Glens Falls Post Star: Assembly minority leader leads charge for constitutional convention

By MAURY THOMPSON thompson@poststar.com

QUEENSBURY — State Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb said he wants to channel the frustration of ordinary people to reform state government, where, in his words, change moves slower than “a pile of molasses.”

“Albany as a conglomerate — the institution — has really lost its way,” Kolb, R-Canandaigua, said at a forum at the West Glens Falls fire station in Queensbury, where he called for conducting a “People’s Convention” that would meet to recommend changes to the state Constitution.

The first step, Kolb said, is to convince the public that change is possible, which may be a formidable task considering the scepticism expressed at the Wednesday morning forum attended by nearly 100 people.

“I am cynical because of the way Albany runs,” said Dawn Sweet, an area resident.

Kolb repeatedly said he understands people’s frustration.

“So criticize us if you will. But remember we’re human beings too, and we’re trying to do something,” he said at one point.

He’s hoping his Irish wit, tactful dialogue and casual dress will build momentum for a reform movement.

“You ask great questions,” Kolb responded to a pointed question from Charis Cook of Hadley.

“I have a temper, too,” Cook shot back.

“I can’t believe you have a temper. You’re just passionate,” quipped Kolb, dressed in an open-collar shirt and navy blue golf fleece.

Every 20 years, Kolb said, there is an automatic public vote on whether to hold a constitutional convention, but the next scheduled referendum isn’t until 2017.

The Assembly Republican Conference has introduced legislation to hold an early referendum next year.

If the public vote in November, at the same time as the gubernatorial election, was successful, there would be a subsequent special election to select delegates.

Elected officials and registered lobbyists would have to resign their positions in order to be seated as delegates, under Kolb’s proposal.

The convention would meet anywhere from three months to a year, and prepare recommended constitutional changes to state government structure.

It would cost somewhere between $12 million and $20 million, Kolb said.

Topics may include reforms such as term limits for legislators, a property tax, a spending cap, or changing to a one-house Legislature instead of the current system with a Senate and Assembly, Kolb said.

The convention could also recommend changes to regulatory agencies, not just the Legislature, said Assemblyman Tony Jordan, R-Jackson, who co-hosted the forum along with Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, R-Willsboro.

Jordan said the nation’s forefathers that participated in the Boston Tea Party may have run afoul of regulatory agencies if they dumped tea into waterways today.

“If that were to happen today, DEC (state Department of Environmental Conservation) and APA (Adirondack Park Agency) would be all over those folks with sanctions and fines,” he said.

The system can’t simply be changed by voting out incumbents, Sayward said. The government structure itself must be changed, she said.

“You could change every single one of us right now and nothing would change because of the way the system works,” she said. Along with 33 Republican Assembly members, Kolb said, Assemblyman Mark Schroeder, D-Buffalo, has co-sponsored the legislation for an early referendum on a constitutional convention.

The biggest challenge, Kolb said, will be convincing Assembly Democratic leaders to allow the full Assembly to vote on the proposal.

“At least get the bill to the floor for a vote. That’s all we’re asking,” he said.

Expect to hear more on the topic in the coming months.

Jordan and Sayward said they plan to conduct similar forums around their respective districts.

Jordan said he is willing to travel outside the area to push the proposal.

“I will travel to the Bronx so they can understand this is not an upstate-downstate issue,” he said.

By the end of the two-hour forum, some were warming to the idea.

“I think it’s about time something like this happens,” said George Winters of Queensbury. “And I give them a lot of credit for trying to make this happen.”