The election of President Donald Trump partially reframed the debate, as the liberal groups that dominate the state’s political scene embraced one of two views. | AP Photo Constitutional convention question headed toward landslide defeat

ALBANY — New Yorkers have overwhelmingly defeated a ballot question asking whether the state should hold a constitutional convention, with only 19 percent voting yes, based on results from nearly half the state's election districts.

Notably, most of these districts were in New York City, the region that consistently gave the strongest degree of support to the convention question in polls taken in recent months.


“Our coalition galvanized voters across a broad ideological spectrum to rise up and oppose a corrupt process that would enrich Albany’s political class while leaving the rest of us behind,” said a statement from New Yorkers Against Corruption, the coalition that urged a “no” vote. “Voters ultimately agreed that the con con was just a con — a costly process full of risks and unknowns. Today was a win for our coalition but, more importantly, a win for all New Yorkers.”

While the numbers might change, it appears likely that the percentage of the vote in favor of a convention will fall well below the 37 percent level of 1997, when the question last appeared on the ballot.

At various points in the past decade, it seemed plausible that voters might approve a convention. After a 16-month stretch during which a longtime state Senate leader was indicted, the public learned of Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s proclivity for prostitutes, and the Senate spent a summer in chaos, the idea of holding an early convention to fix state government garnered more attention that it had in decades. In 2010, New Yorkers overwhelmingly elected Andrew Cuomo as governor after he promised to lead the push for one.

But as the Legislature’s reputation declined even further, with perp walks becoming almost commonplace in recent years, disgust with state government may have — ironically — hindered a convention’s chances. Opponents largely focused their argument on the idea that Albany insiders couldn’t be trusted to rewrite the constitution, and that seemed to resonate with the public.

Former Assemblyman Richard Brodsky said “the level of public cynicism is worse” that it was in 1997. “The ‘no’ campaign seized on the statewide mood, and you didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what to say.”

The election of President Donald Trump partially reframed the debate, as the liberal groups that dominate the state’s political scene embraced one of two views. Some saw a convention as the best way to add things like reproductive or gay rights to the constitution to protect them from federal attacks. Others saw Trump’s victory as evidence that voters, who would choose delegates and ultimately pass judgment on the convention’s work, might be hoodwinked into voting against their best interests in an era of big money in politics.

The vast majority of them took the latter view.

“A year ago, none of us ever thought our saddest imagination could come true,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said at a February labor luncheon in reference to Trump’s election. “I don’t want the constitution to become part of a political campaign, and that’s what’s going to happen” if a convention is called.

The coalition that helped defeat the 1997 vote was largely recreated. Civil libertarians, environmentalists and many pro-choice advocates decided a convention simply wasn’t worth the risk. They were joined by several conservative organizations concerned that a convention would be an expensive waste unlikely to accomplish anything but a liberal agenda.

And most significantly, organized labor focused most of its election-season efforts on defeating the referendum. The state’s top unions spent millions of dollars paying for a social media campaign, television advertisements and hundreds of thousands of lawn signs.

The “yes” campaign picked up a few new converts. Both the League of Women Voters and the Bar Association flipped their positions from 20 years prior, taking the view that a convention would be the most realistic way to accomplish goals like election reform.

But the “yes” campaign still lacked the sort of champion who could either match the unions’ deep pockets or center attention on their issue. Proponents expressed hope a couple of years ago that a deep-pocketed source who wasn’t a major player 20 years ago — maybe former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for example, or charter school supporters — would make an attempt to reshape state government, but none did. And none of the out-of-state billionaires who opponents repeatedly said would swoop in to urge a “yes” vote ever materialized.

Some supporters saw a potential ally in Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has spent the better part of four years blaming his failures on the way the constitution regulates elections, structures state government and imposes severe limits on the power of New York City. But the mayor, who was endorsed by most of the unions urging a "no" vote, dismissed the idea.

After promising to lead the convention push, Cuomo was essentially silent on the issue until he mentioned it in his 2016 State of the State address, and he never took the steps that might have increased the referendum’s odds.

For example, take the issue of a preparatory commission, which has been used by past governors to both plan out logistics for a convention vote and stir up public support for the cause. Former Gov. Mario Cuomo was the most prominent supporter of the 1997 vote, and when the Legislature balked at preparing for a convention in the years prior to Cuomo’s defeat in 1994, he issued an executive order to create a commission. After the Legislature balked at creating such a commission last year, Andrew Cuomo dropped the idea.

Similarly, Cuomo never made a real public push to reform the way delegates are selected and reduce the likelihood that legislators would dominate a convention. He wound up coming out against the convention the day before the vote because these reforms haven’t been enacted.

Labor quickly touted the victory as evidence of its continued strength.

“For the past two months, as part of an unprecedented coalition, NYSUT members made more than 500,000 calls from phone banks; knocked on tens of thousands of doors; and distributed literature to their friends, families and colleagues," New York State United Teachers said in a statement. "Everywhere you turned, you saw a lawn sign, a car magnet or a button urging a ‘No’ vote — a sign that NYSUT, and labor, remains a strong force in New York state fighting to protect workers from wealthy special interests.”

But supporters lamented the loss.

“It’s a great missed opportunity to change the dynamic and raise issues that don’t get raised,” Brodsky said. “Mario Cuomo’s not a happy camper tonight.”