‘No’ on Proposals 1 & 2

Mayor de Blasio’s charter-reform commission has put a number of proposals on the November ballot. Two are clearly bad. Proposal 1 would enlarge the city’s public-campaign-finance system while further limiting private campaign donations.

It ups the public-fund match from 6-to-1 to 8-to-1 for small donations, and increases the ceiling on donations that get matched (for citywide offices) from $175 to $250. This hikes the maximum taxpayer payout per election cycle to $10.8 million.

It also lowers the limits on any private donations — down from $5,000 to $2,000 for citywide races, with a similar drop for other campaigns. That doesn’t check any fat cats, but does harm candidates who lack the established networks (such as unions and insider political clubs) to reach a wide circle of possible donors.

It also makes public funds available earlier (up to six months before candidates even qualify for the ballot) — to campaigns that file a “statement of need.” Last year, de Blasio filed such a statement for an extra $2.9 million for a primary he won by 60 points.

In all, it empowers connected insiders and reduces real political competition. Vote NO on Proposal 1.

Prop 2 would create a “civic engagement commission” to promote participation in participatory budgeting programs and other “civic activities.” It also aims to duplicate the work of the Board of Elections (and others) by requiring a program to provide language interpreters at city polling sites.

This is reminiscent of de Blasio’s Democracy NYC office — which recently caused havoc by misinforming thousands of voters of the status of their registrations. Again, it’s about empowering (and employing) connected hacks. Vote NO on Proposal 2.