Assemblyman Zebrowski on the Election of Carl Heastie as Speaker of the New York State Assembly

“Today was a historic day in New York State as Carl Heastie was elected the first African American Speaker of the New York State Assembly. During his speech, Speaker Heastie stressed the need to reform the Assembly and restore public trust. Although progress has been made over the past several years, too many of these issues are talked about session after session without action. The time for action on these reforms is now. I am committed to working with Speaker Heastie to ensure that these reforms are enacted this session and do not fade into the background of a busy legislative calendar. Our work must include reforms of campaign finance and use of campaign funds, outside income, legislative per diems and empowerment of rank and file legislators. It is also time to amend the constitution to strip convicted legislators of pension benefits. Now that the new Speaker is elected, we must shift our focus to passing an on-time, responsible budget, and ensuring that these reforms are passed and not merely lip service to a weary public.”