Letter to the Editor: County Pols Should Recuse Themselves from Voting if Applicant Gave Contribution

The recent announcement that U.S, Attorney Preet Bharara has expanded his corruption probe into Westchester and has issued subpoenas to County Executive Rob Astorino's office highlights the need for Westchester County to adopt a law that has been on the books in Greenburgh since 2007.

Westchester County Executive Astorino and other county lawmakers are no different than lawmakers at the state and federal levels. They solicit and accept contributions from most contractors, consultants and applicants who want something in return. It's part of the pay-to-play culture that has encouraged people to lose confidence in public officials. I have often wondered how many county consultants or contractors will get business with the county if they don't contribute to re-election campaigns. My guess: not many.

In 2007, the Greenburgh Town Board unanimously approved a law that has been cited as the toughest in the state—perhaps in the nation. We prohibit incumbent officials from accepting campaign contributions from those who have applications pending before the government or contracts with the government. Our law prohibits incumbents from accepting contributions from developers, contractors, consultants and their attorney's who appear before the town seeking approvals. It makes it difficult for lawmakers to raise funds during campaigns. But it's easier to do the right thing for the taxpayers because no one in a position of authority is influenced by campaign dollars.

Another option that would be weaker than the above approach but would reduce the possibilities of corruption: If the County Executive or legislators receive a campaign donation of $1,000 or more from an applicant during the previous 12 months he/she would not be able to vote on the application. The lawmakers would have to recuse themselves from a vote. The County Executive sits on the Board of Acquisition and Contract which has the ability to approve/reject all county contracts. Legislators could accept contibutions from anyone as long as they don't vote to push the application in any way.

If enough public officials start recusing themselves from voting on applications of those who benefit from a government action, we will start making progress in eliminating this form of legalized bribery. The donations made by contractors and consultants are usually not based on philosophy but are a part of the costs of doing business with incumbents. My guess is that taxpayers will see reduced costs if campaign donations are no longer factors in bids.

Paul Feiner, Greenburgh Town Supervisor