![alg-politics-skelos-smith-jpg](http://www.termlimits.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/alg-politics-skelos-smith-jpg-300x236.jpg)
by Nick Tomboulides
When politicians undermine term limits, they always point out how much they’ve learned from spending decades in office. Citizens are supposed to forget all about the lousy policy and mismanagement because, hey, at least they’re learning.
But few have bothered to ask: What is it, exactly, that legislators learn from being up there so long?
If the non-term limited New York State Legislature is any indicator, they’re learning how to turn power into wealth while concealing it from the public. A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced Malcolm Smith, former majority leader of the State Senate, to seven years in prison for bribery, extortion, wire fraud and conspiracy. Smith, a Democrat, was busted for greasing the palms of Republican Party officials in order to run for Mayor of New York City on their party line.
Seconds after Smith’s sentencing, the GOP official who took the bribe was also convicted.
Smith’s rap is the latest in a long line of arrogant, self-serving and bipartisan acts of misconduct from Albany insiders.
Republican Dean Skelos, who once succeeded Smith as majority leader, stepped down from the post in May after getting arrested for using his position to enrich his son’s business. In 30 years of Senate service, Skelos learned which buttons he needed to press to make sure his family got deals that no other person could.
Skelos’ story parallels that of his colleague Sheldon Silver, who resigned as Assembly Speaker in January in response to a federal charges that he took $4 million in kickbacks. Silver, a Democrat, has served in the Assembly since 1977.
One by one, New York’s leading lawmakers have revealed that they cannot be trusted to handle power and tenure responsibly. It’s no secret that elected office can turn a profit for those willing to misuse it. But rather than allow opportunists to build their nest eggs on the public’s back, we must insist on using term limits to rotate them back into private life.
Following national trends, legislative tenure in New York has exploded in the past five decades. In 1965, the average New York State Senator had 5.16 years of tenure. Today, that number has doubled.
New York should be a cautionary tale to all of us, because it’s not the only state where politicians build empires. We can break the cycle and keep power in citizens’ hands, by insisting that elected leaders at all levels of government are subject to term limits.
Nick Tomboulides is Executive Director of U.S. Term Limits.