With the race for mayor lacking drama, some activists have been focusing on another campaign — a proposition vote on Tuesday that would authorize a state constitutional convention.
The question automatically appears on the ballot every 20 years. While reformers argue this is an opportunity to make much-needed reforms to state government, many elected officials and unions are urging New Yorkers to vote "no." State House Reporter Zack Fink filed the following report.
"Vote no! Block the billionaires!" demonstrators chanted Sunday in Manhattan.
A coalition of progressive organizations brought out a mock Trojan horse to claim that if a constitutional convention, also known as "con-con," is approved, big moneyed interests will come pouring out and try to rollback workers' rights.
"Our concern is that any constitutional convention would be dominated by campaign cash from the billionaires," said advocate Michael Kink of A Strong Economy for All. "We've got strong protections in our constitution for labor rights, for collective bargaining, for pensions of workers. I think the billionaire class would like to see all of that destroyed. So, we're urging people to vote no to stop the billionaires from rewriting the New York State Constitution."
Most of the elected state Democrats in New York City are also urging voters to reject a convention, a question that will be on the ballot Tuesday.
If voters authorize a constitutional convention on Tuesday, three delegates would be elected in 2018 from each state senate district across the state. There would also be 15 statewide at-large delegates. They would then propose changes to the constitution, which could be voted on by 2019 or possibly 2020.
"This is not going to be an 1895 type of convention," Manhattan State Sen. Liz Krueger said. "The public will have an inordinate opportunity to participate in the whole process."
Krueger is one of the few elected Democrats who thinks a convention is a good idea. As someone who votes in Albany, she said reform and changes to state government are desperately needed.
"We don't have a model of government that lets us address, correctly, the needs of the people of the State of New York," Krueger said. "We have 212 legislators, but we still operate under the old-boys-three-men-in-a-room making deals without the public having a place at the table. 20 million New Yorkers."
But Krueger is outnumbered by colleagues who say a convention is the wrong way to effectuate change.
"The reality is there are many things in the New York Constitution that are good and work. The things that people say need to be fixed, should be fixed. But they should be fixed legislatively," Manhattan State Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell said. "I have a bunch of fixes, and if they require constitutional amendments, we should do them individually."
The convention question will be on the ballot Tuesday as Question One.