Blog

November 13, 2017

NYSARA Efforts on the Constitutional Convention vote a success

A great big thank you to all the NYSARA activists who put forth a maximum effort to defeat proposition one on election day. Along with allies that included: all of Labor, the Council of Churches, the State Republican Party, the Working families party, the Conservative Party, the NRA, pro immigration groups the NYS Association of Counties, Senate Majority Leader Flanagan, Speaker Heastie, Senate Minority Leader Stewart Cousins and Senate IDC Leader Klein, Planned Parenthood and Right to Life to name just a few, proposition 1 was SOUNDLY defeated. In a vote that surprised even those that urged defeat the margin of defeat was a historic one.

New York voters defeated the constitutional convention by a margin of 83% to 17% (66% margin) far eclipsing the previous margin of defeat in 1997 of 25.9%. The proposition was defeated in all 62 counties in New York State. At the same time, propositions 2 (forfeiture of pensions for lawmakers convicted of a felony in pursuit of their job) and proposition 3 (land bank of 250 acres) passed. Propositions 2 and 3 were passed without a convention in the same way that well over 200 other amendments have been passed before.

The single minded pursuit of this defeat by NYSARA, labor and allies was a prime example of what can be accomplished by a focussed, motivated electorate. NYSARA President Barry A. Kaufmann said “New Yorkers spoke clearly that they did not want an expensive potentially wholesale change in their governance controlled by wealthy contributors. Instead, necessary changes should be made legislatively, by elected officials that respond to their constituents.”