When you vote in this election, I hope that you will also approve Question 1 - Constitutional Convention. There is little doubt that under the current system we have, particularly with the overwhelmingly Democrat legislature, a small group of special interests controls government in Rhode Island. Held hostage by unions who pour money into the campaign chests of compliant democrats, and big-time campaign contributors and highly paid lobbyists (often ex-legislators who want to trade on their past ties on Smith Hill), the solons offer little resistance to the pork barrel legislation that comes before it.

Any attempt to reform that process via legislation goes down for the count. You have only to note the short shrift given to the legislation calling for the creation of the Office of Inspector General. This unit would be an independent oversight division aimed at preventing inefficient or unlawful operations. It would have the power, for example, to check on the so-called inspections that were done (or will be done in the future) of the Washington Bridge to insure that the inspections were actually and thoroughly done. In polls the public has overwhelmingly supported an Inspector General, only to see the legislators spurn any oversight of government. A Constitutional Convention whose members are voted to serve could call for creation of such an office to be voted on by the public.

Politicians also do the shoveling game for expenditures that are improvident. The Governor gets to duck responsibility for these bonanzas to special interests by claiming that he can only approve the whole budget not veto independent earmarks. Of course, a constitutional convention could establish a line item veto for approval (or not) by the voting public.

So whether it’s any of the aforesaid reforms or recall procedures for elected officials, changes to campaign finance disclosure laws for candidates and ballot measures, schools choice, ranked-choice voting or other measures, the public gets the last word by approving or disapproving any measures.

Of course, the special interests want you to vote against a constitutional convention, euphemistically called ConCon because it takes away their power and gives it to you. They raise straw issues to deter you from mitigating their power. Raising the specter that voters will vote to ban abortion they conveniently forget that such a proposal went nowhere in 1986 (failing by 2/3rds of the vote), the last time a Constitutional Convention was held in R.I. Rhode Islanders want common sense gun safety measures but never had an appetite to ban gun ownership so the scare tactics warnings are shibboleths.

A Constitutional Convention gives the opportunity to put in front of voters the tools to gain greater transparency for financial commitments. The school year has hardly started in Providence and already the Superintendent of Schools is claiming he needs multi-millions of dollars more. The state runs the school system and while the state fiscal year ends on June 30, is it too much to expect accurate projections of expenditures over the summer? Large-scale economic projects like Studio 38 and “PawSoccer” get approved by quasi-public agencies. Shouldn’t the voters have the last say? Such a provision could be put out to vote.

Let’s get the chance to checkmate the power of the present political structure and approve question 1.

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.