New York City Council takes power struggle to ballot box

(The Center Square) — The Democratic-controlled New York City Council is taking its intra-party feud with Mayor Eric Adams over city commissioner appointments to the ballot box in November with a proposed referendum that asks voters to decide if the chamber's authority should be expanded.

On Thursday, the Council filed a proposed ballot question asking voters to approve "advice-and-consent" legislation that would expand its authority to approve or block mayoral-appointed commissioner positions by adding another 20 commissioner posts to a list requiring the mayor to seek council approval before being appointed.

The Council has already approved the changes, but Speaker Adrienne Adams said councilors decided to pursue the ballot question "so voters can exercise their democratic right to vote" about whether its powers should be expanded.

"Advice-and-consent is a foundational pillar of democracy and New York City is out of step with cities and states across the nation that maintain this process to protect the public’s interests against the abuse of power within our government,” Speaker Adams, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Under current law, the Council has the authority to veto about a dozen commission appointments, including the city's Corporation Counsel, Department of Investigations Commissioner, and head of the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The Council recently approved the legislation, which Adams allowed to become law without his signature at the end of a 30-day deadline to take action.

Still, the Charter Revision Commission could ultimately block the effort to put the question before voters, which Adams created to review the city’s governing charter. The commission is set to meet before the November election to consider a charter update proposal from Adams that would delay a vote on the measure until 2025.

Mayor Adams, a Democrat, has pushed back against the council's efforts to expand its authority over commission appointments, warning that they will delay and politicize the process.

"What I believe is that the appointment powers of my commissioners is something that I should have the authority to do, because that's who the people in the city elected," Adams said in a radio interview on Thursday. "They feel as though they should have, we should get advice and consent, I think that is just something that should not happen."

In her statement, Adams warned the panel to "refrain from blocking New Yorkers’ ability to decide on advice-and-consent by rushing to create new proposals, because that would be undemocratic."

"Advice-and-consent strengthens representative democracy and government by ensuring we have the most qualified and ethical commissioners to effectively deliver the services that New Yorkers deserve," she said.

The wrangling over expanding the council's oversight of commissioner picks is the latest development in a widening intra-party rift between Adams and the Democratic-led Council, which recently overrode the mayor's vetoes of a police stop bill and a ban on solitary confinement in city jails and a series of budget cuts.