Letter
New York State’s Public Integrity Panel
Published: July 16, 2008
To the Editor:
"A Spitzer Legacy in Albany" (editorial, July 5) poses the proverbial solution that seeks a problem.
We are members of the State Commission on Public Integrity, appointed on the nominations of the comptroller, the attorney general and leaders of the Legislature, not selected by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
As are our colleagues chosen by the governor (by law, only four of seven of whom may belong to the same political party), some of us are Democrats; some are Republicans.
For nearly a year, we have worked closely with colleagues appointed by the governor and with staff members. We have seen nothing but independence and zeal by the chairman, all commissioners and staff members.
It is a significant leap of logic to presume that when the governor appoints members to uncompensated positions (as events occurred, for tenures far longer than the former governor’s), he therefore controls them. Perhaps outsiders look to the politics. These commissioners look at the evidence. On the basis of who says what and how each of us votes, one could not even guess who got picked by whom. Nothing is broken; nothing needs fixing.
John M. Brickman
David L. Gruenberg
Great Neck, N.Y., July 6, 2008
The letter was also signed by four other members of the State Commission on Public Integrity.
For the record, the Times only lists up to two names on a letter to the editor. The Commissioners who signed the letter are:
Virginia M. Apuzzo (nominated by the Assembly Speaker)
John M. Brickman (nominated by the Comptroller)
Richard D. Emery (nominated by the Senate Minority Leader)
Daniel J. French (nominated by the Attorney General)
David L. Gruenberg (nominated by the Senate Majority Leader)
John T. Mitchell (nominated by the Assembly Minority Leader)