On November 7, 2017, New Yorker voters will be asked if the
state should hold a convention to re-write the New York State
Constitution. Such a convention could
cost taxpayers over 300 million and could allow devastating changes to our
constitution. Who is driving this idea & why?
Those in favor site the need for ethics reform and limits on
gerrymandering while those against question the wisdom of opening the
constitution up to alteration by the same corrupt big money players that
currently hold the public good hostage in Albany. Well-financed pro-convention groups are trying
to dominate the early discussion and mislead voters with false advertising claims
that this will be a “people’s convention”.
There is currently a process in place to change the NYS
Constitution that has been used over 200 times since 1984. The state
legislature creates referendum questions for the ballot during general
elections and citizens decide. A number
of ballot questions were voted on in 2013 including the constitutional change
needed to build the Del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo. When a process to
change the constitution currently exists why risk giving entrenched politicians
and big money influencers access to alter constitutional protections for workers,
the environment, women, minorities and schools?
The Adirondacks Mountains are protected by a ‘forever wild’
clause in the constitution. Lobbyists say that those protections are ‘unlikely’
to be altered. Frankly, ‘unlikely’ is not good enough when we see federal
parklands being sold off, mined and privatized. The constitution also protects pensions,
public education and the right for working people to organize and collectively
bargain. Women & LGBTQ people should
be concerned about the introduction of “Religious Freedom” clauses and the use
of tax funds for religious schools. Gun control, women’s reproductive rights
and protective tax limits for the wealthiest would be on the table.
A constitutional convention is ripe for abuse. It’s a
financial boondoggle enabling system-savvy politicians to make up to an extra
$80,000 annually on top of the salaries they already receive. There is no timeline to complete delegate work
or limitations on who they can pay to “assist” them. Taxpayers will get stuck
with the tab. The money spent on a
Constitutional Convention would be better spent investing in our schools, our
crumbling infrastructure and vital public services.
Survey data has shown that when voters are presented with
the facts regarding a constitutional convention, they overwhelmingly oppose
it. I hope you will too.
Bess Watts
President, CSEA Local 828 Monroe County
