NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
June 26, 2017
Here is the third item from my "Albany Insider' column that was cut from Monday's print editions for space:
The leader of a government reform group is taking the head of the Bronx Republican party to task for joining a coalition of more than 100 groups opposing a convention to make changes to the state constitution.
"Given the Bronx Republican Party’s history of corruption, I would like to know why you have joined this coalition and what you are hoping to achieve," Citizens Union Executive Director Richard Dadey wrote in a letter to Bronx Republican Chairman Michael Rendino.
Dadey cited the case of former Bronx Republican Party Chairman Joseph Savino, who in 2013 was sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to two federal counts of bribery conspiracy and wire fraud stemming from a $15,000 bribe he took as part of a scheme to get disgraced former State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Queens Democrat, on the mayoral election ballot as a Republican.
"The corruption that has so deeply damaged the Bronx Republican Party is just one example of what we are hoping to fix by urging New Yorkers to hold a state constitutional convention," Dadey wrote. "At a time when the regular state legislative process has failed to achieve ethics reform that just doesn’t punish corruption but seeks to prevent it, a constitutional convention would empower New Yorkers to write a constitution that limits opportunities for corruption and in doing so, create fairer elections and a government system that truly serves the public interest."
He also took aim at the name of the coalition opposing the constitutional convention--New Yorkers Against Corruption.
"By joining an anti-convention coalition that is absurdly called 'New Yorkers Against Corruption,' you are making a disingenuous, cynical argument that would only perpetuate the cycle of corruption in city and state government," Dadey said.
Rendino couldn't be reached for comment Sunday.
Every 20 years, including this year, New Yorkers are asked to vote in a public referendum whether to hold a constitutional convention.
The public would have to vote on any recommended changes developed at a constitutional convention.
Supporters of a convention, like Dadey, view it as the best way to fix many of the problems in Albany, including ethics.
But the Daily News on June 19 reported that a coalition of more than 100 groups from across the political spectrum has formed to oppose a constitutional convention.
New Yorkers Against Corruption is made up of an array of labor unions, liberal and conservative groups, and environmental organizations.
Among the groups involved are the state AFL-CIO, the city and state teacher unions, the state Rifle and Pistol Association, Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts, the state Conservative and Republican parties, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and Environmental Advocates.
Many of the interest groups say they fear a constitutional convention could result in changes that hurt their respective causes.
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