In U.S. history classrooms, “Boss Tweed” and “Gilded Age” big business portray New York state as a hotbed of corruption, but these days are not behind us.

A recent poll by The Siena College Research Institute found that nearly nine in ten voters believe that corruption is a serious problem in Albany and half of voters said they are less likely to re-elect state legislators in this elections cycle because of the recent corruption scandals.

Yet, the wife of the convicted and corrupt former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is playing a prominent role in picking who will be her husband’s successor. Alice Cancel, a Democratic district leader, announced her candidacy Sunday for the April 19 Manhattan special election to replace Silver. She was an unexpected candidate, considering the city-controller endorsed Yuh-Line Niou was forced off the Democratic ticket, and it has been reported that Silver used her connections within various political groups to ensure Cancel’s spot in the race.

New York fraudulence seems to be etched into American history, but this latest manifestation of government corruption could be an opportunity for young people, especially as New Yorkers, to create change. With lots of entrepreneurial minds, go-getter souls and tons of ambition, young people are ready for the challenge but have to start by being conscious of what is going on behind closed doors in the first place.

Two of the three most powerful men in New York state, former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and former Assembly Speaker Silver, were convicted of corruption late last year. New York is famous for this “three men in a room” lawmaking tactic in which these men, along with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, are essentially responsible for Albany’s impact on the rest of the state.

The state government is working to combat this corruption, but it’s up to young voters to ensure it happens. These reforms should not be forgotten and swept under the rug, considering the New York state government has been voted one of the most corrupt in the country, according to a study released in November 2015 by the Center for Public Integrity.

Cuomo stepped forward in December of last year, in light of the Skelos and Silver controversy, to offer the first steps for change. Cuomo proposed full disclosure of outside income legislators can make, as well as closing a loophole that allows corporations to give essentially unlimited donations.

Republicans have opposed these proposals, but young voters must remember that they are a necessary first step.

Currently, legislators work part-time and can obtain income from other fields. But millennials should hold the New York state government accountable and push for a full-time legislature. This would enforce the ideal that only those who are extremely passionate about making a better New York will run for office. More so, 90 percent of lawmakers who run for reelection, win, according to the Siena Institute poll, and the additional turnover in government would be beneficial, especially in a corrupt order like the one that exists now.

This pattern of misconduct and fraudulence is all but new. Since 1999, one in 11 state lawmakers have left office under criminal or ethical investigation in New York State. And 19 have been found guilty, plead guilty or were indicted since 2003.

No other state pushes out as many politicians as New York does on corruption charges, and the numbers in the study did not even include Skelos, who was the fifth consecutive Senate majority leader to be indicted for his behavior, and Silver at the time. Some political scientists even suggest that Albany, as a lack of social and metropolitan hub, is more likely to breed unscrupulousness.

In corruption-ridden states like New York, young people are not seemingly aware or concerned about the occurrences in their own local political system. In a move to shift this complacent culture among young voters, millennials should call for more ethical reform from Cuomo, write their assemblyman or state senator, lobby in Albany and think about whom they will be voting for to be the next state representatives and legislators.

This may seem unlikely, but in this election year, where the presidential race is tight, state governments have been thrown to the side. Despite this, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders proves as a candidate who talks about corruption in national government and campaign finance that young people can get behind because of these issues. And with the hope that this should be redressed on a national level, there is definitely the capability to bring this to fruition on a state and local basis.

For years, the state has been overdue for ethics reform. The corrupt ones with the power to do something didn’t, because the system works for them and always has. We have been living in a state — if not for our whole lives, then for some part of them — without knowing what under the table deals were being made and that the interests of the people were not a priority.

Students are motivated to make change on college campuses all the time, but now it’s time to take it to the polls.

Joanna Orland is a freshman newspaper and online journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at jorland@syr.edu.

Published on February 10, 2016 at 1:22 am