Gov. Hochul and the Legislature are correct that New York’s law governing special elections needs change, but they are pushing the wrong change. And they may jam it through as early as today, in an abuse of the state Constitution’s “message of necessity,” bypassing the normal three-day airing of bills which is meant for emergency situations.
There is no emergency and nothing that can’t wait a few days. And the change related to the calendar that they are eying does nothing to reform the major problem with special elections to fill vacancies in the Legislature and the U.S. House: the appalling lack of any voter input as to who the candidates are.
The way that specials work is that the local bosses of the Democratic Party and the local bosses of the Republican Party handpick their nominees and then voters only decide between those two choices. Far better is to have a primary first, as is done in other states, or conduct a nonpartisan special election where all contenders run against each, as is done for City Council and other local NYC offices.
The stated claim for the pending legislation is to give the governor more flexibility to schedule specials to coincide with regularly planned elections, saving money. But it always was that way before the Legislature imposed a ridiculously tight calendar on the governor in the waning hours of the tenure of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Taking advantage of his weakened political situation, they passed a bill handcuffing the governor on the special timetable and Cuomo signed it on Aug. 2, 2021. He announced his resignation a week later.
Having been tapped by President Trump, very soon Rep. Elise Stefanik will step away from her upstate congressional district and make a fine ambassador to the United Nations, taking on the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, North Koreans and various other dictators and tyrants on the East Side. Her nomination cleared the Senate Foreign Relations committee last week and soon enough she will be confirmed by the full Senate. When she does, her heavily Republican constituency will open up.
Depending on the date of Stefanik’s departure, Hochul will be compelled to set a special within a narrow timeframe. The proposed bill would give her more leeway, allowing for a special on June 24, when the statewide primary is held. That also keeps the seat empty a bit longer, frustrating Speaker Mike Johnson’s House GOP in D.C., which has such a narrow majority.
And there’s another special likely coming up. Brooklyn Councilman Kalman Yeger was elected to the Assembly last November and resigned his Council seat. There is a nonpartisan special for that on March 25 and the probable winner will be state Sen. Simcha Felder over the horrible Heshy Tischler, a repeat jail bird. That opens Felder’s Senate seat for a special in an area where a Republican might actually win, which clearly is another factor in the minds of the Democratic leaders of the Legislature, so having the special on Primary Day may boost their chances.
Of course, the best fix isn’t about timing, but letting voters have a say. Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal has a bill for primaries, but it never gets any traction. Florida has two empty congressional seats. They’ve already held primaries and the specials will be on April 1. New York should do the same.
