"They haven't called," Cherkasky, who Paterson appointed as head of the Commission on Public Integrity, told me by phone. "I looked at their bullet points, I'm interested in seeing the bill, but I think it's great that there's dialogue. We just need to have a dialogue with different ideas, and it can't be behind closed doors."

Paterson's proposal faces slim chances of legislative passage, and is seen by some as motivated less by a desire to enact change than to improve the governor's political standing. Regardless, Cherkasky said the push--expected tomorrow in Paterson's State of the State address--is positive.

 "There are a lot of really, really interesting ideas: how you select, the size of the commission the jurisdictional things and how you disclose stuff is really, really interesting," he continued, even though one of the central ideas is blowing up the CPI.

I asked Cherkasky--whose day job is running Altegrity, the parent of United States Information Services--whether that means he'll continue to have a job enforcing state ethics.

"I doubt it," he replied. "I don't think it's about me or these individual commissioners. I think it's getting it right, and we'll find terrific people. There's not a paucity of highly qualified people....I'm just turning 60 and running a billion dollar corporation right now; I've got plenty to do. I'm privileged to serve, but if we get the system right, we'll find plenty of good people."

And unabashed spin!

"The reform Albany act brings a level of independence to the oversight in Albany," said Peter Kauffmann, Paterson's director of communications. "The governor feels that ethics reform is a key that will unlock the ability to move into other areas: to bring about real fiscal reform, to bring about sustainable and sensible budgeting, to open up more opportunity for economic development and job creation. This is one step towards an overarching view of how we begin the path to economic recovery."

The details of the proposal are broad-reaching: a new super panel would be created to oversee legislative ethics and executive ethics, ripping responsibility from the moribund Legislative Ethics Commission and blowing up the Commission on Public Integrity, which Paterson has proposed before. It would be stocked by a 10-member nominating committee based on the Commission on Judicial Nomination, which by super-majority would pick the commissioners of the  Paterson's staffers believe this will create another "layer of independence" and allow for "uniform enforcement" so "we all play by the same rules."

Paterson will also propose term limits for executives and legislators as well as stricter limits on campaign contributions, with public financing of some races. This could cost some $30 million in the 2012 cycle, officials estimated. The power to enforce campaign finance laws will be moved from the state Board of Elections to the new commission. The laws will also be tightened.

The officials said Paterson has not discussed these proposals, substantively, with legislators. They would have minimal incentive to enact them--their current system of ethics enforcement has resulted in no major enforcement actions--even as legislative conduct has fueled countless newspaper stories about scandal. This year also saw the conviction of Joe Bruno, who served for over a decade as Senate majority leader.

"Those of us that have observed what has gone on in the past year, I think there's a sense that people are more open to reform," Kauffman said. "I think people are starting to understand the need for ethics reform. I think if you look back in history, major scandals or times of turmoil have traditionally resulted in landmark ethics reforms, and I think this one of those times. People in New York are paying closer attention to ethics right now, and certainly the conduct of elected officials. That's the sort of playing field we're on."

He was asked if Paterson would abide by the new campaign finance limits, even if they are not enacted. Kauffmann, a naval veteran, offered this reply:

"The governor is going to play by the rules as they are now," Kauffmann said. "To give you some foreign policy perspective, I believe the United States in the 1980s supported the principle of nuclear disarmament, but we certainly were not going to stop producing nuclear weapons with the Soviet Union half a world away."

"I think the fact that somebody in Joe Bruno's position didn't understand--and apparently still doesn't understand where the appropriate line is between ethical and legal behavior says volumes about the lack of ethical enforcement in Albany," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause. "I think we need to get beyond helpful to actual revision. I hope that this is the necessary push that the legislature needs to get over the hump."

Bruno was acquitted on more counts--five--than he was convicted, Lerner noted. (Jurors failed to reach a verdict on a last count.) But the fact that he was found guilty could be taken as a signal that the law as currently written works, even though the federal prosecutors who brought the case described the current system in Albany is "Byzantine."

Lerner's group and others have advocated for measures--which failed the to pass in the State Senate this summer--that would increase oversight of the state board of elections and separate the oversight of lobbyists and executive officials; both are currently under the purview of the Commission on Public Integrity.

Negotiations are currently underway to develop a bill on which the Senate, Assembly and governor can agree. I've heard from several legislators in recent weeks--as his trial laid bare the style of political business and jurors deliberated for seven days--that a conviction would be an impetus for action. Given the current anti-incumbent sentiments of voters, action will come as much out of political necessity as anything else.

"The window into business in Albany that the Bruno trial provided, and frankly the fact that he was acquitted on a lot of counts involving that really should not be legal is a message that we need to change the law regarding private business dealings by legislators and ethics in Albany," Senator Eric Schneiderman, a Manhattan Democrat who served with Bruno in the chamber, said.

Schneiderman, like many, has watched the trial closely. And like many--particularly Bruno's Republican colleagues--his emotional state was far from joyous.

"No one likes to see someone they like convicted," he said.

Austin Shafran, a spokesman for the Senate majority said that ethics reform is the chamber''s "top priority." Dan Weiller, a spokesman for the Assembly majority, said "we're working with the Senate now on a stronger ethics bill," a version of which the Assembly passed in June.

Barry Ginsberg, the executive director of the commission said that Felton "received the same treatment as his boss and his boss's boss," William Howard and Rich Baum.

Darren Dopp, who served as Eliot Spitzer's communications director during the affair, is fighting a $10,000 fine that was levied against him for his role in the affair.

"My understanding is we're actually looking at a new bill that has elements from all of the different passages that have actually been presented and as I said before I think that is a positive development," said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause. "Both houses have this problem, and both houses have to step forward jointly. No more one-house bills."

The Assembly has passed a "turn back the clock" bill that would blow up the Commission on Public Integrity and diffuse enforcement responsibilities across multiple agencies. Democrats controlling the State Senate considered the same bill as well as some further-reaching chapter amendments in September, but down a member, they laid it aside when it was clear Republicans would not provide any votes for the amendments. They opted to have no loaf instead of half.

No matter. A Senate source familiar with the negotiations said a new bill drafted in that chamber--and the threat of its introduction--prompted negotiations to start again with the Assembly and David Paterson.

"We hope the kumbaya moment happens soon," said Blair Horner, the legislative director for NYPIRG. He and Lerner joined Dick Dadey of Citizens Union which found in a new report, not surprisingly, that the number of legislators leaving office for ethical misconduct is increasing. The bill is not on the agenda for this special session, however, though the good-government groups hope a vote will happen as quickly as possible. Legislators are actually feeling incentivized to do something about ethics, as recent elections showed a strong anti-incumbent sentiment and polls show they are perceived by voters as a giant morass of dysfunctionality.

Horner said the current enforcement provisions--the Legislative Ethics Commission, controlled by legislators, is responsible for policing other legislators and does nothing--is inadequate.

"It's sort of Lake Wobegon-like enforcement where everyone is above average," Horner said.

"If he really asks for the tickets, it's a clear violation of the ethics law. It's mind-bogglingly inexplicable. Why would the governor do that? It makes no sense," Blair Horner, legislative director for NYPIRG, just told me by phone. "We're looking at it now, but the Commission on Public Integrity doesn't need a complaint. Again, I think it's a pretty clear case. There may be some aspect about it that we don't know, but the Commission on Public Integrity should investigate whether the governor was involved in the solicitation of an illegal gift from a lobbyist."

"If he did what's been reported, it was a dumb idea," Horner added.

Horner and others filed a request with the Commission to investigate smearing leaks made by the Paterson administration against Caroline Kennedy, which the commission has just said it would not pursue with a notice of reasonable cause that legal violations have occurred.

"The Commission on Public Integrity has concluded that, while working for Elliot Spitzer, Darren Dopp joined with and used the media in an attempt to destroy Joe Bruno, who was Gov Spitzer's political opponent," Bruno spokesman Kris Thompson said late yesterday. "While the Senator feels that this misuse of authority has now been uncovered, he hopes all of those who were responsible will be made to answer for what they did. No one and no media outlet should be absolved of their wrongdoing since Mr Dopp did not act on his own."

Bruno was the target of ‘Troopergate,' in which documents detailing his travel were provided by the Spitzer administration to the Times Union. Many see Dopp, who served as Spitzer's communications director, as a fall guy for Spitzer himself. (Dopp has insisted he acted at Spitzer's direction.) Dopp was charged by the commission along with William Howard, Richard Baum and Preston Felton.  Baum and Howard settled the charges against them; Felton's hearing has not been scheduled.

Dopp, now a lobbyist "media relations" consultant with Patricia Lynch Associates, was fined the maximum amount. In a statement, he called the ruling "unfounded, erroneous and tainted."

"This case is about Mr. Dopp, as part of a scheme to discredit a political opponent, violating the State Code of Ethics by misusing the resources of the State Police to create official-looking documents, which otherwise would not have existed, so that he could have them reproduced in a newspaper," said Commission Chairman Michael Cherkasky. "Such misconduct erodes public confidence in both the integrity and the independence of our State Police. To assess him anything less than the maximum penalty would send the wrong signal to those who might consider similar actions in the future."

The 33-page decision, authored by the embattled Commission, notes that Dopp failed to attend his hearing and his reply "widely misses the mark." Dopp contended that he acted to release public information "at the specific direction of the governor." He said it was not possible to receive a fair hearing from the commission.

Dopp said he intends to sue the Commission.

"The basic pro is that anything that rids the state of New York of the Public Integrity Commission, is a step forward," Grandeau told me by phone. "This zombie agency has done more to set back ethics in the state of New York than anything that any legislator has done in the last two years."

He considers the commission's handling of the "Troopergate" affair a bungle; earlier this year a report by Inspector General Joseph Fisch called the CPI's investigation into question, and in response, David Paterson called for the resignation of all of the commissioners. None obliged, but executive director Herb Teitelbaum did resign.

Of course, the Commission on Public Integrity was created in 2007 by then-Governor Eliot Spitzer by combining the lobbying commission and the ethics commission.

Grandeau was the only person to lose his job in that merger (and has indulged his grudge in the past), which NYPIRG's Blair Horner agreed with Grandeau that the current CPI is the result of a "fatally flawed" "shotgun marriage" that "wasn't thought through."

(CPI spokesman Walter Ayres' rebuttal to Grandeau: "What does he mean by a zombie agency? I know it's a good-sounding phrase, but I'm not sure what it means. There's a book now called 'Pride, Prejudice and Zombies' in the bookstores, and I guess it's a trend now to add ‘zombie' to everything. I still don't know what it means, though, so I'll assume it's a compliment and that he thinks we're on the cutting edge of new trends.")

If the Senate passes this bill (it's also considering a chapter amendment), which already passed the Assembly, it would be up to David Paterson to sign or veto. He has proposed a different approach to structuring ethics enforcement that would keep the CPI largely intact.

At a hearing today, CPI Chairman Michael Cherkasky countered this assertion, and called the Senate's pending vote hasty and politically "advantageous and expedient."

He said breaking apart the agency into multiple enforcement entities--while putting him out of a job--would create a "tower of Babel" that "poses a substantial risk that the same law will be applied differently" by different agencies. It also won't change the way the toothless Legislative Ethics Commission operates, nor move it from under the control of the legislature.

"The elephant in the room is the fact that there's no action to the oversight of the legislature," Cherkasky told reporters after the hearing. I asked him if he had communicated his concerns to the governor; he said he had not (beyond talking to all of us) and said he was speaking out as a citizen in an unpaid position.

"Boy, there's obviously an ethical problem in this state," Cherkasky said. "There's perception and there's reality, and I think it's important for all of us to speak out. Other than that, how people accept it, I'll go back to my day job."

And speaking of going back to day jobs:

If this bill passes and the clock is turned back to 2007, does that mean Grandeau will return?

"We've always thought very highly of David and we thought he did a good job," Horner said. "But I have no idea what he wants to do with his life."

Grandeau didn't directly address the issue when I asked him.

"That's a difficult question for me," he said. "I've been very fortunate and lucky that in the last two years I developed a fortunate and successful business. But when the speaker of the assembly said that it was a mistake to split lobbying from ethics, I took that as a testament to the work that I did for 12 years. I took it as a compliment."

"After my full review, I respectfully submit, however, that the Governor's request should be withdrawn," Cherkasky wrote. "I believe the commissioners acted in an unbiased, non-partisan manner and arrived at conclusions that are supported by the facts if you accept the commissioners' view of the credibility of witnesses and the circumstances the commission faced."

Since Paterson's call, the Integrity Commission Executive Director Herb Teitelbaum resigned. In doing so, he blasted a report by Inspector General Joseph Fisch that said he had acted in violation of the Public Officers Law during his investigation of the Troopergate probe.

Semi-relatedly, I was thinking about the Integrity Commission this morning during a court battle over the State Senate leadership. The two lawyers making the Democratic case—Andrew Celli and Richard Emery—both sit on the commission.

UPDATE: A spokesman for David Paterson sent along this statement:

<blockquote

As he has stated publicly on many occasions, Governor Paterson's request for the resignation of all commissioners from the Public Integrity Commission was not a reflection on the integrity or character of those individual commissioners -- but rather a recognition that the public has lost its faith in the ethics process as a whole. The Governor believes the commissioners are individuals of unquestioned honesty and integrity. However, the fact that the Commission as a whole failed to address very serious allegations is further evidence that the system needs reform.

While he respects Chairman Cherkasky's request, Governor Paterson continues to believe the ethics process in Albany is broken. This is why he is still calling for the resignation of every commission member and has proposed reform legislation that will create a truly independent, functional and efficient Government Ethics Commission.

Cherkasky Statement