The case for a convention

As expected, the deceitful TV ads against the state constitutional convention proposal on the Nov. 7 ballot have begun, paid for by the ludicrously named New Yorkers Against Corruption, a union front. In this space the last two Mondays, we have exposed the hysterical fearmongering among those who warn that a convention will unleash the demons. And we have made the positive case for a convention as the only hope of cleaning out the ethical rot in the state Legislature.

Today, we explain why the convention is the sole hope to fix a fundamental flaw in New York’s foundational legal document: limits on home rule that make localities like New York City practical serfs to lords in Albany.

Can New York City install roadside red light cameras and speed cameras to control dangerous vehicles in traffic on city streets? Not unless Albany says so.

Can the city decide to have mayoral control of local schools? Not unless Albany says so.

Can the city raise a tax, even on its own residents, or toll a bridge to raise money for mass transit? Not unless Albany says so.

Can the city pass a small fee on polluting plastic shopping bags? Not unless Albany says so.

And there is no chance that corrupt Albany will ever give up its grip over things big and small, forcing horse trades with Chautauqua County every time we in the five boroughs so much as need a tissue to sneeze into.

So total is Albany control that the governor has the authority to remove from office any local elected official, from a mayor to a district attorney to a borough president. Yep, really.

Home rule isn’t the end-all of the organizational rejiggering. New York’s Constitution is a mess of a document. Containing more words than Steinbeck’s classic “Of Mice and Men,” it is chock-full of senseless junk.

Such as: an endlessly complicated state court system that confuses the pursuit of justice and creates layer upon layer of political patronage.

Instead of having three levels of courts, as exists in the federal system and other states, New York has 11 different levels of courts.

Then there’s the insanity of the “message of necessity,” an Albany process whereby the Legislature routinely bypasses real deliberation on important issues. Designed as a shortcut for emergencies, it is abused on a regular basis.

And there’s the plain fact that the ruling bosses in the Assembly and Senate have stripped the opposition — and even their own rank-and-file — of all power, rendering members little more than props in a phony stage set of a Legislature.

The elected representatives we send to Albany are as likely to fix all this as fish in a tank are to clean their own water. Time to turn on the filter.