Public Employee Press

Political Action 2003
Vote 'No' on charter change

Just say ‘No.’

It’s a simple answer to a hotly debated political question slated for the November ballot. When New York working people close the voting booth curtains Nov. 4, they will be facing off against Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The billionaire mayor and his handpicked Charter Revision Commission have launched a scheme to change the way New York elections for all municipal offices are held.

The CRC wants to eliminate the most democratic of political processes — the Democratic primary — and replace it with non-partisan general elections.

That would be fine for the mayor, who easily cashed in his Democratic Party card for a Republican one when he wanted to run for mayor in 2001, and other wealthy would-be politicians, but it threatens workers, minorities and the poor.

CRC wants us to believe that ending party primaries would be better for New York. But DC 37 says, “We’re smarter than that.” The CRC is asking New Yorkers to vote to overturn the only system that extended equal opportunity for minority representation in city politics.

The current electoral system gave New York its first African American mayor, David Dinkins, in 1989, and 12 years later its first Black City Comptroller, Bill Thompson. Earlier, it produced our first Italian and Jewish mayors, and next year it may open the door to a Latino. More important, it has given birth to a City Council that is more representative of the cultural and ethnic diversity of the public it serves, a council that looks more like the face of New York.

Primary elections and party affiliation let New Yorkers learn where a candidate stands. Office-seekers have to lay their cards on the table and be real about their politics and their positions. Under the current system, New York voters know what to expect: A Conservative Party member is ultra-right wing. A Republican will generally cut taxes and eliminate vital jobs and services; there are exceptions, and DC 37 supports Republicans who prove they support public employees.

And we know well that a Democrat will likely support programs for middle-class and working families, the poor and members of society most in need. No smoke. No mirrors. No guessing game. All the cards are on the table.

This is especially important as the labor movement strives to preserve members’ jobs and benefits, and our city’s public services and quality of life. DC 37 casts its political clout behind candidates who stand with working families and their communities. The union will not buy a pig in a poke.

But if the CRC can, it will push forward an agenda that will not require candidates to say who they are or what they stand for. Its procurement proposal would bypass the legislative authority of the City Council and give more control to the mayor. Its reorganization proposal would downsize agencies. All three proposals could produce an era of more layoffs, more contracting out, and less jobs and services. That’s harmful to all New Yorkers. It is not the democracy we stand for. To the ballot plot to change the City Charter, DC 37 just says “No!”