Reinvent Albany Statement Welcomes Mayor Mamdani Forming a Charter Revision Commission

We welcome Mayor Mamdani’s new Charter Revision Commission, the Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE). Despite the proliferation of charter commissions in recent years, New York City’s Charter is still full of obsolete boards, commissions, procedures, and requirements that no longer make sense. Mamdani’s commission is led by credible heavy hitters, accomplished civil servants, and veteran advocates. We believe it can deliver. 

There’s Time
This Commission is not starting from scratch and will have plenty of time to hear from the public. One benefit of having so many charter commissions in such a short period is that previous commissions have compiled and organized enormous amounts of research on potential Charter changes. Additionally, the staff experts from previous commissions are still living among us. They can – and are – helping this current Charter effort. 

Let the Voters Decide
We welcome the promise and peril of direct democracy and giving the public the chance to vote on major issues. Mayoral Charter Commissions and ballot campaigns have allowed New York City voters to break the political logjam on affordable housing, public campaign finance, ranked choice voting, term limits, and numerous other issues. 

Fair, Effective Government Not Possible Without Strong Internal Watchdogs
Mamdani won because voters wanted big changes and were tired of the epic corruption and malfeasance of his predecessor. We want to believe Mayor Mamdani and his Commission truly want to create a fair, efficient, effective NYC government. If they do, they must vastly strengthen the city’s internal anti-corruption watchdogs by giving them the ability to act without fear or favor, which requires that they are governed via independent appointments and funded via guaranteed budgets. Top of our list are the Department of Investigation and Conflict of Interest Board. The Campaign Finance Board and Independent Budget Office already have independent budgeting, but CFB would be even stronger with a truly independent board. Independent budgeting and protections against removal were recently studied by the City Council’s 2025 Charter Revision Commission, which drafted proposals for several oversight bodies.

NYC Government Services Degraded by Weak Accountability for Officials and Vendors
There is a direct connection between fair, effective government and clean government. In governments infected with pay-to-play and special interest politics, government agencies select vendors based on connections, not competence, and privileged special interests butt to the front of the line for permits. New York City’s politicized governance translates into a lack of accountability within agencies and agency vendors. Too often, bad actors get away with doing shoddy work and ripping off the public for years. We often wonder why New York City does not have a vendor transparency website where the public and agency officials could see which vendors have been flagged, or banned, for corruption and incompetence. (The federal government provides their list of “excluded vendors” on its contract website, SAM.) We finally figured out that New York City government is more concerned about potentially embarrassing well-connected vendors than ensuring the public gets the biggest bang for the buck and the job is done right. 

Strong Internal Watchdogs Are a Fantastic Investment
If DOI is as effective as similar internal watchdogs like the federal Inspector Generals, one dollar spent on DOI saves NYC at least $18 in tax dollars and makes it more likely agency decisions are based on public benefit. Likewise, a dollar spent on the NYC Comptroller, which is more akin to the General Accounting Office, results in $123 in savings.