Some interesting aspects today to what would otherwise be merely a humdrum endorsement announcement (in this case, that of Senate candidate Dan Squadron by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer); Stringer, of course, was one of the main champions of the Brennan Center Reforms before he quit the Assembly in thinly veiled disgust to run for City office.

Squadron used the occasion to reveal an eleven-point plan for reform of the Senate.

1. Mandate that bills that clear committees see timely debate, of a reasonable time period, and a vote before the full chamber.
2. Ease the restrictions on discharge petitions to more easily allow legislators to force roll-call votes in committee or the entire chamber.
3. Increase transparency related to committee proceedings and require more committee participation.
4. Allow sponsors of passed legislation or the leadership of the houses to call conference committees when similar (but not identical) bills pass both houses.
5. Repeal the 2005 rule forcing rules changes to be approved by the Rules Committee.
6. Equalize the distribution of staff and office resources.
7. Implement a Clean Money, Clean Elections system of public financing for state elections, with a system mirroring New York City's as a starting point.
8. Institute a strong enforcement mechanism and strengthen regulations on personal spending and disclosure requirements.
9. Create a non-partisan independent redistricting commission, so legislators can't draw their own districts, and allow the legislature only a simple up or down vote.
10. Make voting easier by passing Election Day Voter Registration.
11. Improve ballot access by reducing petition signature requirements and reforming the vacancy-filling process.

That's of course, basically the Brennan Center plan for legislative rules reform further sexied up with Clean Money Clean Elections. It's also pretty much what New York's reform movement has been talking about since 1982, when the present system was established in both houses of the legislature. These eleven points firmly align Squadron with the reform movement.

And in a sign of why primaries are good for you, the citizen, incumbent Senator Connor also publicly embraced the idea of reform, though without specifics.

“As the Democratic Senator with the most expertise on Senate Rules and practices, I look forward to adopting extensive Rules changes that promote open and honest government next year when we are in the majority.”

Awesome. Everyone's on the same page, and meanwhile, I can't help but think that our coverage here on this blog is driving the messaging of this contest, given that we just had a huge flamewar on process reform. Behold the power of the blog.