But more should be done.

Gov. Kathy Hochul [recently] approved a long-overdue measure to restore the comptroller’s office with oversight of state contracts. This is great news and is an important first step in restoring New York’s proper checks and balances. As such, lawmakers and good-government groups across the state applauded the decision to, again, permit this additional protection of taxpayer funds. However, many questions and concerns remain, including why it took so long to right this wrong and how we can ensure such a lapse in protection does not happen again.

The balance of power and responsibility between the branches of government and their respective components is an important part of what makes any healthy government work well. During the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, it was prudent to give the executive’s office the needed authority to respond quickly to a rapidly evolving emergency. When that emergency was over, though, it took far too long to fully restore that balance of power. In the wake of the emergency, New York state was forced to endure many high-profile scandals, including a pay-to-play scheme involving $637 million worth of COVID-19 test kits purchased at nearly twice market value from one of Gov. Hochul’s biggest campaign donors. If normal protocols had been in place, particularly contract review and oversight by the comptroller’s office, this example of blatant corruption and abuse of taxpayer money might have been avoided altogether.

Going forward, lawmakers need to investigate what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, what happened after the outbreak was no longer a public-health emergency, and what options the body has to prevent similar abuses of power from taking place in the future. To that end, the Assembly Republican Conference made countless calls for legislative action and wrote to state leadership to address the issue. Unfortunately, Democrat state leaders sat silent, seemingly content to look the other way rather than address head on the governor’s willingness to take advantage of the relaxed procurement process.

There are many instances when it is clear immediate, emergency actions are needed to effectively address a crisis. However, it is critical that normal fiscal processes are restored as quickly as possible once that threat has been eliminated. Good governance is a collective effort, and it requires multiple entities working together. Too much power in too few hands is toxic.

It’s important that the comptroller’s office will again review state contracts; after all, they represent the proper allocation of millions of dollars of taxpayer money. This is a great step in the right direction, but there is no doubt more should be done. In the coming weeks and months, I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Assembly and Senate to find ways to ensure New York’s government works fairly and with the best interests in mind for those who live here.        

William (Will) A. Barclay, 53, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses all of Oswego County, as well as parts of Jefferson and Cayuga counties.

At the start of 2022, I wrote that defending democracy was the defining challenge for the United States. I noted that we Americans have faith that democracy is the best and most-just system — that we believe in government “of the people, for the people and by the people.”

Defending democracy remained a consistent theme in my columns throughout the past year. And there was some good news. For example, in the midterm elections, candidates who questioned our institutions and focused on divisive issues were largely unsuccessful. Most of those who lost, regardless of party, accepted the results.

On the international scene, the U.S. stood firm in support of democratic Ukraine, which is fighting bravely against a brutal invasion by Russia. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, received a hero’s welcome last month when he met with President Joe Biden and spoke to a joint session of Congress. We provide generous military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

But democracy faces challenges. At home, extreme partisanship and divisive politics make it hard for our representatives to work together. As I wrote in April, we have seen encouraging signs of bipartisanship in government. Still, it often seems that Americans are living in different political universes. I noted that we need to cultivate the political skills, such as listening and compromising, that make democracy work. That’s as true today as ever.

As for international affairs, I have written often about importance of U.S. leadership, pointing out in July that we contribute more than any other nation to the search for global peace and prosperity. But we saw troubling signs, described in reports from Freedom House, the Economist Intelligence Unit and others, that American democracy and leadership are not as vibrant as they should be.

And our leadership is sorely needed. Just over a year ago, I lamented that Vladimir Putin had dashed our post-Cold War hopes that the U.S. and Russia would coexist peacefully. I still hoped U.S.-Russian tensions could be managed peacefully, but that turned out to be overly optimistic. In February, Russia invaded Ukraine.

Appropriately, I wrote three times in 2022 about China. When Xi Jinping was confirmed to a third five-year term as Chinese leader in the fall, I noted that China’s autocratic government, state control of the economy, and aggressiveness in the Asia–Pacific region make it our most serious foreign-policy challenge. I described how China’s threats to its neighbors, especially Taiwan, require a firm but cautious response. It’s safe to say China will be near the top of America’s foreign-policy agenda in 2023.

I also took note of some positive developments. India, the world’s largest democracy with 1.4 billion people, marked the 75th anniversary of its independence. Brazil, whose political divisions mirror our own, is managing a transfer of power after a divisive political campaign and a razor-close election. Biden hosted a summit of leaders from Africa, which doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

Last year also saw the death of larger-than-life figures on the international scene — former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and England’s Queen Elizabeth II. Gorbachev’s democratic reforms raised hopes that the U.S. and Russia could be friends, hopes that Putin has dashed. The queen was beloved in the U.S., an example of our democratic nation’s ironic fascination with royalty.

As we begin a new year, our faith in democracy challenges us to live up to our ideals. We must defend and strengthen our institutions, including free elections and the peaceful transfer of power. And we must engage with the world, living our values and defending freedom when it is threatened, as in Ukraine. America remains the world’s best model for democracy and peace. May we live up to that aspiration in 2023.        

Lee Hamilton, 91, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south-central Indiana.