Broken Trust, New Laws:
Can Albany Redeem Itself?
For too long, the halls of New York’s government have echoed with stories of betrayal. Lawmakers elected to serve the public have instead served themselves, and the consequences have left scars on communities across the state. But now, in the shadow of decades of corruption, a different kind of movement is gaining ground. It is a movement for accountability. A movement for renewal. And this time, it is coming from inside the Capitol.
The history is undeniable. In 2015, two of the most powerful men in New York politics were convicted within months of each other. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was sentenced to twelve years for fraud and extortion. Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos received five years for a bribery scheme involving his son. Their convictions followed years of investigations that exposed an ugly truth—abuse of public office had become too common and too quietly tolerated.
They were not alone. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and from every corner of the state have fallen. Malcolm Smith. Pedro Espada Jr. Carl Kruger. William Boyland Jr. John Sampson. Eric Stevenson. Shirley Huntley. Efrain Gonzalez. Gabriela Rosa. The list stretches back decades. And behind each name is a broken promise, a shaken voter, a budget misused, or a community left behind.
But something is changing. Out of this long record of wrongdoing, a new generation of lawmakers is pushing back. Not with speeches, but with legislation. They are standing in the place where trust was lost and trying to rebuild it piece by piece.
Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal is one of them. She introduced Assembly Bill A1348, which would require New York City agencies to implement formal corruption prevention training for all public procurement officers. The goal is simple: stop corruption before it starts by changing the culture that allowed it to thrive.
Senator Zellnor Myrie has proposed Senate Bill S2434, legislation that would strengthen state laws against bribery and public abuse. It recognizes that public trust is not a soft issue—it is a foundational one, and it must be protected by laws with teeth.
Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas is tackling another long-ignored problem with Assembly Bill A7463, which would prevent campaign funds from being used to pay off sexual harassment settlements or fines. In doing so, it draws a hard line between public support and private misconduct.
Together, these bills represent more than policy. They are signs of a shift. A recognition that ethical government is not a partisan idea. It is the bedrock of democracy. And after years of scandal, the people of New York are demanding more than apologies. They want a system that earns back their trust.
The timing could not be more urgent. In Long Island, federal authorities are investigating allegations that state officials deprived a public hospital of over a billion dollars in needed funding. In Buffalo, a nine billion dollar overhaul of the state’s home health aide system is under scrutiny for an allegedly rigged bidding process that favored a politically connected firm. These are not just stories of wasted money. They are stories of lives affected—patients who lost care, workers who lost jobs, and families who lost faith in a system that was supposed to serve them.
But faith can be restored. It will not happen overnight. It will take more bills. More oversight. More voices speaking out. It will take voters holding leaders accountable and leaders holding each other to higher standards. But it can happen. It is already happening.
The truth is, good governance is not glamorous. It is hard. It is detailed. It happens in quiet meetings, in clauses of law, and in a hundred decisions no one tweets about. But when done right, it changes lives.
New York has been through the fire. Now, there is a chance to rebuild. Not by forgetting the past, but by learning from it. By passing laws that protect the public interest. By electing leaders who see power as a responsibility, not a prize. By insisting that public office is a place for service, not self-enrichment.
This is not just a story of what went wrong. It is a story of what could go right. And this time, it is being written by lawmakers who believe the future should be better than the past.