12 SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
EDITORIAL
Vote yes for constitutional convention
The mayoral contest and local
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City Council races may dominate
the attention and the ballot
this November, but there is one thing
about this election that no voter should
overlook.
Every 20 years, New York State
voters are given a ballot question on
whether to call for a state constitutional
convention. The last vote came
in 1997, so alas, it’s time once again for
Empire State voters to answer such an
important question.
In the weeks leading up to Election
Day, you’ll hear more about this referendum
from its supporters and detractors
alike. But make no mistake — if
voters want to really change the way
Albany operates on a colossal scale,
this is the perfect opportunity to do it.
People have become numb to dysfunction
in Albany. It comes in many
forms: internal power struggles, public
corruption charges, stalled government
reform eff orts, gerrymandering,
the “three men in the room” that seemingly
make all the important decisions
when it comes to state government.
The list goes on and on.
Much of the problem in Albany
stems from a state constitution fi lled
with antiquated statutes that either
make it diffi cult to modernize state
government and remedy problems,
or give the status quo the protection
needed to preserve the dysfunction
and mollify special interests that
benefi t from it.
New Yorkers can use the constitutional
convention as a way to reform
state government from the inside out,
and make the Empire State the national,
progressive trendsetter it proclaims
itself to be. But some, however, fear that
the convention will turn our state into
something that doesn’t refl ect progressivism
or New York values as a whole.
Those fears are unfounded. Voting
yes on this November’s amendment
merely sets into motion the constitutional
convention process; it does not
nullify the laws already on the books.
The people who vote yes or no on the
convention will be asked again to vote
for constitutional delegates: 3 in each
of the state’s 63 senate districts, plus
15 at-large delegates. Those delegates
will then propose a brand-new constitution
or a series of amendments
that can only be ratifi ed by the voters
of New York in yet another ballot
referendum.
In other words, New York voters
who have the power to start a constitutional
convention also have the power
to stop a convention’s proposals dead
in its tracks.
If we want our state government
to work for us again — to guarantee
equal rights for women, to legalize
marijuana, to institute term limits on
state lawmakers, to stop gerrymandering
— then a constitutional convention
is our best hope at making it happen.
We urge you vote “Yes” for a Constitutional
convention on Nov. 7.
