WXXI Local Stories
(2009-01-13)
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Paterson won't say who has asked him to be considered for the job, though several candidates have already made their wishes known. He also won't say who he has met with to discuss the position, although he did reveal that he met secretly with Caroline Kennedy, the presumed front-runner for the post, over the weekend.
The governor has asked several prospective candidates to fill out a detailed questionnaire on their financial history, as well as any information on potentially embarrassing conflicts or run ins with the law. Paterson says the forms are private, and so he does not have to show them to the public.
"That was a personal request that I made of the candidates," said Paterson.
Paterson says he thinks that even the blank forms, simply listing the questions, should remain private, though they were leaked to the New York Times. And he says the public will have plenty of time to find out about the appointee's finances and other background, when the new Senator seeks election in 2010.
"The public will know when they file their tax returns, or at some when they run for re-election," said Paterson. "Some of this information is rather private."
Advocates for reform disagree. Blair Horner, with the New York Public Interest Research Group, takes issue with the governor's statement that the financial disclosure forms are private.
"That's baloney," says Horner, who says once a public official, such as the governor, receives the document, it should be made available under the state's Freedom of Information Law, or FOIL.
Robert Freeman, with the Committee on Open Government, which is part of the New York Department of State, says Paterson's refusal to at least make public the questionnaires, without the answers, might not even be legal, under FOIL.
"In my opinion, the blank form should be disclosed," said Freeman.
Freeman says there is clause in the FOIL laws that says documents can be withheld if disclosing them would be an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy". He says that case could be made when the forms are filled out by a private citizen like Caroline Kennedy. But he says it would not likely apply to other candidates who are already elected officials, like Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, whose name has been mentioned, and several members of Congress who have expressed interest in the job.
And Freeman says, under the spirit of the Freedom of Information Law, the governor should also reveal the names of the other potential candidates for the appointment.
"Because we are talking about filling a vacancy in an elective office, one of the highest offices in the United States, the disclosure does not rise to the level of an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy," Freeman said.
Horner, with NYPIRG, and others say the governor should voluntarily set some standards for the appointment process, such as using objective criteria for the selection. Horner says he should also pledge not to chose someone who would raise a lot of money for the governor's election campaign and other candidates in 2010. Horner says there's no comparison to Paterson's actions and what's gone on in Illinois, where the governor is accused of trying to sell the Senate seat. But he says the New York governor could try harder to raise the bar.
"Then he could clearly say to the public that this appointment is who is the best person, not someone who's going to help me politically," said Horner.
The leader of the Assembly Republicans has proposed another solution. Assemblyman Jim Tedisco says change the law and let the public decide who the next Senator should be in a special election.
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