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EXECUTIVE ORDER Dishing out more criticism for edict

The OBSERVER's View

What, exactly, took legislative Democrats so long to decide the time was right to repeal an executive order requiring diners to purchase food if they were having an alcoholic beverage?

Democrats spoke eloquently Wednesday about the importance of checks and balances and respecting businesses and New Yorkers. Sen. John Mannion, D-Onondaga County, said the repeal was about rescinding arbitrary and burdnesome executive orders and foundational constitutional principles. Assemblyman Billy Jones, D-Plattsburgh, went so far as to call the rule nonsensical.

Those issues didn’t change from March 10 to April 28. The food service executive order was just as nonsensical, arbitrary and burdensome in March as it was in late April. It’s good Democrats finally came to their senses, but in our view the fact they did so lends some credence to legislative Republicans’ efforts to rescind more of Cuomo’s executive authority.

As Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, said on the Senate floor last week, it took 54 days for Democrats to come to their senses on food service and public transparency about the backgrounds of those “volunteering” to help high-level decisions in the state’s COVID-19 response.

These were easy repeals to make. And if rank-and-file Democrats agreed so overwhelmingly with them, then perhaps they need to change their legislative leadership so that common-sense legislation has a chance of being passed in a timely fashion.

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