If you believe Dictionary.Com, loyalty is "faithfulness to commitments or obligations," and/or "faithful adherence to a sovereign." Interesting, but not helpful.
It's not helpful because very often those two definitions conflict. Sometimes you have to choose being faithful to your obligations, or being faithful to your sovereign.
Which is where we are in New York right now, and there are storm clouds on the horizon. It is no secret that loyalty is a prized commodity in politics, and so it should be. In a profession where elected officials are both colleagues and competitors, there is a place for standing by one's allies, for being trustworthy. It is a value and a virtue to be sure.
The Cuomo administration in Albany is particularly concerned with loyalty. No fouler epithet can be hurled by the numerous and outspoken minions of the executive chamber than that of "disloyalty." They mean, of course, personal loyalty to the governor and it's their job to encourage that brand of loyalty.
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It's not a perfect world of course, and there are times when political allies disagree on important principles, and the bounds of loyalty are tested. Like how to handle the minimum wage increase. The governor himself recognized the strength that such disagreements can bring when, after criticism by leaders of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, he said "If we didn't have someone who isn't happy about something I don't know we'd be doing our job."
Right as rain. So, sometimes you do what you think is right, and it's not a question of disloyalty, it's a question of principle. Like when our Democratic governor endorsed Republican state Sen. Steve Saland, when partisan control of the Senate was hanging by a thread. Doesn't make him a bad person.
So what's the fuss about Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner?
She believes that cities around the state are in trouble, that the state isn't willing to face the unpleasant music, and that borrowing money to pay current operating costs is a bad, bad idea. Doesn't make her a bad person, either.
But executive chamber minions won't see it that way, and are in the midst of a half-seated effort to embarrass her and remove her as co-chair of the state Democratic Party.
The charge is disloyalty. Nonsense. Right or wrong — and I think she's right — she's the elected mayor of a proud and important city, and when the fate of her people is up for grabs, she damn well better speak her mind.
The governor knew her and her outspoken manner when he asked her to serve. The governor needs personalities around him strong enough to tell him what they really think. The governor will be much better off embracing the problem of our cities now, before they start to tip over.
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For those who care to get into the weeds about the actual problem with the governor's budget proposal to defer — that is, borrow — pension payments, there's plenty to keep you occupied.
A recent study show that Syracuse, if it adopted the governor's suggestion, would burden its taxpayers with an additional $42,779,036 in taxes over the course of the program. Not the right way to manage a city's finances, and a perfectly reasonable issue for her to speak about.
And she did, asking the governor to convene a statewide meeting to address the full range of causes and consequences. Miner says what everyone is thinking about this deal and becomes a target of the "loyalty SWAT team."
No good. We're all better off when a person of principle speaks his or her mind. The fate of our cities shouldn't be swept under the rug. Fiscal responsibility means not borrowing for operating costs.
Loyalty sometimes means speaking out. John F. Kennedy didn't write "Profiles In Courage," about Americans who were faithful to a "sovereign," but about those who kept faith with their principles.
Back off, gents.
Richard Brodsky is a former state assemblyman from Westchester County. He is now a fellow at the Demos think tank in New York City and at the Wagner School at New York University.