Right Idea, Wrong Man

Albany is a wretched mess and everyone knows it. Legislators are failing to take care of the public's business thanks to a dysfunctional system that fosters corruption and subsequently a few of those corrupted legislators made a power grab that shut down the government. While most of us would love to see a power sharing agreement where both sides kiss and make up something equitable, the reality is that our leaders are a bunch of petulant children who would rather strut their stuff than get anything substantive done. Even the stuff that got done yesterday is all for nothing.

The question though is what to do about it. Beneath the chaos of the moment, there are so many problems with how the institutions of our state work that there is no realistic way for them to work with the benefit of the people in mind. What we need is to re-write the rules so that government works for us, but the man that is talking about these comprehensive reforms should not be allowed anywhere near the process.

From The Daily Politics:

The former mayor’s plan, outlined in an OpEd in the New York Times, calls for a constitutional convention that would, among other hot button proposals, impose term limits on all Assembly and Senate members, as well as all statewide elected offices.

In addition, Giuliani said he would push to empower the governor to set revenue estimates on his own; change the deeply partisan way in which state lawmakers draw electoral districts; toughen campaign finance laws; make it harder for legislators to boost taxes; and establish clearer lines of succession for the LG's office, which has remained vacant since last March when Gov. David Paterson took over for the scandal-scarred Eliot Spitzer.

The article talks more about Rudy running for governor more than the actual reforms, so it should be noted that this he is probably talking about these issues out of his own self-interest and not for the good of the state. For the eight years he was mayor, Giuliani could have cared less for the well-being of our city's governmental institutions. Considering the myth of Rudy versus the reality of his tenure, his call for reforming Albany should put actual reformers on red alert.

Of course a constitutional convention should still be something to be seriously examined. If legislators can be shamed into voting for such a measure, the process should be handled by a bi-partisan committee, preferably by good, upstanding individuals who preferably have no personal interests or dealings within the state of New York. Who those people are, well that is up for debate.

Can Project 2010 Save Our State?

Let's face it, our state government is broken. Political opportunism wins out over principle every single time, quid pro quo is only frowned upon if you are caught and "lulus" are considered as a birthright for politicians that are in the majority. The Assembly, the Senate and the once-reform minded Governor are all reticent to change and to make the government open and accountable to the people. Something radical has to happen for us to break free of our plagued State Legislature, and a right-winger just might have the answer.

From WIVB Buffalo:

One reform group says it's time to let the voters decide on a constitutional convention to dismantle New York State government and start over again.

The "Primary Challenge" group prides itself on being a non-partisan group for change. Today they held a rally in Niagara Square calling for an overhaul of NY State government.

The group is petitioning for a statewide referendum to abolish New York State's constitution and government in hopes of creating a "new government", as they call it, under a new constitution.

The "non-partisan" label is being trumpted by one Leonard Roberto, who has consistently run and lost in the Republican primary to Dale Volker in the last few elections cycles. His motivations may be partisan in nature, since the Democratic party controls the Assembly, the Governor's mansion and some say the Senate, but the idea has potential. I must mention that I am currently writing a paper on this topic for a Law and Social Change class and couldn't help but click on the news.

Something certainly has to give, and a constitutional convention could, if the process was respectful to all New Yorkers regardless of political affiliation and class, might be a cure to what ails us. Of course getting the convention started is just the beginning, what happens between opening and closing gavel is what counts the most.