Assemblyman Abinanti is working to make the government more open and responsive to our community and to do what is right. Government should be by the people for the people.

Ethics

In his fist legislative session, Assemblyman Abinanti voted for a sweeping ethics package that reformed New York law regulating the conduct of public officials. The law created an independent Joint Commission on Public Ethics, revised disclosure requirements, required officials to disclose the names and income earned from their clients with state business, expanded the definition of “lobbying” to make it more comprehensive, and increased penalties for violations of campaign finance laws.

Then, when he was Chair of the Subcommittee on Election Day Operations and Voter Disenfranchisement, Assemblyman Abinanti helped pass additional laws to clean up Albany. The laws defined new crimes involving bribery and corruption of public officials, banned those convicted of the new felonies from elected office or lobbying, created a new Board of Elections unit to better enforce campaign finance laws, and required registration and better disclosure for those making independent expenditures.

Cleaning Up Westchester’s  Garbage Industry

Assemblyman Abinanti is no stranger to taking on the tough task of government reform.

After the U.S. Attorney indicted garbage industry leaders, then-County Legislator Tom Abinanti led a Task Force investigating how organized crime stifles competition and artificially raises Westchester garbage rates.

The Task Force held hearings which highlighted organized crime’s control of the County’s carting industry and the “mob tax” that we were all been paying. The hearings produced some chilling testimony – including an FBI agent recounting how the then current County trash/recycling contract was originally secured by a bribe several years before.

Tom Abinanti’s Task Force issued its Report and proposed reform. The Westchester Legislature unanimously passed County Legislator Abinanti’s legislation to clean up Westchester’s garbage industry, stimulate competition and bring costs down.