NYC Charter Revision Commission 7/28/2010

Thanks to The Hankster for these videos.

I attended this meeting in Queens. The decision on what will be on the ballot in November's General Election will be made at a 8/11/2010 meeting in Manhattan. We know Term Limits will be on but not in what form.

Use the above link to view the meeting.

Attorney Harry Kresky speaks before the NYC Charter Revision Commission at the Queens Borough Hall, regarding nonpartisan elections for city offices.




Anthony Crowell, a member of the commission, likes nonpartisan elections.

NYC Charter Revision issue forum at Lehman College in the Bronx June 2, 2010, featured an expert panel on the topic of voter participation, including NYC Independence Party attorney Harry Kresky. He spoke about the American tradition of expanding democracy as a civil rights issue. Independents are disenfranchised in the crucial first round of voting in New York City. The only other major city to hold partisan municipal elections is Philadelphia.



During the meeting each commission member expressed their thoughts on this issue. I think they lean to do this but not this year. They have hired an outside consultant, I think it is Dr. Lisa Handley, President of an International Election Consulting firm, to report to them with current stats: how it affects minority voters and turnout since 2003 from cities who use non partisan elections, before the 8/11/2010 meeting.

It is up to the 1.4 million NYC voters who are unable to vote in the most important primary in the country to let the commission know "NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote".

Important to this issue is how will it work. Here are some process issues:

1. Ballot - Optionally put your party logo, but you should also be allowed to show the logos of all party endorsements.

2. Signatures - State law states: 7,500 for Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, and Borough Presidents, 2,700 for City Council. These should be for all candidates. I do not know how this will change Write-Ins.

3. Primary - If one or two candidates no need for primary as they would go to the General Election. Three or more candidates go to primary. To really make this the voters choice, make this an Instant Runoff Vote (IRV) system to get the truly Top Two that will go to the General Election.

4. Public Financing - There is the possibility to reduce the cost of elections by removing run-off elections and public funding in the General Election would only be available for the Top Two candidates.

Another issue is the Voting Rights Act. Since three of the five NYC boroughs fall under the act, the change would need their approval. During the 2003 commission J. Gerald Hebert, former chief of the Department of Justice's Voting Rights Division testified that there have been at least 150 instances in which the Department of Justice has reviewed a change from partisan to nonpartisan election system over the past decades and all had been approved.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

MA Legislature Approves Plan to Bypass Electoral College

The Massachusetts Legislature has approved a new law intended to bypass the Electoral College system and ensure that the winner of the presidential election is determined by the national popular vote.

Supporters are campaigning, state by state, to get such bills enacted. Once states accounting for a majority of the electoral votes (or 270 of 538) have enacted the laws, the candidate winning the most votes nationally would be assured a majority of Electoral College votes. That would hold true no matter how the other states vote and how their electoral votes are distributed.

Illinois, New Jersey, Hawaii, Maryland, and Washington have already approved the legislation, according to the National Popular Vote campaign's website. That would equal 73 votes.

Use the above link to read the entire article by Martin Finucane, Globe Staff, Boston Globe.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

NYC Charter Revision Commission 7/26/2010

Thanks to The Hankster for this video.

I attended this meeting in Harlem of the NYC Charter Revision Commission. There was a panel discussing about the use of date and reporting requirements. There are many reports that are not needed anymore. There should be more use of new technologies for presenting the information for official and public use.

The meeting was upended when protesters stormed the meeting and demanded the panel slow down and listen to the public. "The city charter, revisions, is going too fast. I mean, they aren't discussing anything except term limits," said Joseph Little of Community Voices Heard. The disruption was allowed to do their thing and left peacefully.

The next panel discussed the consolidation of the many, around 12, Administration Justice Tribunals. This change would allow the standardization of procedures, use of judges, and putting the tribunals in each of the five boroughs under The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH).

Then the chairman gave dates for the next meetings. The most important date was 8/12/2010, the date the commission will decide which items will go on the November 2010 ballot.

Then the meeting was opened to the general public. Some of the topics the public spoke about was Term Limits, Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), Community Boards: Land Use, Budgets, Elected members not Appointed, and the lack of City Planners on the boards.

This is Dr. Fulani's comments about this commissions' operations.




As I have complained earlier, Dr. Fulani spoke about the commission trying to do what is the responsibility of community organizers and the voting public, educate and have a chance to express their choices at the voting booth, now an optical scan machine.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Is a dead person a Democrat?

Twelve-term Democratic Assembly Member Barbara Clark is counting on her old friends Gloria Black and Warrington Canston, two state committee members from Clark’s district in Southeast Queens, to help her win another term in office this year. And she did not let the fact that both Black and Canston are apparently dead deter her from putting their names at the top of her petitions.

Use the above link to read the entire article by Andrew J. Hawkins, City Hall News.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

NY Uprising

New York Uprising is a non-partisan, independent coalition formed by former Mayor Edward I. Koch that advocates for meaningful government reform across New York State. Their mission is to put an end to corruption in Albany and reinstate the public’s faith in government by offering real, honest and sensible solutions that legislators and candidates can implement, adhere to and be held accountable for executing once elected or re-elected to office. New York Uprising will actively seek support for commitments to reform from all candidates seeking office during the 2010 election cycle. Joining Mayor Koch in his effort to stop what has become the downward spiral of New York politics, are Citizens Union Director Dick Dadey, former New York City Parks Commissioner and New York Civic Director Henry Stern and a group of prominent New Yorkers serving as Trustees.

New York Uprising advocates for meaningful government reform in three areas, and has invited NY candidates to pledge support for specific reforms in each.

Non-Partisan, Independent Redistricting: Elections are supposed to allow voters to choose their representatives, but New Yorkers have been denied true choice because elected officials have historically been able to draw district lines to choose their voters. New York legislative races are typically non-competitive because of these gerrymandered districts. Consequently, it is not surprising that New York State’s legislature has one of the highest rates of incumbency in the nation. It is our common desire to improve New York State Government and the democratic process in the State by ensuring that redistricting pursuant to the 2010 Census be constitutional and fair.

Among the specific reforms we call for:

•Meaningful independence and transparency
•Drawing of districts that are contiguous and do not favor or oppose any party, or candidate
•Guarantee not to abridge or deny minority voting rights

Responsible Budgeting: It is widely acknowledged that New York State’s budget process and practices are detrimental to the long-term future of the state. They produce budgets that are routinely late and include spending that outpaces inflation and revenue growth. To accommodate spending more money than they have, the leadership in Albany has often balanced budgets with gimmicks that push obligations into the future, resulting in structural imbalances and the accumulation of a crushing debt burden, an unhealthy share of which has been incurred to fund operating expenses. Simply put, we are living beyond our means.

Among the specific reforms we call for:

•Creation of an Independent Budget Office to report on the state’s financial health and comment on budgetary matters
•Adoption of General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to prepare and manage the state budget
•Use of a rolling five year financial plan to better monitor the consequences of current decisions on long-term finances

Ethics Reform: The public demands that their elected officials and candidates for public office maintain the highest degree of ethics while running for office and serving in government. They have not, to put it mildly. To reform New York State’s government, the enactment of comprehensive ethics legislation by the Governor, Assembly and the Senate is mandatory.

Among the specific reforms we call for:

•A "Blue Ribbon" Commission to consider and make recommendations to limit "Pay to Play" campaign contributions
•A comprehensive annual financial disclosure form that includes disclosure of outside income
•A State Ethics Commission, having the power to subpoena, investigate and sanction for ethics violations including conflict of interest and campaign finace

Use the above link to find out more about this new organization.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

NYC Mayor Bloomberg Endorsing Bing

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Democrat, then a Republican, and now an independent (called a Blank in NY) is also a constituent and will not be able to vote for current Democratic State Assemblyman Jonathan Bing in his September’s primary. But he is doing everything he can to make sure others do, endorsing the East Side Assemblyman in what will be the beginning of an effort to help beat back a challenge from a United Federation of Teachers-backed primary challenger, high school government teacher Gregg Lundahl.

Bing, who has worked closely with the mayor on charter schools and transportation, expressed deep excitement over receiving the support from the mayor. “The mayor has a great deal of support in his home Assembly district, and his endorsement will carry significant weight in both my primary and my general election campaign,” Bing said.

The winner of the Assembly primary will face Republican and Independence Party candidate Paul Niehaus, a commercial litigator making his first run for office.

I have worked with Bing who lives near me on local issues. But I also interviewed Paul as part of the NYC Independence Party selection committee. We decided to bypass partitioning for him and he used state members for his partitioning. As I was running for my 4th term on the state committee for this AD, the 73rd, he did not carry opposing partitions and I will run unopposed and will serve another two years. This primary will be interesting as I can also not vote.

Here is a perfect example of the need for Non Partisan Municipal Elections or Top Two.


Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

NYC Charter Revision Commission 7/19/2010 Meeting

I was unable to attend this meeting but was able to watch the Internet streamed meeting. This open meeting was for the Commission members to hear the report by Citizen Union's which included their approval of putting Non Partisan Municipal Elections (Top Two) on the ballot for the voters to decide if they want all voters to be able to participate in the first round of voting in the September primaries with all the candidates on one ballot.

Use the above link to view the entire meeting. Here is a link for the Citizen Union's testimony. Here is a link for all the Citizen Union's recommendations.

Whenever this issue comes up people talk about the 2003 defeat,70% against, but further review shows that only 12% of eligible voters showed up. So only 8% of the eligible votes defeated it. I feel that the climate has changed in 2010 and has a much better change of passing. If the Commission would make the decision to put it on the 2010 ballot early, it would give its supports enough time to get the voting public aware of the issues and what it would mean to the 1.5 million New York City votes who are locked out of primary voting.

After their testimony, the Commission opened the meeting to the public. It was interesting that the public officials who spoke used their talking point notes and seemed to not listen to the testimony which answered how it would work and would not remove the parties' ability to endorse candidates and show the parties' logos on the ballot. This also happened with some of the voters' comments.

To make this work all candidates who want to get on the ballot should have the same requirements and have to get the same number of signatures. Since we are a fusion state, the ballot should show all the parties who endorsed a candidate.

Finally, the Commission Chairman, Matthew Goldstein, made a comment that one of his criteria was the issue had a strong chance of passing before he would put it on the ballot was disappointing. It is up to the voters not the Commission to make that decision.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Party to Return Disputed Cash To Bloomberg

The New York State Independence Party is taking steps to return hundreds of thousands of dollars that a grand jury charged were stolen from Mayor Michael Bloomberg as part of an Election Day scheme orchestrated by a volunteer in the mayor's campaign, the party chairman said Wednesday.

"We have no idea what the outcome of the trial will be, but out of respect for the district attorney and Mayor Bloomberg we're returning the money in question," said Frank MacKay, the party's chairman, in an interview.

I estimate the amount is between $350,000 and $450,000. Further checking shows $133,000 of this amount was not properly reported on their quarterly filings and could result in a fine.

Use the above link to read the entire article By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL of The Wall Street Journal.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Citizens Union Approves NPME

Citizens Union of the City of New York, a nonpartisan force for good government for more than 100 years, works to inform and engage New Yorkers, to ensure local and state government values its citizens, addresses critical issues, and operates in a fair, open, and fiscally sound manner.

In 2003, Citizens Union did not support Non Partisan Municipal Elections (NPME). In 2010 they reversed there opinion as part of 50 recommendations to the NYC Charter Revision Commission.

"Citizens Union is recommending that its election system be changed and opened up to all registered voters. It is proposing that New York adopt a Top-Two election system, like that recently approved by referendum in California, which will permit all party registrants and unaffiliated voters to vote in the first round for candidates of any party or none at all. The top two candidates would advance to the general election in November to determine the victor. This will allow for a greater number of New Yorkers to vote in the most determinative election and create greater competition and choice for the November general election. It will provide that the voice of the 1.5 million voters, who are now effectively shut out from choosing many of the city's elected officials because they are not affiliated with the Democratic party that effectively determines the vast majority of the city's elected officials in a closed partisan primary, is heard.

'Non partisan elections exist in the vast majority of municipalities throughout the nation,' said John Avlon, Citizens Union's Charter Task Force Chair. 'Top-Two will allow for the retention of party affiliation at the discretion of candidates while opening up the process to all voters. Increasing voter eligibility is essential in a city that is effectively electing officials in closed partisan primaries where the proportion of registered voters is as low as 5 percent. This is a serious concern to Citizens Union, and should trouble anyone concerned about the vitality of our local democracy. Our remedy is this reform - we can increase voter participation and politicians� accountability by opening up New York City's election process.'

Citizens Union recognizes that other reforms which it has long supported may also enhance voter participation but Top-Two is the best available charter revision option to maximize voter participation given the legal ambiguity and operational complexity surrounding other reforms that would ideally be addressed by state government.

Citizens Union also supports reforms that will improve integrity and bolster the public's faith in city government. Citizens Union is backing the continuation of term limits for council members of three four-year terms, and for citywide officials, two four-year terms. We also want to see the charter changed to require that any city council charter amendment that would alter or appeal a voter-initiated referendum be returned to the voters for approval or disapproval."

Use the above link to read their press release.

Update
NEXT COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING

Monday, July 19

Place: Brooklyn College, Gershwin Theater, 2900 Bedford Ave
BROOKLYN

Time: 6 p.m.

Directions: By train, take the Q Local to Avenue H and walk 4 blocks east to Ocean Avenue, or take the 2 or 5 train to Flatbush Avenue/Nostrand Avenue. By bus, take the B6 or B11 to Bedford Avenue, the B8, B44, or Q35/Green Bus Line to Flatbush Avenue, the B41 to Nostrand Avenue, or the B49 to Avenue H.
NOTE: Citizens Union will be presenting their recommendations to the Commission at this hearing. The hearing will be streamed live via webcast through their website at: NYC Charter Revision Commission Website

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

NYC New Optical Scan Voting

The NY Board of Elections has put up a website explaining how to use the new optical scan voting systems. There are different types of scanners so you need to pick your county to get the correct video.

NYC picked the ES&S DS200 Ballot Scanner
The DS200 Ballot Scanner system is a portable electronic voting system that uses an optical scanner to read marked paper ballots and tally the results. This system allows for paper ballots to be immediately tabulated at your polling site. The DS200 also notifies you of any voting errors. You will be able to immediately correct these errors to ensure that Your Vote Counts!

and the ES&S AutoMARK
The AutoMark is a ballot marking device designed to provide privacy and accessibility to voters who are blind, vision-impaired, or have a disability or condition that would make it difficult or impossible to mark a ballot. In addition, it provides language assistance to voters who are more comfortable speaking an alternative language or who have reading difficulties. The AutoMark ballot marking device is also equipped for Sip-N-Puff and paddle devices to assist voters with hand dexterity challenges.

Use the above link to view all the different scanners used in NY and their videos on how to use them.

Here are some dates to view and try the new scanners for NYC:

Date: July 8, 2010
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Organization: Brooklyn Chinese American Association
Location: Sunset Park Asian Senior Center - 5010 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11220

Date: July 10, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Organization: Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst
Location: 7802 Bay Parkway Brooklyn, NY 11214

Date: July 11, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Organization: Bronx Borough President's Office
Location: 198 East 161st Street, Bronx, NY 10451

Date: July 14, 2010
Time: 9:15 AM - 12:00 PM
Organization: Korean American Voter's Council
Location: 1275 Rockland Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10314

Date: July 15, 2010
Time: 3:15 AM - 4:45 PM
Organization: Penn South Program for Seniors - JASA
Location: 290 9th Avenue (at 27th Street), Manhattan, NY 10001

Date: July 19, 2010
Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Organization: Kings Bay Y
Location: 3495 Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11229

Date: July 19, 2010
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Organization: Linden-Bushwick Block Association
Location: 55 Goodwin Place, Brooklyn, NY 11221

Date: July 20, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Organization: 83rd Precinct Community Council
Location: 83rd Precinct, 480 Knickerbocker Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11237

Date: July 22, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Organization: Assemblyman Michael Den Dekker
Location: Southridge Coop 33-06 92nd Street, Jackson Heights, NY 11372

Date: July 24, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Organization: St. Paul's Lutheran Church
Location: 592 Knickerbocker Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11221

Date: July 24, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Organization: Lefrak City Tenants Association
Location: 97-11 Horace Harding Expressway, Queens, NY 11368

Date: August 25, 2010
Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Organization: Lighthouse International
Location: BV Hall, 111 East 59th Street, Manhattan, NY 10036

Date: September 11, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Organization: Freedom Community Center
Location: East 140th Street Brook & Willis Avenue, Mott Haven NY 10454

Date: September 12, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Organization: Immaculate Conception School
Location: 378 East 151th Street, Bronx, NY 10455

Date: September 20, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Organization: South Shore Democratic
Location: Old Bermuda Inn, 2512 Arthur Kill Road, Staten Island, NY 10312

Date: September 22, 2010
Time: 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Organization: CUNY Law School
Location: 65-21 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11367

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

NYC BoE Says It Cannot Afford To Pay For Primary And General Elections

Budget battle set against backdrop of executive director stalemate

New Yorkers, be prepared to choose between the primary and general election because the city cannot afford to put on both.

As the stalemate over picking a new executive director continues, there is not enough money to cover costs for holding New York City’s November general election after paying for primary operations in September, according to the current reading of the city budget by the Board of Elections.

This will be the first year we use optical scanners for our elections. So on top of all the normal cost there will need to be extra money for training all the poll workers on the new equipment and producing the new ballot forms for the scanners.

Use the above link to read the entire article by Edward-Isaac Dovere of City Hall News.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

NYC Non Partisan Municipal Elections Update

I just received an email from Sarah Lyons, Press Secretary of The Independence Party of New York City with an update on our effort to get the NYC Charter Revision Commission to put Non Partisan Municipal Elections (NPME) as a ballot question in the November 2010 Election.

Read the Press Release (pdf) and the Open Letter (pdf) to the Charter Revision Commission from a cross-section of 32 religious and community leaders, political independents, civil rights activists, educators, labor activists and elected officials was delivered to the Commission urging them to place an initiative for nonpartisan elections on the ballot this November.

Also in the news, the 111-year-old good government group, Citizen's Union, has come out in favor of nonpartisan elections reversing their position from 2003. Read the New York Times article by JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ.

While collecting partition signatures to get on the ballot for my fourth term as the Independence Party State Representative for the 73AD (Eastside of Manhattan), I have also been getting signatures for support of NPME that will be sent to the Commission when my partition period ends on July 15th.

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us