ALBANY — State lawmakers can keep their outside jobs and hefty campaign contributions — but don’t even think of giving them a bobblehead.
In the latest sign of Albany ethics madness, lawmakers on Thursday were forced to turn over Lou Gehrig bobblehead dolls given to them by the ALS Association this week because they’re deemed a violation of the Legislature’s gift ban.
“It is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in Albany this year,” said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group.
“I think it underscores the heightened sensitivity that lawmakers have to the appearance of a conflict,” Horner added.
“People who have a deadly illness giving out bobbleheads to remind us what Lou Gehrig died of is not the reason we have corruption,” added Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell (D-Manhattan).
The dolls sell for $40 on eBay and have been used in fund-raising appeals by the ALS Association, dedicated to fighting the illness also called Lou Gehrig’s disease after the Yankees great who died of it in 1941.
The ALS Association’s effort hit a foul ball with ethics watchdogs because a letter sent along with the dolls thanked lawmakers for passing a resolution earlier this month that honored Pat Quinn, creator of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It also mentioned that the association was seeking a $250,000 grant from the state.
Because the letter mentioned specific legislative actions, it sparked concerns among gun-shy lawmakers already reeling from a series of corruption scandals in recent months.
The dolls arrived as Gov. Cuomo and lawmakers were negotiating an ethics reform package to be included in the state budget.
“We had gotten some calls from legislators asking whether it was an acceptable gift because of the letter that came with it,” said Lisa Reid, executive director of the Legislative Ethics Commission. “There was concern that it could be seen as a violation of the public officers law.”
On Thursday, the commission began collecting the dolls and planned to send them back to the association. “I don’t mind turning this back if this is something we shouldn’t have,” said Sen. George Latimer (D-Westchester). “The real question is how do you compare this with something like a campaign donation in which you could receive in theory $10,000 from an interest group. That is worth a lot more than a bobblehead doll.”
O’Donnell said the bobblehead controversy was a “distressing” statement about the state of affairs in Albany. “I presume all of my colleagues are wearing wires all time,” O’Donnell said.
