Racial justice bills set to be signed by the mayor (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

October 13, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Racial Justice Proposals on the New York City Ballot

New York City voters can approve or disapprove three proposed City Charter amendments on the 2022 general election ballot. Questions 2-4 on the ballot for city voters (Question 1 is on the statewide Environmental Bond Act) are proposals from the

The mayor's commission has decided what to offer voters (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Racial Justice Commission, created to advance racial equity through structural changes to the city charter, voted Thursday to approve three proposals that will appear on the November 2022 general election ballot.

The three proposals would establish a new preamble to the City Charter; create new racial equity oversight bodies and a citywide racial equity plan; and establish a new measure of

Deputy Mayor Phil Thompson (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

The Racial Justice Commission convened by Mayor Bill de Blasio to revise the City Charter in pursuit of greater racial equity is nearing the end of its work and is considering several proposals that may end up on the ballot in the 2022 general election. The commission will vote on those proposals on December 3 – whatever it passes will be binding and appear on next year’s ballot – and issue its final report on December 13.

The ideas are broad changes to city government and its

Mayor de Blasio votes in participatory budgeting in 2018 (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's office)

When New York City voters approved the creation of a Civic Engagement Commission (CEC) in 2018, one of the only defined mandates for the new body was to set up and run a citywide participatory budgeting program. But due to pre-pandemic delays as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the city, the commission has yet to establish such a program, well after its

The mayor in the Bronx (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s racial justice commission, which he officially created in March to confront and eliminate structural and institutional racism in the city and doubles as a New York City Charter revision commission, will release proposals for the 2022 general election ballot at the end of this year, just as the mayor ends his second term and leaves office.

The racial justice commission, which will hold its first public input hearing on Thursday, is a first-of-its-kind commission

Mayor de Blasio (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

When Mayor Bill de Blasio said in late April that he was creating a task force to lead a “fair recovery” from the COVID-19 pandemic, nestled in his announcement was a brief statement that he also intends to call another Charter Revision Commission. But the mayor hasn’t yet convened that commission, which would be the third to be created while he has been mayor, the second by him alone, and hasn’t explained his rationale for it. 

There have already been two

Participatory budgeting was due for a big increase (photo: Jeff Reed/City Council)

A new citywide participatory budgeting program, whereby New Yorkers directly decide how to spend city budget money, was meant to be in place by July 1 but may end up being severely limited as the city suffers from the coronavirus pandemic and its multifaceted fallout. 

Creating the participatory budgeting program was one of the core duties for the New York City Civic Engagement Commission, which was established in the city Charter through a ballot referendum in 2018 that was

Voters will have greater access to interpreters at the polls this fall (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

The still-new New York City Civic Engagement Commission is set to launch a poll-site language assistance program for the fall general election, expanding on the limited interpretation services that are currently provided by the Board of Elections. 

As required by the Voting Rights Act, the Board of Elections only provides interpreters to assist at poll sites in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and Bengali. But New York City residents speak more

(photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Though a new system for holding many city elections was overwhelmingly approved by voters last fall, new details about how ranked-choice voting will actually work continue to emerge.

Ranked-choice voting, which will apply to only special and primary elections for New York City government positions, allows voters to rank up to five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate hits a majority of votes, a system of vote redistribution based on second and possibly subsequent choices is

(rendering via the Mayor's Office)

The New York City Council is crafting legislation to mandate the creation of a comprehensive plan for the city that would guide long-term decisions on land use, zoning, and investments in infrastructure. The effort is being led by Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Council Members Brad Lander and Antonio Reynoso.

Last year, the City Council urged the 2019 Charter Revision Commission to propose to voters an

(photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

A year after the 2018 election cycle, when insurgent candidates and heightened political participation helped drive a wave of New Yorkers to the polls, voter turnout in the city this fall continued the trend. While still low as a percentage of registered voters, the 15 percent turnout was far higher than previous off-year elections.

While many attribute the recent increases in voter participation to a Trump effect, the particulars of this year’s city ballot, including key items not present in the corresponding

One PBA IE on 2019 ballot question 2 (photo via Campaign Finance Board filing)

Just after an election where the issue became especially apparent, a New York City lawmaker is planning to introduce legislation to close a loophole that has allowed independent expenditure committees to shield donors when they spend money to sway voters on ballot proposals. The potential change in city law would bring certain donor disclosure rules in line with state regulations and extend other city regulations to what is already required for political spending on candidates by

(photo: Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Office)

New Yorkers heading to the polls this fall have the opportunity to vote on amendments to New York City’s Charter – our city’s foundational governing document – that include changes to how we vote, police accountability, and budgeting. But one big topic will be missing: truly addressing our city’s broken land use system.

This didn’t have to be the case. When the City Council, then-Public Advocate Letitia James, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer came together to create this Charter Revision Commission

Mayor de Blasio & First Lady McCray vote (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Mayor Bill de Blasio is dodging questions about his position on a series of ballot referenda that propose changes to city elections and governance. In two interviews Friday and Monday, the mayor avoided giving any specifics when asked repeatedly to discuss the proposed amendments to the city charter, all of which impact city services and administration, and he refused to say how he voted on them.

The ballot this year has ...

(photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)

The Civilian Complaint Review Board has responded to the Police Benevolent Association’s efforts to kill a ballot referendum that would enhance the agency’s powers. The CCRB began promoting a fact sheet on its website and social media Friday aimed at “correcting misinformation” days after the launch of the PBA’s campaign, calling the union’s communications “myth” as it seeks a “no” vote on ballot question two.

Last week,

Senator Benjamin at Thursday's press conference (photo: @BrianKavanaghNY)

New York State Senator Brian Benjamin, a Manhattan Democrat who is exploring a possible 2021 run for city comptroller, introduced a bill on Thursday that would allow New York City to create a “rainy day fund” to weather fiscal emergencies.

Currently, the city lacks the authority to set aside revenue in such a dedicated pot, one result of the city’s fiscal crisis of the 1970s. But a question on this year’s general election ballot in the city could change the City Charter to

(a sample ballot - back side, with charter revision questions)

Some of the biggest decisions voters can make on New York City’s ballot this fall will be in the fine print.

The 19 city charter amendments being put before voters will appear on the back of the ballot in miniscule, 7.5-point font. The proposed amendments, presented in five “yes” or “no” questions, cover large swaths of the city’s core governing document and if approved have the potential to alter key components of how the city operates.

They include

(photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photo Office)

Mayor Bill de Blasio and other top city officials have remained mostly quiet about their positions on a set of proposed changes to city government and elections, which are set to go before voters when early voting begins on Saturday. The five “yes” or “no” ballot questions include 19 distinct proposals from the 2019 Charter Revision Commission, whose members were appointed by the mayor, comptroller, public advocate, City Council speaker, and five borough

(photo: @Gothamgazette)

October 23, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: The Consequential Questions on Your Ballot

There are 5 consequential questions on the New York City ballot this fall, each of which poses changes to city elections or governance for "yes" or "no" reponses from voters. Two leading goverment reform experts -- Susan Lerner of Common Cause NY and Rachel

(photo: @Charter2019NYC)

Just seven people trickled in from the rain to attend the information session in the Lower Gallery of the Bronx Museum of the Arts last Wednesday night. Despite the low turnout, the small group has the potential to reach dozens or even hundreds more people because most of those who attended represented organizations. They had come to the museum that night to gather information to bring back to their members about the proposals that will be on this year’s ballot, whereby voters will approve or disapprove 19 changes to New York City governance and

(photo: City Council)

Suppose eight candidates are running for Mayor or a City Council seat or another New York City office. On election night, the results are extremely close: The top candidate gets 29% of the vote, and the second 28%. Even though 70% of voters picked someone else, a candidate with less than one-third of the votes will become the elected representative of 100% of the office’s jurisdiction. 

This situation may seem unlikely, but it’s precisely what happened in a 2013 special election for New York City

PBA President Pat Lynch, second from left (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

The Policemen’s Benevolent Association, the city’s largest law enforcement union, launched on Monday a campaign against ballot proposals aimed at strengthening police oversight. 

The PBA is urging its members and their allies to vote “no” on Question 2 on the ballot this fall in hopes of scuttling potential changes to the way the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) investigates and prosecutes officers accused of misconduct. A New York City charter revision commission has

What's The [Data] Point? Episode 82 -- 5, The 2019 Charter Revision Questions on Your Ballot, with Gail Benjamin and Carl Weisbroad of the 2019 New York City Charter Revision Commission [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

There are 19 proposals to change city government and elections in five "yes" or "no" questions on this year's

(photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office)

I am usually in agreement with the analysis and opinions of Bruce Gyory, a prolific pundit and consultant who writes on New York City and State government and political affairs. 

But I must disagree with his op-ed in the Daily News last week, urging New York City voters to reject city charter revision proposal #1 on the fall ballot, which would

Abbi & Ilana of 'Broad City' fame in Charter Revision Commission PSA

When trying to gin up public attention on seemingly mundane government minutiae, a bit of star power never hurts.

Most New Yorkers probably don’t know that they can vote this fall -- starting with the launch of early voting on October 26 -- on fairly significant changes to city elections and governance, so the team behind the ballot proposals is enlisting two people known for New York City pride.

As early voting and November fifth’s Election Day