Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 8
Aides and allies to Mayor Eric Adams have discussed launching a charter revision commission next year, a move that would again stymie any City Council effort to gain more power over agency head appointments.
Hazel Dukes — president of the NAACP New York State Conference and vice chair of the mayor’s 2024 charter revision commission — confirmed internal discussions about the mayor creating another commission for 2025.
But cracking open the City Charter for a second year in a row would also continue to complicate lawmakers’ plans to get questions of their own on the ballot.
This spring, the council announced plans to expand its advice and consent power to 20 additional agency heads from two. The change to the charter would have needed approval from voters.
Shortly after that announcement, Adams revealed his own charter revision commission that automatically blocked the council’s proposal from the ballot, per state statute.
At the time, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams — a fellow Democrat — vehemently opposed the effort, calling it a power grab designed to nullify the council’s legislation. She accused the mayor of wanting to be “a king.”
Now, history seems poised to repeat itself.
Speaker Adams announced plans Monday, previously reported by Gothamist, to introduce legislation establishing a charter revision commission for next year for the purpose of increasing transparency in government.
Yet absent any curveballs like a special election, another mayoral endeavor would easily undermine both the advice and consent bill and the speaker’s broader charter commission.
“If the mayor convened a commission that placed a question on the November 2025 ballot, then advice and consent could not appear,” said Louis Cholden-Brown, a former attorney to City Council who once staffed a charter revision commission. “And in that scenario, the commission proposed by Speaker Adams would similarly not be able to place proposals on the ballot.”
A City Hall spokesperson did not address whether the mayor plans on creating another commission, instead touting the work of this year’s hastily carried out effort.
“Through the Charter Revision Commission, a procedure codified in the city’s laws, we gave working-class New Yorkers from all walks of life the opportunity to share their vision for a safer, more affordable city,” spokesperson Liz Garcia said in a statement. “We are excited for millions of New Yorkers to flip their ballots and weigh in on these proposals this November.”
That history appeared to be top of mind for the council speaker.
“After the Mayor’s rushed commission undermined norms of good governance and now seeks to mislead New Yorkers via Proposals 2 – 6 on this year’s ballot, it is crucial to prevent this anomaly from becoming a new baseline that normalizes attacks to weaken our local democracy,” Speaker Adams said in a statement Monday. “I look forward to uniting all stakeholders and New Yorkers to advance a process that prioritizes strengthening our city rather than political gamesmanship.”
Source: Politico
