City Hall, NY – Today, Speaker Adrienne Adams delivered testimony at the NYC Commission to Strengthen Local Democracy’s final hearing. The Commission was established by the City Council in December 2024 and is focused on improving city government and transparency, restoring public confidence in city government, and strengthening local democracy through a comprehensive review of the entire City Charter.

Below is Speaker Adams’ full testimony as submitted to the Commission:

Good evening. Thank you to Chairs Garrido and Rice, and to all the Commissioners for your service.

We are here because of our commitment to strengthening our democracy for progress. Our local democracy can determine how and whether we can achieve an equitable society, where the rights of all people are respected, and opportunity is widespread.

As Eleanor Roosevelt wrote: “Democracy requires both discipline and hard work. No one can give you the right to self-government. This you must earn for yourself by long discipline.” 

Accountability and transparency of government are core foundations of a functioning democracy. Yet, the undermining of democracy has become far too normalized, both here in New York City and across the country. Over the past several years, we have witnessed those with government power taking actions that undermine accountability, transparency, and trust. Democratic norms have increasingly been undermined by those responsible for upholding them. This weakens democracy and the power of the people who fuel it: all of us.

New York City should be a model for the nation, but instead, we have fallen far from it. There have been frontal assaults on checks-and-balances and the separation of powers, which have fueled abuses of power and the weaponization of executive overreach against democratic principles. 

When New Yorkers lose trust that public officials are representing the public interest, and those same officials exploit gaps to pursue their own personal interests at the public’s expense, New Yorkers’ collective faith is shaken. 

The last three-plus years have made clear that we must take affirmative steps to strengthen our city’s democracy. There is an urgent need to strengthen the mechanisms of government accountability and transparency, while closing the gaps that have been exploited, in order to protect and strengthen local democracy.

This Commission to Strengthen Local Democracy was formed because New Yorkers deserve better. This is not about any single individual, but our specific experiences must inform our actions. New Yorkers deserve a City Charter that ensures no one is above public accountability, and that safeguards exist to ensure city government always represents the people and is accountable to them. That is why I am here to testify today in support of this Commission’s proposals.

Strengthening Oversight, Transparency, and Accountability

Oversight and transparency are critical to holding our government accountable. Independent oversight agencies, such as the Conflicts of Interest Board, Department of Investigation (DOI), Civilian Complaint Review Board, Board of Correction, Equal Employment Practices Commission, and Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), play a critical role in holding our entire city government accountable to the public interest through their Charter-mandated responsibilities. They must have independently set budget levels that ensure adequate resources to fulfill their vital missions. 

Additionally, DOI’s role in investigating corruption and misconduct across city government requires its commissioner to be protected from political interference by the executive branch. I support the proposal for its commissioner to serve a five-year term and be further protected against unjustified removal for political reasons. The office’s role in contributing to criminal investigations of the current mayoral administration illustrated that there are current vulnerabilities for Charter revisions to address. The current requirement that CCHR consult with the mayor prior to investigating any city official or agency should be removed to prevent undue political interference that obstructs discrimination investigations of a mayoral administration.

Finally, the independence of the city’s Corporation Counsel, which serves as the top attorney for all city officials and agencies, should be bolstered. While improvements have recently been made by prior charter revision commissions in recognition of the special responsibilities of the Corporation Counsel, this commission can strengthen these protections by prohibiting their removal unless there is cause, with an exception during the first 90 days of a newly elected mayor’s term. 

I also support the additional recommendations for these oversight bodies, including adjusting the composition of the CCRB for increased operational efficiency. 

Establishing a Process for Mayoral Removal

Many of these proposals emerged from the need to protect against a mayor whose commitment to the public has been compromised, something the city and the governor were forced to consider earlier this year with the current mayor. While the previously outlined proposals are important safeguards needed to close loopholes that can be exploited, the fundamental gap that exists in our city charter is the lack of a process to consider the removal of our city’s mayor. Currently, the City Charter has no mechanism to consider such an action when the public has entirely lost confidence in a mayor’s commitment to the City’s public interest, and they are not incapacitated. For this reason, I support the proposal to establish a process for mayoral removal in cases of serious misconduct and loss of public trust, as trust is necessary to govern. .  This proposal sets an appropriately high bar for removal, ensuring the process is deliberative and democratic, leaving the ultimate decision up to voters after a supermajority of the Council has approved consideration and subsequently approved referring the decision to voters. In a moment when public trust in government is fragile, this reform provides New Yorkers with a responsible and transparent mechanism to protect the integrity of city leadership, discouraging mayors from acting in an unaccountable manner.  

Budget Transparency

The Commission’s proposals to increase budget transparency more broadly are all steps forward: ensuring units of appropriation are transparent, narrowing overly expansive impoundment powers, establishing stronger policies on the city’s budget reserves, and promoting more accurate revenue projections.

Advice and Consent

I am also pleased to see the Commission has reviewed the issue of advice and consent, which most city and state governments utilize to confirm executive appointments. This simple idea of establishing a confirmation process for Mayoral appointees is rooted in the foundation of our nation’s democracy. In New York City, which is out of step with local governments across the nation, the 2019 Charter Revision Commission introduced a proposal to subject the Corporation Counsel to advice and consent.  The voters approved that proposal, with 77.4% voting in favor. 

This basic democratic process protects the public’s interests against the abuse of power within our government. It is a well-established safeguard of democracy to ensure that the government prioritizes the public interest rather than those of individuals. It has long been used in many of the nation’s cities, as well as most state governments and the federal government, making New York City an outlier. Advice and consent can strengthen the city’s government and representative democracy by ensuring that appointments for agency commissioners are based on qualifications and the public’s interests, rather than on political loyalty or other motivations. I strongly support expanding advice and consent.

Fair Housing and Community Planning

Lastly, one of my proudest accomplishments as Speaker has been the passage of the Fair Housing Framework Law and the subsequent release of the Council’s Community Planning Framework. I am pleased to see this commission take the opportunity to propose a meaningful community planning process that is neither overly burdensome nor unusable. Utilizing the 5-year housing production targets developed by the Fair Housing Framework to direct neighborhood planning efforts in areas that are not meeting their housing production targets, while ensuring meaningful community engagement, is an important path towards a more affordable city.

I have been so proud of the work this Commission has done to engage the community and experts to bring forth these recommendations. I look forward to seeing the final report. Thank you. 

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