"CON" Statement

Submitted to the 1999 Voter Guide

From its beginning, the second Charter Commission appointed by Mayor Giuliani in two years has seemed, as the editorial pages of the New York Times called it, "a cynical exercise in power politics designed primarily to change the law governing succession at City Hall should Mr. Giuliani leave office before the end of his term."

What the Charter Commission has done is to put 14 proposals on the ballot, to be voted up or down together, in an election year in which only 10% of the voters are likely to turn out. The Commission has included at least two major poison pills.

One would limit any increase in the city budget in any year to the inflation rate, thus freezing government at its present level, regardless of the circumstances which future governments might face. Another would require a 2/3 vote by the Council for ANY tax increase, and a 4/5 vote to override any Mayoral veto of new taxes. The obvious result is that Government services would suffer, and the tax structure would become unjust.

Another proposal allocates a large share of any surplus to prepayment of debt service costs, rather than allowing its use for capital construction of debt retirement. This, too, will prevent any activist government of the future from the major construction projects that are so badly needed in this city.

The proposal for a non-partisan (therefore tilted to rich, white voters) election within 60 days of the death or resignation of the Mayor (likely to be a moment of crisis in the city) remains, to take effect in 2002. The rest of the proposals are all properly matters for legislation rather than change in the fundamental law of the city.

The Mayor is counting on this hodge-podge of bad and irrelevant proposals to pass on a single up-or-down vote in an election in which almost no one comes to the polls. New York City ADA urges a "NO" vote on the proposed charter revisions.