Poll: Should New York hold a Constitutional Convention?

Whether you agree with Gov. Andrew Cuomo that the 2016 legislative session was “remarkably productive,” as far as ethics reform is concerned, the status quo remains. The governor has alternated between enthusiastically endorsing “cleaning up Albany,” and blaming the Legislature for inaction, and recently said it would take a constitutional convention to enact any serious reforms, such as closing the LLC loophole.

As we discussed on this week’s episode of The Slant Podcast with former legislators Jerry Kremer and Nelson Denis, the idea of a constitutional convention sounds a lot better than the reality - even if the Legislature and governor agreed to allow a ballot measure on whether to hold a convention on the November 2017 ballot, the likelihood of any amendments being put on the ballot are slim to none. Over the last 100 years, only one convention has resulted in changes to the constitution - in 1938. And in 1997, the last time New Yorkers had a chance to hold a convention, 62 percent of New Yorkers voted against it.

But with political corruption running rampant throughout the state and polling numbers showing that voters have lost all faith in the Legislature, a convention might be the only avenue left for serious ethics reform.

Vote in the poll below on whether you think New York should hold a constitutional convention.

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