sent messages.3 Instead, Gov. Cuomo and his aides tend to communicate by phone or through the BlackBerry PIN-to-PIN message system which, unlike e-mail, does not pass through a server and cannot be recovered once deleted.4 Gov. Cuomo adopted a previous New York state archives policy concluding many e-mails are not records and are therefore suitable for immediate destruction and expanded it to include all electronic communications, whether by e-mail, text, or BlackBerry pin.5 Since Gov. Cuomo took office, his aides have sought to withhold documents from his time as attorney general from public review, going so far as to remove records that had already been made public from the New York state archives.6 In addition, Gov. Cuomo encouraged the formation of a tax-exempt group, the Committee to Save New York (CSNY), which spent millions received from mostly anonymous donors to support the governors agenda with television ads.7 The group received $2 million from gambling interests shortly before Gov. Cuomo began explicitly advocating for expanded gambling, including in his State of the State address.8 In 2011, Gov. Cuomo signed ethics legislation requiring the disclosure of donors to lobbying organizations like the CSNY.9 Donations to the CSNY dried up after the new disclosure law was implemented.10 The organization declined to engage in fights over Gov. Cuomos 2013 budget, partially out of concern that the new lobbying law would bring public scrutiny to donors.11

Governor Cuomo at the Controls, New York Times, July 28, 2012. Records Indicate Gov. Cuomo Doesnt Use State Email Despite Transparency Promise, CBS New York/Associated Press, July 16, 2012. 3 Thomas Kaplan, Despite Cuomos Vow of Sunlight, a Bid to Keep Aides E-Mail in the Dark, New York Times, July 16, 2012. 4 Kenneth Lovett, Gov. Cuomo Uses BlackBerry Pin-to-Pin Messaging System When They Cant Talk on the Phone, New York Daily News, July 15, 2012. 5 State of New York Executive Chamber, Records Retention and Disposition Schedule, July 2, 2012, available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/98902430/Cuomo-Records-Retention-Schedule; http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/records/mr_pub_genschedule_accessible.html. The policy says messages or attachments otherwise considered records should be maintained and instructs agency staff to use sound judgment and apply consistent criteria when determining whether something is a record. 6 Danny Hakim, Cuomos Archive as Attorney General, Self-Edited, New York Times, July 23, 2012; Jimmy Vielkind and James M. Odato, Cuomo Control of Information Includes Screening, Redaction of Records at State Archives, Albany Times Union, July 23, 2012. 7 Nicholas Confessore and Thomas Kaplan, $12 Million to Help Cuomo Came from Just 20 Donors, New York Times, May 11, 2012; Erica Orden and Laura Nahmias, Powerful Ally to Governor Sits Out Fight, Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2013. 8 Nicholas Confessore, Danny Hakim, and Charles V. Bagli, Gambling Group Gave $2 Million to Cuomo Ally, New York Times, June 4, 2012. 9 NY Governor Signs Government Ethics Law, Associated Press, August 15, 2011; Without Secrecy, Donations Stop for NY Cuomo Group, Associated Press, May 10, 2013. 10 Id. 11 Orden and Nahmias, Wall Street Journal, Feb. 25, 2013.
2 1

CRONYISM Gov. Cuomo has placed political allies and campaign donors in numerous state positions. Half of the 22 appointees Gov. Cuomo has made to five judicial screening committees as of June 2011 were financial supporters, including some whose law firms could potentially face the selected judges.12 Nearly a third of the 49 people hired by the Empire State Development Corporation during the first 20 months of Gov. Cuomos administration had political ties to the governor, including some of his allies children who, the New York Times reported, had few qualifications.13 Gov. Cuomo also appointed two large campaign donors to prestigious posts. Henry Silverman, who has contributed more than $130,000 to the governor since 2006, was nominated to chair the board of directors of the Javits Center/New York Convention Center Operating Corporation.14 Laura Aswad, who has contributed more than $90,000 to the governor since 2009, was reappointed to the New York State Council on the Arts.15

12

Kenneth Lovett, Gov. Cuomo Packs Judicial Screening Committees with Cronies, Big-Time Campaign Donors, New York Daily News, June 13, 2011. 13 Danny Hakim, Many Openings at State Agency Go to Those with Ties to Cuomo, New York Times, April 27, 2013. 14 Kenneth Lovett, Gov. Cuomo Appoints Two Top Donors to Influential Civic Boards, New York Daily News, March 24, 2013; http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/06202013senate-confirmation-multiple-appointments. 15 Lovett, New York Daily News, March 24, 2013.