Over the last several years, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made big promises to the people regarding his many economic-development programs. However, they have cost taxpayers billions of dollars and cost the state billions in potential tax revenue. The governor’s signature programs like START UP-NY, the Regional Economic Development Council awards, the Upstate Revitalization Initiative (also nicknamed the “Hunger Games), and several others have failed to stimulate our economy and have been marred by corruption scandals. 

With the state facing a $4 billion deficit it must be especially mindful of how and where public funds are being spent. Can New York continue to invest in these programs without measurable benchmarks of success and without tracking every dollar to its final end? We need greater transparency and accountability in all state spending, but in particular, we need immediate oversight of these economic-development programs before another dollar is spent.

The governor’s START-UP NY program has cost New York $323 million to operate and another $53 million in revenue. As of 2016, companies benefiting from START UP-NY reported $3.9 million in personal income-tax exemptions and another 

$2.1 million in other exemptions. The state spent an additional $53 million to advertise the program nationally. This bloated program so far has only created an underwhelming 1,135 jobs, when it was targeting 30,000 jobs. Adherence to even the most modest of program reporting requirements on START UP-NY was a failure. The jobs report came out three months past its legal deadline — just before the July 4th holiday in 2016, seemingly done so to bury the fact that the program was not able to meet its job-growth objectives. I support stronger reporting requirements with penalties on both the governor and senior officials responsible for when a report is late.

There has been extensive corruption in the state’s other economic-development projects like Buffalo Billion and SUNY Polytechnic Institute, which can be seen in the federal trial against the governor’s former aide Joseph Percoco and the charges filed against Alain E. Kaloyeros, former SUNY Poly president. The troubles faced by these particular economic-development projects pushed by the governor almost certainly ended up costing Nano Utica the placement of technology chip maker ams AG, which had planned on investing $2 billion in the plant and creating 1,000 new jobs. This despite the efforts of those local officials who tried saving the project. It is easy to see why a company may be turned off to continue doing business with the state when some of the key players are being arrested for corruption and the aftermath caused delays which made locating to the site no longer ideal.

Lastly, while I am supportive of careful and transparent investment in economic development, I believe we must see more clarity over how the grants are chosen for Regional Economic Development Council awards. The process allows the governor to keep the public in the dark until he sees fit to announce his awards. The program has cost $5.5 billion over its lifetime, and the governor proposes another $150 million for an eighth round of awards. 

So what can be done about all of this? I sponsor legislation calling for economic-development transparency and oversight (A.5657-A). It would require review and approval for lump-sum allocations of $1 million or more by an Advisory Committee made up of the state comptroller, attorney general, and director of the Division of the Budget. It would also prohibit the issuance of any lump sums to those with any conflicts of interest, study impacts of streamlining tax code and economic-development programs, create penalties for late economic-development reports or reports related to lump-sum appropriating by state agencies, and prohibit political contributions by those appointed to entities tasked with distribution of discretionary state funds.

As a member of the Assembly Committee on Economic Development, I have been encouraging my colleagues to stand up to the governor’s mismanaged economic-development programs that are costing us billions of dollars without the promised return in jobs. These programs are filled with waste, overlap, and corruption. For these programs to remain in place, we must insist on measures of transparency and reporting to see if New Yorkers are indeed receiving a return on their investment.                          

Marc W. Butler (R,C,I, Ref–Newport) is a New York State Assemblyman for the 118th District, which encompasses parts of Oneida, Herkimer, and St. Lawrence counties, as well as all of Hamilton and Fulton counties. Contact him at butlerm@nyassembly.gov

Have you already made up your mind about how you’re going to vote — at least by party — in this year’s important mid-term elections? I hope not.

Because to serve our nation well at this troubled time in its political history, you should be looking for certain qualities in the politicians you favor. Ideology, party affiliation, positions on key issues — these are important considerations, but this year demands more from us as voters.

This is the most agitated political environment I’ve seen in decades. The electorate is badly divided; the parties are split internally and vis-à-vis one another; the national mood is sour; our democratic institutions are unproductive; and our political leaders cannot seem to cooperate with one another, much less engage substantively on the crucial issues we face as a nation. Not surprisingly, politicians face a restive, discontented electorate.

So as citizens, it is time to step back and ask how we revive the system when people are so discouraged by politics, our institutions, and our politicians. And the answer, I believe, is that we have to look for politicians who want to build consensus, act constructively, and instill a sense — both in their colleagues and among ordinary voters — that we’re all in this together. We need leaders who can rise above divisiveness and focus on cooperation and the common good.

Our institutions are badly in need of repair. Making them work better, which is urgent, will not happen with scorched-earth politicking. It can only come from political leaders who embrace bipartisanship and the traditional values of democracy: pluralism, free speech, and tolerance for opposing points of view.

We want to find politicians who respect and look for the facts, not simply the facts as they wish them to be. We need to examine candidates’ rhetoric with great care and understand that it’s easy to state a problem and then lapse into meaningless generalities when it comes to solutions.

By contrast, it’s hard — but vitally important in this climate — to speak with clarity and thoughtfulness not just about what needs to be done, but about how to help make it happen.

Here’s the bottom line: citizens today carry an extra burden — not merely to pick a politician we might favor for some reason, but to make choices that move us away from ideology and our own biases, and toward getting this country running again.              

Lee Hamilton is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at the IU School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years, representing a district in south central Indiana.