Gov. Kathy Hochul is already giving Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani a boost.
The governor just vetoed a bill that would have curtailed mayoral powers, leaving City Council members quietly fuming over the apparent gift to Mamdani before he takes office next month.
The legislation would have undone a quirk in which council-approved amendments to the city charter can effectively be “bumped” by the mayor.
“This veto is disappointing and leaves a major threat to democracy and good governance in place for New York City and local governments across the state,” a council spokesperson said in a statement.
“State law should not continue to enable mayors to abusively and undemocratically block ballot access for local lawmakers and voters to propose referenda.”
The council currently can propose that changes to the city charter — essentially the Big Apple constitution — be put to a vote by New Yorkers.
But the mayor has the power to “bump” the suggested amendments from the ballot by establishing a charter revision commission, as Mayor Eric Adams did this year.
The legislation vetoed by Hochul earlier this month would have revoked the mayor’s power to push the council’s proposed charter changes off the ballot.
“This change in the law doesn’t take away a mayor’s right to create a commission and put his or her own recommendations on the ballot. But it does allow the City Council and public the right to put their own questions on the ballot as well,” said state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan).
Krueger, who sponsored the bill, wondered if Mamdani had asked Hochul for the veto.
The incoming mayor has already found himself increasingly on opposing sides with city legislators since winning last month’s election.
Neither Mamdani nor Hochul commented Monday.
But Hochul wrote in her veto message that she worried the measure would only lead to confusion and wreak havoc on the charters of other cities across the state.
“Permitting multiple sets of proposals from various commissions to be placed on the ballot may give rise to conflicting proposals, voter confusion and the passage of inconsistent policies,” Hochul said.
Her office did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
The bill also would have also prevented the mayor from bumping off charter revision proposals that regular citizens petition to put on the ballot.
The legislation’s sponsor in the state Assembly also knocked Hochul’s veto as a clear embrace of the mayor’s power over the council.
“The actions of past mayors and undoubtedly future mayors have shown the necessity of ending the mayors power to bump other charter proposals off the ballot,” Assemblymember Tony Simone (D-Manhattan) wrote in a statement to The Post.
“I am disappointed by this veto and will continue working towards reform in the new year,” he said.
Both Simone and Krueger endorsed Mamdani in the general election.
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