Library to Host Program on New York Constitutional Convention

Tompkins County Public Library and the Tompkins County Bicentennial Commission will host, “A New York Constitutional Convention: What’s It All About?,” an informative presentation by Henrik N. Dullea, Wednesday, October 11 at 6 p.m. in the Thaler/Howell Programming Room.

At the general election in November, New York voters will be asked whether or not to authorize the convening of a constitutional convention.  This mandatory referendum is presented to voters every 20 years and is designed to ensure that residents have a periodic opportunity to change the structure of state government, determine the relationship between the state and its municipalities, identify key policies to be followed by the governor and legislature and reaffirm or revise their rights to be protected from governmental action.

Dullea, a former member of the leadership teams of governors Mario M. Cuomo and Hugh L. Carey, will discuss the history of constitutional conventions, how an April, 2019 convention would unfold--should it be approved by voters--and which subjects would likely be debated during these legislative deliberations.

The author of “Charter Revision in the Empire State: The Politics of New York’s 1967 Constitutional Convention,” Dullea retired from his post as vice president for university relations at Cornell University in 2003.  He previously served as director of State Operations and Policy Management for Cuomo and as assistant secretary for Education and the Arts for Carey.  He received his B.A. in government from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in political science from the Maxwell Graduate School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University and presently serves as a member of the State University of New York Board of Trustees.

This program is free and open to the public.  For more information, contact Carrie Wheeler-Carmenatty at cwheeler@tcpl.org or (607) 272-1548.