The state should also consider adopting public financing of campaigns, a matching system that would take back power from well-funded special interests and make elections more competitive. Such a system has worked well, over all, for New York City.

Give Lawmakers a Raise, and Ban Outside Income

The corrosive impact of outside income on Albany was made clear when a former Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, was convicted on corruption charges. Mr. Silver steered $500,000 in state grants to a Columbia University cancer researcher in exchange for the researcher referring clients to a law firm that gave a portion of its fees to Mr. Silver.

Base pay for the Legislature starts at $79,500 — a figure that essentially makes the work a part-time job. Lawmakers should be given a substantial raise to reflect the cost of living and the importance of overseeing the state’s roughly $170 billion budget — and in return, they should be barred from receiving any outside income. New York City did just that in 2016 for members of the City Council and some other officials , raising pay to $148,500 from $112,500. The change would help lawmakers steer clear of conflicts of interest and better serve constituents.

Create a Truly Independent Ethics Body

Unsurprisingly, Albany’s efforts to police itself have gone nowhere.

Mr. Cuomo created a Moreland Commission in 2013 to investigate public corruption — and then shut it down less than a year later . Another ethics body, the State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, known as Jcope, was set up in 2011 by Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Silver and Dean Skelos, then the majority leader of the State Senate. But it was provided a woeful level of funding. And more disturbingly, its members are chosen by the very politicians who most need an independent watchdog — the governor and legislative leaders.

The governor and the Legislature need to create a truly independent ethics oversight body with real power, authorized to both investigate and enforce violations of the state ethics law.

Across the state, the needs of New Yorkers, from subways to affordable housing, are subverted by powerful interests in a culture rife with ethical rot and outright corruption. Fixing this perverse political culture demands that people show up to the polls on Sept. 13 and remind Albany that it works for them.

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