The New York State
Constitutional Convention Clearinghouse
Information Related to New York's Nov. 7, 2017 Constitutional Convention Referendum
Newspaper Op-eds on the
November 17, 2017 Referendum*
Vote Yes
Lachman, Seymour P., Voters have chance to deal with government’s decline, Albany Times Union, June 10, 2007
Foss,Sara, Constitutional convention worthy of consideration, The Daily Gazette, May 1, 2017.
Levy, Steve, Should Voters OK Referendum for a NY Constitutional Convention?, Long Island Press, April 5, 2017.
Davis, Evan, Constitutional Convention is our chance for reform, Democrat & Chronicle, March 28, 2017.
Barkan, Ross, If You Want To Fix Albany, Dare To Dream Of A Constitutional Convention, Village Voice, March 23, 2017.
Dearstyne, Bruce W., Business Contributions and Campaign Finance in New York: Deep Historical Roots, Gotham Gazette, March 8, 2017.
Davis, Evan, N.Y.’s democracy needs an overhaul, New York Daily News, February 25, 2017.
Kolb, Brian, The case for a constitutional convention, Auburnpub.com, February 7, 2017.
Galie, Peter, and Christopher Bopst, Another Voice: Constitutional convention is needed to reshape state, The Buffalo News, February 1, 2017.
Chang, Art, Here’s How NY Protects Incumbents From Citizens — And How To Change That, The Daily Beast, January 23, 2017.
Davis, Evan A., The people’s chance to improve Albany, Watertown Daily Times, January 7, 2017.
Snider, J.H., The Best Delegate Election Process for a New York Constitutional Convention, Gotham Gazette, November 17, 2016.
Edelstein, Jonathan, Let’s make the progressive case for the 2017 New York State constitutional convention referendum, Daily Kos, November 13, 2016.
Semegram, Richard, For a Better Judicial Nominating Process, Support a Constitutional Convention, Gotham Gazette, September 14, 2016.
Coll, James, Unions and the New York State Constitutional Convention Question, City & State New York, August 8, 2016.
Samuels, Bill, Thanks to governor, no threat of much-needed reform, Times Union, April 26, 2016.
Brodsky, Richard, Overall, a constitutional convention makes good sense, Times Union, February 28, 2016.
Haber, Adam, All Things Political: Why so much corruption in politics?, The Island Now, February 4, 2016.
Benjamin, Gerald, Constitutional commission deserves support, Times Union, January 30, 2016.
Morrongiello, Mike, Upstate needs constitutional convention, Star Gazette, January 5, 2016.
Deartsyne, Bruce W., New York History: Legislative Scandals Often Lead to Meager Reform, Gotham Gazette, December 22, 2015.
Weiner, Anthony, How to End the Feud Between the Mayor and the Governor, New York Times, August 26, 2015.
Cosentino, Guy, Pitfalls of a constitutional convention, AuburnPub.com, July 24, 2015.
Cosentino, Guy, Changing state constitution a monumental task, AuburnPub.com, July 22, 2015.
Foss, Sara, Thinking It Through, Daily Gazette of Schenectady, July 16, 2015. (Blog)
Robillard, Craig, It is time for another NYS constitutional convention, Democrat & Chronicle, May 1, 2015.
Neale, Reginald, CITY VOICES: Is NY government corrupt by design? City Newspaper, February 2, 2015.
Turner, Douglas, Cuomo must seize day, push reform in Albany, Buffalo News, February 2, 2015.
O’Reilly, William F.B., The time for term limits has come to state government, Newsday, January 28, 2015.
Benjamin, Gerald, Independent redistricting: Good enough not good enough, Times Union, October 22, 2014.
Livadas, Jerry V., “Hold constitutional convention in 2012,” Buffalo News, January 30, 2011.
Goldfeder, Jerry H., How Cuomo can tame N.Y., Times Union, November 4, 2010.
Kolb, Brian M., People’s Convention could bring about real reform, Buffalo News, February 2, 2010.
Turner, “Douglas, Election system flaws lead to policy problems,” Buffalo News, October 12, 2009.
Seward, James, Constitutional Makeover, New York State Senator James L. Seward’s Blog, August 21, 2009
Lazio, Rick, One for All, New York Times, July 13, 2009.
Benjamin, Gerald, and Mario M. Cuomo, New York Needs a Constitutional Convention: It’s obvious Albany can’t clean up its own mess, Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2009.
Lunn, Robert J.,” What our legislators never learned in kindergarten,” Daily Record of Rochester, June 30, 2009.
Giuliani, Rudolph, Putting New York Back Together, New York Times, June 24, 2009.
Newfield, Jack, “Cuomo Looks Back – And Ahead,” New York Sun, May 21, 2003.
Vote No
Pallotta, Andrew, The Con Job, WAMC, May 2, 2017. This is a transcript of a radio commentary. Andrew Pallotta is president of the 600,000-member New York State United Teachers.
Figliola, Anthony, Don’t Be Cajoled Into a Constitutional Convention, Long Island Press, April 14, 2017. Also published in the Amityville Record, April 26, 2017.
Chartock, Alan, If legislative leaders are against a ConCon, should we be for it?, Legislative Gazette, March 3, 2017. Also published in Oneida Daily Dispatch on March 4, 2017. Note: this could also be read as a pro op-ed, as more than 90% of the argument, especially that backed by facts, is pro. But out of respect for the author’s conclusion, NewYorkConCon.info is placing it in the con column.
Figliola, Anthony, NYS Constitutional Convention is Nothing But a Con, Smithtown Matters, January 10, 2017. Also published in The Buffalo News on January 20, 2017. Note: the author works as a lobbyist for Empire Government Strategies.
Chartock, Alan, Follow Harry’s advice: Vote ‘No’ on a Constitutional Convention, Legislative Gazette, September 23, 2016. See also: Chartock, Alan, The Capitol Connection: 2017 predictions, The Record, December 22, 2016.
Other
Miller, Ted, New York Proposing Constitutional Convention To Hand More Legislative Authority To An Elite Few, Liberal America, March 23, 2017. Note: title suggests opposition but content is neutral or even slightly positive.
Anagnostakis, Mike, My view: Get ready for a monumental vote this November, Times Herald-Record, March 12, 2017.
Galie, Peter, and Christopher Bopst, My view: November 2017: New York’s real opportunity for change, recordonline.com, January 1, 2017. Also published in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.
Brodsky, Richard, Expect surprises this season, Times Union, September 5, 2016.
Coll, James, Running for State Legislature? Good. Now Take This Pledge, City & State New York, September 4, 2016.
Chartock, Alan, Yes, Donald, the political system is rigged, Daily Freeman, August 20, 2016.
Smerd, Jeremy, Could a constitutional convention fix Albany?, Crain’s New York Business, August 9, 2016.
Mintz, David, Cuomo needs to hear the people, Riverdale Press, July 13, 2016.
Forman, Adam, Albany blows a chance to streamline city projects, Crain’s New York Business, June 28, 2016.
McMahonm E.J., How angry Upstate might ally with Mayor de Blasio, New York Post, September 2, 2015.
Snider, J.H, Preparing for New York’s Next Constitutional Convention Referendum, Gotham Gazette, June 4, 2015.
Benjamin, Gerald, Means, Ends and State Constitutional Reform, Gotham Gazette, February 5, 2013.
Susan Lerner, ‘Can a Constitutional Convention Reform State Government?’, Presentation at Wagner College’s Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform, September 16, 2011. (Her comments begin at 10:45; her discussion about the referendum begins at 20:00; her opening comments end at 40:30.)
* J.H. Snider’s op-eds can be found under the “Blog” menu item.
Newspaper Editorials on the
November 17, 2017 Referendum
Vote Yes
Editorial: Fix this government and vote this fall for a Constitutional Convention, New York Daily, News, May 22, 2017.
Editorial: Update the ways New York votes, AM New York, May 7, 2017.
Editorial, In Our Opinion: New Yorkers need to approve a convention, Daily Star, September 20, 2016.
Editorial, No action on constitutional convention, The River Reporter, August 24, 2016.
Editorial, Constitution flaws must be addressed, Press Republican, December 17, 2015.
Editorial (Melissa Hale-Spencer), Honor New Yorkers who fought to govern themselves, Altamont Enterprise, August 6, 2015.
Editorial, New York can still fix this, Albany Times Union, July 1, 2015.
Editorial, Leaders failed; let people try, Press-Republican (Plattsburgh, New York), March 29, 2011.
Editorial, New York State needs a constitutional convention, Newsday, June 24, 2009.
Vote No
Editorial, A chance to change the constitution, Niagara Gazette, January 2, 2016.
Editorial, Amending our state constitution won’t be easy, Daily Gazette of Schenectady, August 9, 2015. Also published here in the News Tribune.
Editorial, The New York Convention Con, New York Times, August 9, 2010. (Note: in 1997, the New York Times editorialized in favor of a convention.)
Other
Editorial, Why New York State might vote to do the con-con, Newsday, May 30, 2017. Newsday stops just short of an outright endorsement of a yes vote.
Editorial: Let’s talk about clean water and air, AM New York, April 24, 2017.
Miller, Ted, New York Proposing Constitutional Convention To Hand More Legislative Authority To An Elite Few, Liberal America, March 23, 2017. Note: title suggests opposition but content is neutral or even slightly positive.
Editorial: Cronies with benefits, Times Union, March 25, 2017.
Anagnostakis, Mike, My view: Get ready for a monumental vote this November, Times Herald-Record, March 12, 2017.
Editorial: No time to waste in 2017 Albany Agenda, AM New York, January 9, 2017.
Editorial, No recall for New York, Times Union, January 24, 2016.
Letters-to-the-editor on the
November 17, 2017 Referendum
Vote Yes
Niskayuna, Don, Extra payments show need for convention, Daily Gazette, June 4, 2017.
Goldman, Ira, Constitutional convention a good place to start to rein in NY spending, Finger Lake Times, A
pril 6, 2017.
Mouse, Mickey (pseudonym), What I want done in New York State, Niagara Falls Reporter, November 17, 2016.
Vote No
Figliola, Anthony, Convention rewards ‘politically connected’, Observer, May 23, 2017. Figliola is an Albany lobbyist at Empire Government Strategies working for former longtime New York State Assemblyman Arthur “Jerry” Kremer.
Pelliccia, Vincent, Country needs fixing but not a convention; State convention won’t fix New York state, Daily Gazette, May 23, 2017. Pelliccia is an NYSUT delegate representing NYSUT Retiree Council 10.
Libertucci, Michael, Convention not the answer to corruption, The Daily Gazette, May 13, 2017. Libertucci is the political action coordinator for the Schalmont Teachers Association.
Stewart, Rich and Peter Yan, Costly Constitutional Convention not the answer for change, Finger Lake Times, April 21, 2017.
Morgano, Mickey, Elections Are Still The Best Means Of Change, Shawangunk Journal, March 23, 2017.
Hebert, George, Governor needs to change his approach, The Daily Gazette, March 11, 2017.
Faggioni, Carolyn, Take heed of fall vote on state constitution, Newsday, March 6, 2017.
Kremer, Arthur “Jerry”, Poor history of convention reform, Times Union, December 23, 2015. (Kremer,a former New York State Assembly member, is President of Empire Government Strategies, a lobbying firm.)
Other
Gutekunst, Claire P., Bar association’s position is to educate, Albany Times Union, July 31, 2016.
Blogs on the
November 17, 2017 Referendum
Vote Yes
Its Time for Autonomous Regions, http://www.newamsterdamny.org, May 26, 2017.
Spitzer-Rubenstein, Michael, Will New York have a Constitutional Convention?, Shaking News, May 24, 2017.
Galie, Peter and Christopher Bopst, Why New York Needs a Constitutional Convention, Rockefeller Institute Blog, May 24, 2017.
Cheung, Jacklyn, NY Constitutional Convention: A Pathway to End Corruption, Truth Against the Machine, March 19, 2017.
Kaplan, James S., As the 2017 Referendum on the New York State Constitutional Convention Approaches: A Look Back At the Early Accomplishment, True Blue, January 11, 2016.
Vote No
Norton, Beth, Matters of Interest – Constitutional Amendment By Legislative Referral: How Public Pensions Could Be Affected, Mondaq, April 7, 2017.
Kremerer, Arthur, et al., Patronage, Waste, and Favoritism: A Dark History of Constitutional Conventions, Empire Government Strategies, June 2016. [This is an online pamphlet.]
LaGrangeon, Kris, A Constitutional Common Core Convention?, UCOMM Blog, Feb 25, 2016 (UCOMM stands for Union Communications)
Other
None