Opinion

The enablers’ enabler

For those who still wonder how Albany works, here’s a short scorecard. Not long after a state ethics commission released a report on the serial sexual harassment by Vito Lopez, it became clear he would have to leave. It also became clear the politicians who enabled him would continue with business as usual.

Right now there’s something of a race regarding Lopez’s departure. The state assemblyman says he’ll resign on June 20. Andrew Cuomo says he should go now or be expelled. Shelly Silver says he’s working on expulsion.

And therein lies the rot that is Albany.

What Lopez did is vile enough. But he couldn’t have got away with it for as long as he did without assistance from the most powerful man in the Legislature, Speaker Silver. Instead of moving to kick Lopez out when two staffers complained of sexual harassment, Silver enabled Lopez by paying the women over $100,000 from public funds to keep them quiet.

Then there’s Gov. Cuomo. The governor says there must be “zero tolerance” for the behavior Lopez showed. But instead of calling for Silver to step down for the coverup, Cuomo is defending him.

“I don’t see any comparison between what Vito Lopez and what Shelly Silver did,” says the governor. “There is a magnitude of difference.”

Indeed there is. Silver is a leader who should be setting the standard. Instead, he covered for Lopez when he thought no one would find out, just as he did when his own chief counsel was accused of sexually assaulting women staffers.

In other words, Lopez is out. The Speaker who covered for him remains. And the governor covers for the speaker.