Assemblyman Crouch seeks response on splitting New York State
CHENANGO COUNTY – Assemblyman Clifford Crouch (R-Bainbridge) is reaching out to taxpayers for feedback regarding controversial ideas in the state legislature that could someday split New York into two separate states.
Crouch released a public survey on a Facebook platform last week seeking comments about
Upstate and New York City/Long Island becoming two states. The question’s also posed in his 2017 end of session update newsletter.
The question has received a fair amount of pushback from both sides. In 2015, upstate groups favoring succession rallied in Bainbridge on a manifesto supportive of gun rights and hydraulic fracturing. At the core of their frustration was the NY Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act of 2013, and a ban on hydraulic fracturing in New York.
All things considered, the question of succession isn’t black and white, according to some Chenango County leaders. Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lawrence Wilcox said there’s good and bad on both sides, and that policy makers have to weigh options when it comes to succession.
“I can’t say I haven’t said it would be a good idea,” Wilcox said, citing differing opinions of policy between the two regions. “We in Upstate New York support a lot of things that are different from downstate; but I think that we need to look at how affluence is apportioned, too.”
Wilcox said the money of big downstate industries has a conclusive impact on the dealings of upstate, which he says is no different than any state with a large population disparity between rural and metropolitan regions.
In short, the idea of creating two separate states may never be more than that – an idea, he said.
“My personal feeling is that it never would fly, whether we think it ought to or not,” he added.
Assemblyman Crouch is additionally seeking feedback on another issue: the proposal for lawmakers to hold a 2017 constitutional convention. The question about a constitutional convention is also posted on the assemblyman’s Facebook page.
Crouch is asking residents of the 122nd Assembly District if lawmakers should proceed with the constitutional convention which would rewrite parts of the New York State Constitution.
Supporters of a constitutional convention say it could halt corruption and inefficiency in government while opponents argue that it would generate more corruption, potentially stripping away hallowed protections of the environment, labor and reproductive rights.
The ballot measure is dictated by a provision in the constitution saying every 20 years, voters must be asked if they want to revise it. In New York, the question is automatically put on the ballot in November.
The proposal is strongly opposed by many labor unions, including CSEA and the New York Union of Teachers, whose pensions are currently protected by the state constitution.
“It’s something that on the surface sounds like good idea, but it would take an awful lot of thinking and research to make it worthwhile,” said Wilcox. “We have to consider both what we have and then really do some thinking about how we want that to change rather than have a knee-jerk reaction.”
He added, “I think a constitutional convention might have some place in our society, but we have to make sure that the people who take part in it know what we have now before we start making changes.”
Residents of the 122nd Assembly District can comment on the two proposals by visiting Assemblyman Clifford Crouch’s Facebook page, bit.ly/QuestionsFromCliff
Crouch released a public survey on a Facebook platform last week seeking comments about
Upstate and New York City/Long Island becoming two states. The question’s also posed in his 2017 end of session update newsletter.
The question has received a fair amount of pushback from both sides. In 2015, upstate groups favoring succession rallied in Bainbridge on a manifesto supportive of gun rights and hydraulic fracturing. At the core of their frustration was the NY Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act of 2013, and a ban on hydraulic fracturing in New York.
All things considered, the question of succession isn’t black and white, according to some Chenango County leaders. Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lawrence Wilcox said there’s good and bad on both sides, and that policy makers have to weigh options when it comes to succession.
“I can’t say I haven’t said it would be a good idea,” Wilcox said, citing differing opinions of policy between the two regions. “We in Upstate New York support a lot of things that are different from downstate; but I think that we need to look at how affluence is apportioned, too.”
Wilcox said the money of big downstate industries has a conclusive impact on the dealings of upstate, which he says is no different than any state with a large population disparity between rural and metropolitan regions.
In short, the idea of creating two separate states may never be more than that – an idea, he said.
“My personal feeling is that it never would fly, whether we think it ought to or not,” he added.
Assemblyman Crouch is additionally seeking feedback on another issue: the proposal for lawmakers to hold a 2017 constitutional convention. The question about a constitutional convention is also posted on the assemblyman’s Facebook page.
Crouch is asking residents of the 122nd Assembly District if lawmakers should proceed with the constitutional convention which would rewrite parts of the New York State Constitution.
Supporters of a constitutional convention say it could halt corruption and inefficiency in government while opponents argue that it would generate more corruption, potentially stripping away hallowed protections of the environment, labor and reproductive rights.
The ballot measure is dictated by a provision in the constitution saying every 20 years, voters must be asked if they want to revise it. In New York, the question is automatically put on the ballot in November.
The proposal is strongly opposed by many labor unions, including CSEA and the New York Union of Teachers, whose pensions are currently protected by the state constitution.
“It’s something that on the surface sounds like good idea, but it would take an awful lot of thinking and research to make it worthwhile,” said Wilcox. “We have to consider both what we have and then really do some thinking about how we want that to change rather than have a knee-jerk reaction.”
He added, “I think a constitutional convention might have some place in our society, but we have to make sure that the people who take part in it know what we have now before we start making changes.”
Residents of the 122nd Assembly District can comment on the two proposals by visiting Assemblyman Clifford Crouch’s Facebook page, bit.ly/QuestionsFromCliff
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