Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

ConCon

ConCon

  • New York's Coming ConCon Battle

    crowd

    (photo via The Governor's Office on flickr)


    New York's Constitution mandates that every 20 years New Yorkers be granted the opportunity to vote on whether to call a state constitutional convention. This referendum is next on the ballot on Nov. 7, 2017.

    The unique democratic function of this referendum is to provide New Yorkers with a mechanism to bypass the Legislature's gatekeeping power over constitutional reform, which is a problem when the Legislature has an institutional conflict of interest with the people. Such a conflict occurs when the Legislature controls the

    ...
  • Cuomo’s Preparatory Commission Should Prioritize Fixing ConCon Process

    color guard SOTS

    photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo 


    In his 2016 State of the State Address, Governor Andrew Cuomo promised to “invest $1 million to create an expert, non-partisan commission to develop a blueprint for a [constitutional] convention.” New Yorkers will vote on Nov. 7, 2017 on whether to call a state constitutional convention and the commission would educate the public on what a “yes” vote might entail.

    Traditionally, such commissions have taken the constitutional convention process

    ...