Cuomo has already sent signals to the key players in Albany during his final weeks as Attorney General. He announced a settlement with powerful lobbyist Patricia Lynch in the state pension pay to play scandal. Lynch, who admitted no wrong doing in the matter, paid a $500,000 fine. Cuomo, along with federal prosecutors, charged current Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada with five counts of embezzlement, accusing him of stealing money from a health care clinic that Espada runs. 

“This is a powerful message,” said Cuomo. “That when we say we are going to clean up Albany, we are serious.”

As governor-elect, Cuomo has planned a swearing in ceremony on New Year’s Day that will leave out most legislators, lobbyists, and other interest groups.

Sue Lerner, with Common Cause, says Cuomo should use the momentum from his landslide victory and popularity as Attorney General to achieve his objectives early on, including non partisan re-drawing of legislative and congressional district lines, and campaign finance reform. She says Cuomo should “put in a strong bill”, and “work hard to make it pass”.

But the new governor will likely face obstacles to getting the legislature to agree to some of his reform proposals, which disclosure of lawmakers’ outside income. Both Majority Party legislative leaders work for private law firms, and have, up until now, not made public their client lists.

As his predecessor Eliot Spitzer, who was also Attorney General first, found out, it’s more difficult to make changes when you no longer have subpoena powers. Spitzer’s confrontational “steamroller” approach to lawmakers also hindered his chances for success.

If Cuomo fails to convince the legislature to act, he can make a lot of changes simply by issuing executive orders, says Blair Horner, with the New York Public Interest Research Group.

“We think it’s important that the governor hit the ground running, and that he start to show New Yorkers results,” said Horner.

Horner says Cuomo can impose stricter and clearer ethics standards for his aides in the executive branch of government, and curb Albany’s pay to play culture, by limiting campaign donations, as well as create a wall between donors and the awarding of state contracts.

He can also, without having to pass any laws, put more detailed information about the state budget on the Internet.  

Cuomo is likely to share more details of his plans for reform in his Inaugural speech and the State of the State message on January 5.