Nonpartisan Elections Won't Make Ballot in New York City this Fall - WSJ.com

Mayor Suffers Ballot Setback

By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to abolish partisan elections will probably not be on the ballot in November, four people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The Charter Revision Commission, the 15-member panel picked by the mayor to examine potential changes to the city constitution, is leaning against putting the proposal on the ballot this year. The move is a setback for Mr. Bloomberg, who has championed this issue since his second day on the campaign trail in June 2001.

Matthew Goldstein, the commission's chairman, said in an interview that "the likelihood is low" that the commission would place nonpartisan elections on the ballot. But he stressed no final decision has been made.

The commission has until early September to make a final decision about what will be placed on the ballot, but several people said it appears unlikely the commission will reverse course on the issue. The commission met with staff attorneys behind closed doors Tuesday, and the panel is slated to hold a public meeting Monday to discuss a preliminary staff report that will be released at the end of this week.
From Metropolis

* Will Nonpartisan Elections Make for Less-Informed Voters?

As expected, the marquee issue on the ballot this fall will be term limits. Commissioners are still wrestling with how that proposal will be worded, several people said. The panel is also still looking at whether it's legally possible to prohibit the mayor and the council from changing term limits legislatively, as they did in the fall of 2008.

While the commission may place a few other issues on the ballot, they are not expected to be as high-profile or contentious as nonpartisan elections and term limits, several people said.

Lorna Goodman, the commission's executive director, declined to comment on whether commissioners, as of Wednesday, are leaning against placing nonpartisan elections on the ballot. But she insisted the commission has not permanently closed the door on any issue.

"All plans and proposals submitted to the commission continue to be energetically reviewed, including nonpartisan elections," she said. "The Commission looks forward to hearing from Citizens Union and the public on this and other issues at its upcoming public hearings."

Citizens Union, a good government group, had previously opposed nonpartisan elections but recently came out in support of the process. One commissioner, who supports nonpartisan elections, called the group's backing a possible "game changer."

Hope Cohen, a member of the commission, said she personally doesn't support placing nonpartisan elections on the ballot. "I don't think at this point we've had enough time to really get full input from the public on a change of [such] significance as that," she said.

"This commission wants to present things that are fully baked," she said. "It needs a little more baking."

Carlo Scissura, another commissioner, said the issue of nonpartisan elections is worthy of debate. "If it's not this commission, at some point there will be a charter commission that will truly work on an open primary, nonpartisan elections."

Rev. Joseph McShane, a commissioner and president of Fordham University, said the only issue that will "definitely" be on the ballot come November is term limits.

For Mr. Bloomberg, the commission's inclination to bypass nonpartisan elections this year marks yet another defeat in his long-term goal to alter the way New Yorkers elect their leaders.

Last month, with the strong backing of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California voters approved a ballot measure that replaced traditional primaries in state and Congressional elections with two rounds of voting. Under the new system in that state, all candidates would run in the first round and the top two vote-getters, no matter their party affiliation, would face each other in the second round.

In 2003, Mr. Bloomberg successfully persuaded a Charter Revision Commission to place nonpartisan elections on the ballot here in New York City. The mayor spent $7.48 million of his fortune attempting to convince the electorate to approve it, but the proposal failed, with 70% of voters opposing it.

Stu Loeser, a spokesman for the mayor, declined to comment.

Matt Wing, a spokesman for Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, a key opponent of nonpartisan elections, said, "Voters rejected non partisan elections in 2003 because they threaten the diversity of our City government and the fairness of our elections.

"We hope the commission recognizes that New Yorkers don't want a political system which hurts minority candidates," Mr. Wing said.

A May poll from Quinnipiac University showed voters oppose nonpartisan elections, 51% to 41%. Democrats and Republicans oppose the proposal, but independent voters support it by a 61% to 33% margin.

Write to Michael Howard Saul at Michael.Saul@wsj.com

Nonpartisan Elections Won't Make Ballot in New York City this Fall - WSJ.com.