As Mayor Eric Adams continues to leave the administration, many New York City elected officials are urging voters to reject a series of ballot proposals that would give Adams’ office more power.
A group of 40 city, state and federal government representatives announced Wednesday that they are united in their opposition to five proposals to amend the city charter. The question will appear on the back of every general election ballot for New York City voters next month.
The City Charter is New York City’s basic governing document, no different than the state or federal constitutions. It defines the structure of city government and enumerates the powers of the executive and legislative branches.
The group argues that the proposed measure, written by a charter revision committee that Adams handpicked over the summer, would overturn the role of the City Council and give even more power to the already powerful mayor’s office. They also say the way the mayor, who is facing federal charges of bribery and fraud, created the commission is an abuse of power by the mayor, extending the executive branch’s authority beyond that of the duly elected legislature. It is claimed that it represents
“These proposals amount to the mayor controlling the City Council,” City Council President Adrian Adams told Gothamist on Tuesday. “The same City Council, designed as the city’s independent legislative branch, is tasked with establishing checks and balances on the mayor’s administration.”
Other elected officials who oppose the measure include U.S. Rep. Nydia Velasquez, Public Defender Jumaane Williams and City Comptroller Brad Lander. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, 18 members of the City Council, seven members of the State Senate, and eight members of the Assembly.
The group was organized by No Power Grab New York City, a coalition of civil rights and community organizations that is calling on its members to oppose charter changes proposed by the Adams administration. The group is funded by New Yorkers Defending Democracy, a 501c4 nonprofit organization and ballot initiative committee.
“The mayor is actually trying to deceive New Yorkers,” said Joo Hyun Kang, a spokesperson for No Power Grab New York City. “He’s counting on the fact that most New Yorkers don’t even know these ballot measures exist, and he can’t afford to miss that.”
Diane Sabino, executive director of the Charter Revision Commission, pushed back against the criticism.
“The Charter Revision Commission has created a thoughtful ballot proposal that reflects the demands we hear from New Yorkers, including clean streets, fiscal responsibility, public safety, transparency in the city’s capital planning process, and support for minority- and women-owned businesses. ,” she said. The commission said it consulted from 750 people in five boroughs and received 2,300 written statements. “New Yorkers will now have the power to flip their ballots and vote on these proposals in November.”
The current proposal is listed as Ballot Proposals 2 through 6 and would make a number of changes to shift authority between government agencies. The language describing the proposal itself on the ballot has been simplified to comply with the state’s plain language law.
But opponents say the language doesn’t clearly convey the proposal’s potential impact.
“Some of it is just ridiculous,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, head of New York’s congressional delegation and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. As an example, Nadler cited “additional cost estimates and budget deadline updates for the bill,” which is listed as Proposition 3 on the ballot.
Nadler said this actually means that “if the mayor doesn’t like a bill before the City Council, he can kill it by simply not having the (Budget Office) submit a cost estimate.”
“It’s a violation of the separation of powers,” he said.
In addition to the Charter Revision Commission, changes to the Charter can also be made through legislation passed by the City Council.
In May, the City Council announced plans to expand its own authority to approve certain executive appointments. While Speaker Adams prepared to introduce the bill, Mayor Adams announced a Charter Revision Commission, but the City Council’s proposal ultimately died.
The council already has approval authority, known as advice and consent, for a small number of mayoral appointments, including the city’s corporate advisers. This threatened Adams’ candidate for corporate general counsel, Randy Mastro, who was grilled by the council during an 11-hour public hearing over the summer before ultimately withdrawing from consideration.
The board passed a bill in June that would expand advice and consent authority to other positions, and voters had to approve it in November. However, the mayor’s five charter amendment proposals removed that question from the vote.
“This is what the mayor wanted to do to block our advice and consent bill,” Adams said Tuesday, calling the committee’s work “hurried” and “rushed.”
Joseph Vitellitti, a public policy professor at Hunter College, has worked on several charter revision commissions, including the historic 1989 commission that abolished the city’s Board of Estimates.
He is not involved in any organized efforts to oppose the current amendments. But he agreed that it is impossible for recent efforts to be as reflective and scholarly as previous efforts.
“You can’t do it in seven weeks,” Viteritti said of the recent commission. “That leads to speculation as to what the motive might be.”
According to Nadler, the answer is simple. “(The proposal) is a power grab by the mayor and an unhealthy situation for the city.”
Mr. Nadler, the most senior New York lawmaker to call for Mr. Adams to resign in the wake of the federal charges, said his opposition to the voting system was a political threat that would hurt Mr. Adams’ chances for re-election. He said the suggestion that it was a move was “ridiculous”.
“Even if I don’t say anything, this mayor clearly won’t be re-elected,” Nadler said.
Correction: This article has been updated to clarify the timeline of the City Council and Mayor’s proposals.
