A Times editorial prescribes a solution to the corruption problem plaguing New York politics: "Of all the proposed reforms, the most critical is to open up elections so that voters have real choices. And that means creating a workable public financing system to encourage more candidates to come forward, much as New York City did almost 25 years ago....public financing is the linchpin of the entire reform effort."
Later in the editorial, the Times mentions that among those arrested in the latest wave was "City Councilman Daniel Halloran." Since Mr. Halloran was elected under the same New York City public financing system that the Times claims is a "critical...linchpin" to countering corruption, that sort of undermines the Times' argument that the solution to corruption is public financing. Granted the New York City Council is probably marginally less corrupt than Albany, but that probably has more to do with term limits (which the Times does not favor or even mention in this editorial, despite its claim that the "system" "desperately needs" an "infusion of fresh faces") and with the greater press and law enforcement scrutiny in New York City than with the campaign finance system.