To The Reader’s Forum:

On November 7, 2017, on the back of the ballot, a simple question will be asked of the citizens of New York State: “Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution and amend same?”

The answer we give to this 12-word question will have a huge impact on every person living in the Empire State and generations of citizens to come. We need to understand what could happen if we open up the state constitution to drastic changes through a convention, as well as how much that process would cost the taxpayers.

What’s at stake is social welfare needs, voting rights, public employee pensions, public education, and the environment. N.Y. State’s constitution has the nations’ strongest protections for forever wild areas like the Adirondacks and the Catskills. Greedy developers could push to undo these safeguards.

Cost estimates are running up to 400 million dollars! The vast majority of delegates to the convention would be lawmakers. They can collect salaries and pension credits as well as salaries for 3 or 4 staff members each, meals, hotels, and parties! There will be no established end date to the convention. It will end when the lawmakers decide they are through with their work. The expense to the taxpayers is open ended. During the last convention, four out of five delegates were career politicians and Albany insiders. Not one good thing came out of the last convention. Following the convention was a public vote on the proposed changes and they were all voted down!!

We already have a way to amend the state constitution. Over 200 amendments have been added to the constitution in the last several years. Two constitutional amendments will be at the top of the November 7 ballot! One deals with public officials convicted of corruption forfeiting their state pensions. The other seeks permission to replace a small rural bridge in the forever wild Adirondack Park.

Many of the Chautauqua County elected officials including state Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean, are urging voters to vote no. Young says “A Constitutional Convention would be disastrous for upstate N.Y. The structure of the process ensures that most, if not all, of the delegates would be from New York City, which would allow the State Constitution to be rewritten in a way that unfairly favors a down state agenda and issues.

Our hard earned tax dollars would be better spent improving our schools, repairing our roadways and bridges, reducing taxes, and any number of worthwhile projects. I am strongly urging Chautauqua County voters to join me in voting “NO” on the Constitutional Convention.

Louise Ortman

Stow