The Empire State has certainly seen its share of political predicaments in recent years. While these situations run the gamut from sex scandal to corruption, there have been plenty of money in politics headlines in New York. The Buffalo News editorialized on campaign finance reform this week, arguing that New York state should adopt public financing of elections."With a checkbook in one hand and Cuomo’s budget proposal in the other, lobbyists already are lining up to convince members of the Senate and Assembly that their particular budget line dare not be trimmed. If lawmakers are dependent on them to fund their re-elections, the odds are pretty good they’re going to listen pretty closely to what they have to say. "The solution is to make state legislators more afraid of the public than of the people who now give them money. We do that by making the public the sugar daddy—but at a much smaller cost than taxpayers are paying now. "...It’s a reform already in effect in seven states and two cities, according to Public Campaign, the good-government group that has long pushed the concept. "Cuomo has said he favors public funding. Now he should be pushing it at the same time he’s pushing his budget, and pointing out how the two are related. "There’s little hope of changing how the state spends taxpayers’ money until we change how politicians get theirs." Click here to read the full editorial.