On November 7th, which is Election Day, the toughest vote won’t be for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, borough president of City Council member.
It’s likely the ballot question for the proposed Constitutional Convention, a once-in-20-years opportunity to open up the New York State Constitution to make changes.
The debate has intensified as Election Day nears. Good government groups and some progressive advocates, such as those pushing for ethics reform, are pushing for a “yes” vote.
Most elected officials and labor unions, who have poured in significant funds into this vote, are completely opposed to it.
State Senator Tony Avella declared last week that he’s opposed to “Con-Con,” and urged his constituents to vote against the proposal. Here’s why:
“The idea of redoing the constitution sounds good on the surface, but when you dig a little deeper, you will find opening every part of the constitution, in this politically charged chaotic environment, is risky at best and will do more harm than good. A constitutional convention would put many of our long-established labor protections in jeopardy and could also significantly roll back many of the hard-fought environmental regulations that are crucial to our state. If you thought politics was controlled by special interests and dark money, a constitutional convention would worsen an already bad situation.”