My recent blog titled, The City Charter A Mystery Inside an Enigma — You Decide?, takes you on a journey through both the New Rochelle City Charter and the NYS Guidelines on Charter Revision. Minimally, the New Rochelle City Charter/Code should be required reading for all citizen especially members of our municipal government.
Yesterday Stephen Mayo placed Charter Revision on the top of his “to do” list for New Rochelle. To my knowledge his is only the second posting, besides my frequent mentions of its critical nature, I have seen even lightly cover this topic. The other is the excellent Brian Sussman, who has a diary in his head on what has happened here over the past four or five decades.
I support Stephen’s goal, but I should remind you that my questions have disclosed the following and you should judge for yourself what it means and represents to you and the City of New Rochelle.
1. We had a successful Charter revision during the 1990s that authorized City Council Districts and moved us away from the previous Councilman at large determinants. In essence, we have a STRONG council arrangement whose duties and responsibilities appear in my aforementioned blog.
2. We had one, maybe even two failed Referendums on changing our Charter over to a “STRONG” Mayor from the previous, still current, “CEREMONIAL” or “WEAK”
Mayor arrangement. Failed Referendum means simply you voted NO and chose to keep this the way it was and is.
3. This said, it appears as if the City has run for at least 20 or so years on a false premise, a weak council, strong mayor arrangement. Again, you can read my previous blog entry to refer to stated duties, roles and responsibilities.
4. Cesar Peraltes, the Secretary of State for New York State has published a set of revealing guidelines on how to amend a Charter. It will indicate to you what constitutes the four principle models of Charter Development for New York State.
5. When you review this, you will be able to make a firmer judgment on the question of Charter Commission for Revision or perhaps, Charter Commission for Recognition. I am not a lawyer and frankly, I am surprised that past or present Councilmembers who are, or for that matter, citizens who have Esq. after their name, have not raised questions on this matter.
5. I am even more surprised, perhaps disappointed that the strongest skeptics, revisionists, critics, even CAVE members, have not seen how this has shaped the political landscape and makes progressive democracy not work here.
6. Avalon, Echo Bay, MOUs, Armory, Abatements, Chickens, DPW Yards, Fevang, and all the rest began with this elemental fact… “we do not seem to be what our Charter/Code says we are.”
7. It began before Noam Bramson. It is almost like the Illuminati, the Mason High Court, The Knight Templars, Opus Dei, the…. well, you get it I think, a mystery truly within an enigma!
8. So, it does seem that we are governed currently and for years by a strong mayor, weak council, partnered by strong hirelings in the City Manager and other posts who, once done, gravititate to “gravitas” roles in Planning Commissions, Democratic Party hierarchies, IDA Committees and so forth. It is, to coin a phrase P.B. or Pre-Bramson.
9. Yet, he benefits by exercising the powerful aphrodiasic called power. But he is ENABLED. That is where the power lies…. the council elders, the money brokers, the retired graybeards.
10. Now we have the Jerome factor, the Ratner, there is Klugman, Korn…. maybe Dancer, Prancer, Donner and Blitzen. who knows?
You want change? You got to begin at the head, not the body. The question I pose is (and folks maybe I am wrong so I leave questions marks by my assertions) Do We Need a Charter Revision or enforce a Charter Recognition. If the latter, how is that done?
I chose to concentrate on the Council and continue to remind them that they are mandated by Charter and the voters via Referendum to act and serve as a Strong Council. They need to let the issues take them where they may, avoid the political pressure, and develop a mind-set of one term council men and women.
I have just finished reading Ms. Godfrey’s interview with Councilman Hydin and to quote, Thomas Wolfe, “he appears to have the right stuff.”
I have nothing more to say on this. I have done my job and in a few weeks I will look at an Enabler. Once I do, maybe one of you will pick up on another Enabler.
Warren Gross