Insider X

One of the key goals we have for the new blog is to give a voice to people on the inside who want to tell their story but are afraid to do so because of the possibility of retribution. Our hope is that informed people will, with the assurance of confidentiality, use this blog to relay information that is in the public interest.
We’re pleased to report that just such a person contacted us and asked if we would publish his/her comments on Governor Cuomo’s new Citizens Connect website. Without editorial comment on our part, here is the account of “Insider X:”
“On the surface, the website might look like a great thing, but the truth is that the administration is only providing information they want people to see. The administration is not releasing the governor’s actual schedules, which show everyone he met with. Previous governors always did this -- albeit with redactions.

The reporters who cover the capitol know this, but they seem to have concluded there’s nothing they can do about it. But there is. There is another way for them to figure out who is meeting with the governor. There’s a sign-in book on the second floor of the State Capitol. The previous administration set it up. At the time they did it, it was hailed by the NY Post as a reform. It was called a “lobbyist registry” and it was supposed to reveal the names of everyone a lobbyist would meet with in the governor’s office -- not only to the governor but senior staff members as well.

This information was and is FOIL-able. All a reporter has to do is ask for it. If reporters get this sign in book and compare it to the scheduling information postedon the Citizen Connect site, they’ll find out what the governor and his people are hiding.”


The views expressed by “Insider X” are not necessarily those of the “I for Integrity” blog. We make no claim as to the veracity of the insider’s comments. Our goal here is to provide a forum for others. Hopefully Insider X will spawn Insider Y and Z.