On October 16th, I have attended a debate on the New York State
Constitutional Convention (BACK SIDE of November 7th ballot). It was
hosted by SUNY New Paltz and the debaters were Gerald Benjamin, director
of the The Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New
Paltz, and Fred Kowal, statewide president of the United University
Professions (UUP).
Both speakers were very well prepared and
the format was highly professional. After their presentation, for
almost an hour they took questions from the audience. I can
sympathize with Prof. Benjamin’s pushing for the Convention. But I am
VERY MUCH concerned about the process and the potential results.
ONE
-- if we vote “yes” on November 7th, over 200 delegates will have to be
selected and voted on in the 2018 election. This would be a year long
haul. A friend said that if he knew that only people who care about
OTHER people’s interests and not just their own, MAYBE the convention
could bring positive results. But it is likely that many state
legislators (those NOT up for reelection in 2018) would run, and
considering that they do not necessarily have our interests at heart
NOW, would unlikely have during the Convention.
TWO -- the
delegates’ campaigns would be costly, whether they themselves foot the
bill or collect donations from us, the voters.
THREE -- once
delegates are selected, WE ALL start paying: each delegate gets a
“stipend” of some $80,000 @ year; and the Convention could drag on and
on!!
FOUR – if “dark money” pushes for a “YES” vote, and if the
backers’ delegates are appointed, we could see slashing of many
protections, embedded in the Constitution now. The issues we need to
preserve, such as environmental conservation, rights to unionize,
dependence on state pensions; and issues that would benefit from
improvements, such as some of our voting laws, could be rescinded and
curtailed.
FIVE – there is no way to tell whether at the end of
the Convention we, the voters, would be presented with individual
articles or -- beware! – a total package.
I will vote “NO” on November 7th and encourage you to do likewise.
Misha Harnick
Publishing History: Poughkeepsie Journal 10/31/2017
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