Senior Visiting Fellow
Gerald Benjamin is the associate vice president for regional engagement and director of The Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz. Dr. Benjamin also served as chair of the Department of Political Science and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He has written and commented extensively on state and local government and regional governance with a special emphasis on New York. He is also former director of NY State and Local Studies at the Rockefeller Institute.
Winning the Battle, Losing the War: How Sales Tax Renewal Thwarts Constitutional Home Rule
August 2, 2017
Article IX of the New York State constitution contains “home rule” provisions to provide local governments with powers and protections from the state legislature. Continue Reading...
New York IS a Referendum State — In Local Government
April 25, 2017
After receiving a consultant’s report that the town’s highway garage was unsafe and near collapse, the governing board of the northeastern Onondaga County town of Cicero voted earlier this year to replace it. The estimated cost was $9,894,353. Continue Reading...