Editorial

A convention could be good for New York — or not

Posted

You would think that holding a convention to review and rewrite the New York State Constitution would be a no-brainer. After all, we’re Americans. We held a constitutional convention to lay down the framework for our very country.

In New York, however, nothing is that straightforward. Politics always plays a role.

On Nov. 7, New York voters will decide whether a convention should be held. By law, every 20 years, the question of whether we should convene one comes up on the ballot. 2017 is that year.

Section Two of Article 19 of the State Constitution requires the vote every two decades. The question is framed as a single sentence: “Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution and amend the same?”

It’s little surprise that many, if not most, voters have no idea what is being asked of them.

Already there are special interests of all sorts that are lobbying for and against a convention. New York State United Teachers, a union, opposes a convention, for example. So do the AFL-CIO, the State Professional Fire Firefighters Association and numerous smaller labor groups. State pensions are constitutionally guaranteed in New York. A convention would open the possibility — albeit remote — that those pensions could be pared down or taken away.

Many environmental groups, including the Adirondack Council and Environmental Advocates of New York, also oppose a convention because it would open the possibility — again remote — that the 6 million-acre Adirondack Park — one of the largest preserves in the world, full of precious timber — could lose its “forever wild” designation. Lumber companies could then seize the opportunity to harvest forests that they have salivated over since the 1800s, when the Adirondacks were finally preserved after a century of overcutting left many sections of them as wastelands.

Sound crazy? Maybe. On the federal level, however, we now see efforts by the Trump administration to open national forests to lumber and mining companies. With the wrong administration in place in Albany, it could happen in the Adirondacks without the “forever wild” designation.

The concerns raised by unionists and environmentalists are likely overblown to one degree or another. Still, they are not entirely without merit.

We should also note that conventions aren’t cheap. Estimates are that holding one could cost tens of millions of dollars — money that might be better spent on programs to help people.

On the other hand, a host of nonprofit groups that have long sought campaign finance reform, nonpartisan redistricting and term limits are fighting vehemently for a convention. Among the groups seeking one are Citizens Union, the State Bar Association and the League of Women Voters.

Their position is simple: There just aren’t enough people voting in state elections to create a groundswell of support for the type of meaningful ethics reforms that would rein in corruption in the state Legislature. Ergo, we must hold a convention to get the job done.

If voters were to approve a constitutional convention this November, they would elect delegates the following year in the November election.

Delegates would begin meeting in April 2019 and would have to conclude their work by November of that year.

There hasn’t been a constitutional convention in New York in 50 years. The Legislature actually called for the last one, in 1967. After that convention, voters rejected a proposal to repeal the Blaine Amendment, which bars the state from allocating education aid to religious schools, thus preserving the separation of church and state. New York is one of 38 states that do not allocate funds for religious education.

The last time New Yorkers voted to hold a convention was 1938, toward the end of the Great Depression. At the time, people were demanding change of the government. They wanted greater labor protections — and pensions to protect them in their old age.

If done right, a constitutional convention could bring critical ethics reforms that would at least limit the chicanery that far too many of our state legislators have engaged in in recent years, including disgraced leaders such as Dean Skelos and Sheldon Silver. On the other hand, it could devolve into one long, very expensive argument that accomplishes little.

Is a constitutional convention the best way to fix Albany? Over the coming weeks, the Herald will present voices for and against such a conclave. However, with or without a convention, nothing will happen unless constituents demand change of their representatives.