Council Pushes Ballot Proposal Despite Charter Review Group

The City Council on Thursday submitted their “advice and consent” bill to the Board of Elections in the hopes it could appear on the November ballot — but only if the mayor’s charter review group fails to come up with a proposal of its own.

Speaker Adrienne Adams was joined by multiple Council members outside City Hall to support the move, which would give the city’s legislators approval power over some 80 mayoral-appointed commissioners and other appointees — up from the current 60.

The lawmakers also blasted the ongoing Charter Revision Commission , which was formed by Mayor Eric Adams in May and potentially competes for space on the fall ballot, calling it “rushed” as they began a more public push for their question to city voters.

“Nothing and no one, including the mayor’s Charter Revision Commission, should stand in the way of New Yorkers and their democratic right to vote on this proposal,” the speaker said.

“Advice and consent is a foundational process within democracy that has been used to ensure our government prioritizes the public’s interest over private interests and protects against the abuse of power in government,” she added.

The City Charter is the playbook for New York City government, regulating everything from political appointments to ethics rules to how many people can be elected to the Council. The proposed ballot question the Council submitted to the BOE would ask voters:

“Amend the City Charter to Require Council Approval for Certain Mayoral Appointments — This proposal expands Council approval of mayoral appointments to 20 additional city agency heads. If the Council does not act within 30 days of an appointment, it is automatically approved. A YES vote means that appointments of 20 additional city agency heads would require Council approval through a public hearing and vote. A NO vote rejects this proposal.”

But if the mayor’s Revision Commision comes up with a separate ballot proposal by Aug. 5, the Council’s would be knocked off, because the law only allows one question a year and the charter review group takes precedence.

Charting a Course

The next Charter Revision Commission hearing is on Monday, July 11 from 5 until 7 p.m. at the Queens Public Library, Central Library in Jamaica. The final meeting will be held at Brooklyn’s central library at Grand Army Plaza on Thursday, July 25 at 2 p.m.

Commission spokesperson Frank Dwyer touted public interest in the group’s meetings, including testimony from more than 200 New Yorkers and 2,300 written comments. There were also more than 700 people who attended in person and over Zoom, he said.

“There has been a great deal of engagement for this commission,” he said in a statement.

Turnout has picked up since the first meeting , held in Kew Gardens at 10 on a Wednesday morning in early June, when just a handful of people came to share their opinions on changes in the city. And of the suggestions made, most were not actionable by the charter.

In the meantime, various Council members said they are encouraging their constituents to attend the final two charter review meetings to ask for the opportunity to vote on the advice and consent ballot proposal in November.

Council members and other City Hall observers criticized Mayor Adams for calling the charter review in May, and then for adding some of his closest allies to the panel. He gave the directive to look at potential public safety changes in the city.

The commission’s preliminary report, released June 25, detailed many of the proposals heard through that time from the hearings — from more fiscal responsibility to moving the city’s film permitting process into a different city agency.

One issue that came up was with the Council’s passage of bills pertaining to public safety. Some people testified that there wasn’t enough time for public discussion on bills that could have serious consequences, and the commission is considering additional requirements — like an additional public hearing — for bills about public safety, according to the report.

Councilmember Amanda Farías (D-The Bronx) told THE CITY on Thursday that the charter review should use its full legally-mandated timeline — which runs for a year — instead of rushing through whatever initiatives they come up with onto this November’s ballot.

She argued the Council members have a better sense of what the public wants because constituent engagement is a big part of their job.

“We’re the people on the ground that are actually the people coming into this body and putting bills out on behalf of New Yorkers, and in essence hopefully the charter review commission takes its entire timeline to do that too because I’m sure there are other questions that should be proposed,” said Farías.

THE CITY is a nonprofit newsroom that serves the people of New York. Sign up for our SCOOP newsletter and get exclusive stories, helpful tips, a guide to low-cost events, and everything you need to know to be a well-informed New Yorker. DONATE to THE CITY

The post Council Pushes Ballot Proposal Despite Charter Review Group appeared first on THE CITY - NYC News .