Click here to read the full article on the Rhode Island Current
by Christopher Shea
A constitutional convention is either a path to reform or a one-way ticket back to an era before civil liberties were enshrined into everyday life.
The debate over the question of whether the state should have one basically boils down to these two views, which have been aired before a bipartisan commission gathering input for a voter information guide ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Commissioners have two more meetings to go, including one Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the State House, but its two leaders already seem to know how they’ll vote come November.
Rep. Robert Craven, a North Kingstown Democrat who co-chairs the panel, told Rhode Island Current Tuesday that he thinks many positive outcomes are possible if voters approve the ballot question to hold a convention. Craven, an attorney, said he is still considering how he’ll vote on the measure come November, but acknowledged he disagreed with many of the arguments against holding a convention.
“Lawyers have a lot of interest in these kinds of things,” he said. “A constitutional convention really is a study in the constitution, which is the essence of American law.”
But Sen. Dawn Euer, a Newport Democrat who also co-chairs the commission, said in an interview Tuesday she is against holding a convention because well-funded special interest groups could seize the opportunity to try to influence what amendments are considered.
“When you have money flooding into the campaign, it really does have the potential of setting up confusion,” Euer said.
The cost of holding the last constitutional convention in 1986 was $891,000 — or roughly $2.6 million today when adjusted for inflation. At the time the cost of the convention included an allocation of more $250,000 from the General Assembly toward educating the public about proposed amendments on the November ballot.