Op-Ed
Proposal No. 3: A Very Partisan Power Grab

By Jeffrey Dinowitz

The most important thing on the Nov. 4 election ballot may not be a candidate, but rather, a ballot proposal. Once again, a Republican mayor is leading the drive to eliminate primary elections for New York City officials (mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president and City Council members). Proposal No. 3 is being touted by its supporters as a proposal to create "non-partisan" elections, but is, in fact, a very partisan proposal to gain political advantage for Republicans who, all too often, are out of step with the vast majority of New Yorkers.

Currently, the political parties hold party primaries to choose their candidates to run in the November election. For the three citywide positions of mayor, public advocate and comptroller, there is also a runoff if no candidate receives 40 percent of the vote in the first round. In November, the general election is held among the candidates of each of the political parties. Under Proposal No. 3, however, there would be two rounds of voting: a first round among all candidates and a second round between the top two candidates. There would be no Democratic or Republican columns (although candidates could list their party affiliations).

This means that the November election could be between two candidates from the same party. You could actually have a mayoral election where there are only two Republicans or two Democrats running, with no other choices. The other political parties (Working Families, Conservative and Independence) would be totally closed out. Limiting voters to just two choices, and possibly just one political party, is a sure-fire way to lower voter turnout. That is not good for democracy. I wouldn't want to have my choices for mayor limited to two Republicans, or even two Democrats, but that is exactly what could happen with this undemocratic proposal.

It is clear that this proposal is an attempt to gain partisan advantage by Republicans, who would not be listed as Republicans on the ballot. It's a sneaky backdoor attempt to elect Republicans who do not generally do so well in New York City. Instead of trying to win by manipulating the rules, the Republicans should try to be more representative of the views of the majority of the people they hope to represent. Then perhaps they would win more elections. In the meanwhile, if you're a Republican, be proud of it instead of trying to hide behind the fraud of non-partisan elections. 

The Republicans have used every trick in the book to grab power, including 
impeachment, the Florida 2000 debacle, the Texas redistricting, the California recall, and now the New York rewriting of the election rules. Don't let them get away with it. I urge all of my constituents to vote against ending party primary elections in New York City by voting a loud "NO" on Proposal No. 3. 

Jeffrey Dinowitz represents the 81st District in the New York State Assembly.

Ed. note: The Norwood News contacted the office of Mayor Bloomberg, a strong supporter of Proposal No. 3, for an opposing view, but our call was not returned. 

For more information on this and other proposals, go to www.gothamgazette.com.

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