Newly elected Grand Island Councilman Mike Madigan has released a statement on the conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos — and is using a moment of intense public disgust to advance term limits and other reforms.
“Reform starts with term limits that would have booted both of these guys out decades ago and would not have provided them the opportunity to accumulate power and abuse our tax dollars,” Madigan said in a prepared statement distributed through social media.
“Expect symbolic and substance-less reforms to be proposed in the coming weeks – do not fall for this,” he warns.
Madigan was the Republican Party’s nominee for Congress in a 2012 challenge to incumbent Brian Higgins. He is seen as a rising star in Western New York’s political circles, with solid support among the conservative wing of the GOP.
Political prognosticators generally agree that Madigan will rise to higher office in the next few years — perhaps the State Senate or the Assembly, they speculate.
In his statement, he did not specify how many terms a state legislator or statewide officeholder should be limited to under a new law. Many of his supporters argue that two four-year terms is sufficient for statewide offices like governor, attorney general, and comptroller; while legislators in the Assembly and Senate should be limited to 10 years, or five two-year terms.
Madigan’s full statement can be read below.
New York State taxpayers are outraged.
NYS Speaker/Assembly leader Sheldon Silver was in office 38 years, Senate Leader Skelos was in office over 30 years. Both have just been convicted of multiple felonies resulting from abuse of power associated with the office they held for multiple decades.
Both accumulated power and abused NYS taxpayers money by wielding it like a sword to benefit themselves personally – hundreds of millions or more (likely billions) of our hard earned money wasted!
NYS is the highest taxed state and the most anti-business in the country and this corruption is the source of that failure.
Reform starts with term limits that would have booted both of these guys out decades ago and would not have provided them the opportunity to accumulate power and abuse our tax dollars.
Expect symbolic and substance-less reforms to be proposed in the coming weeks – do not fall for this.
We must demand term limits and real reforms that would terminate the accumulation of power that corrupts. Do not accept the bone that will be thrown our way in an attempt to quite us.
It is time for NY Taxpayers to say enough is enough and to demand real change. Call your Assembly and Senate leaders and demand real reform, term limits and demand that they reject symbolic change – demand that they lead not follow Cuomo who is likely the next one to fall.
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