Politics
Why There’s a Fierce Pushback Against 5 N.Y.C. Ballot Proposals
A broad coalition opposes the citywide questions placed on the ballot by Mayor Eric Adams’s charter revision commission, saying they weaken City Council power.
Amid the festive sounds and alluring scents of food drifting through the Latin Night Market in Upper Manhattan, Ana María Archila, co-director of the New York Working Families Party, was engaged on a different agenda.
With Election Day nearing, Ms. Archila made the rounds to urge people to vote — not for the left-leaning candidates on her ballot line but against five charter revision proposals for New York City.
The five ballot questions have become a central battleground in a power struggle between Mr. Adams and the City Council as the mayor and his inner circle face federal indictments and several investigations. And in that fight, Ms. Archila knows where she stands.
“The mayor cannot be trusted to remake the balance of power in the city because what he has done is surround himself with people who are suspected of misusing and abusing their power,” Ms. Archila said.
Allies of the City Council, including 60 civil rights and community groups such as the Working Families Party and 50 elected officials, have launched a broad effort aimed at defeating the five measures. Since forming the No Power Grab NYC coalition a little over a month ago, the group has conducted dozens of rallies, text banks and voter outreach efforts.
In Jackson Heights, Queens, the coalition spoke to voters at a green market. There were canvassers at the Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade earlier this month and at watch parties for the New York Mets and Liberty in Fort Greene and Williamsburg in Brooklyn.
