Council of Appointment

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The Council of Appointment was a New York government body from 1777 to 1822.

- Members: The Governor (president, but with only a casting vote) and four state senators (one from each district). Senators were elected by the State Assembly for one year and could not be re-elected for the next term.
- Power: It could appoint most state, county, and city officials for which no other method was provided in the Constitution. This included many offices such as State Comptroller, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Chancellor, Supreme Court justices, sheriffs, district attorneys, judges, clerks, mayors (including New York City), military officers, and more.
- Origins: It started because early New York leaders feared too much popular influence. The 1777 constitution was aristocratic, and the governor had a lot of patronage power.
- Early practice: Under Governor George Clinton, removals were rare; the Council mostly filled vacancies as they occurred.
- Later trouble: When Federalists and Democratic-Republicans alternated in power, it wasn’t clear who should nominate officials.
- 1777 rules: The governor had the “casting voice” and could act with the Council’s advice and consent. In practice, governors nominated, and the Council approved or rejected.
- Nominating power dispute: If the Assembly majority opposed the governor, they could arrange to outvote him by choosing several senators.
- John Jay’s view: He argued the Council could not propose appointees, only vote on the governor’s nominees, leading to deadlock.
- Change in 1801: The constitutional convention gave the right of nomination to the governor and to each Council member, leading to frequent fights for offices when the Assembly majority changed.
- Critics: Alexander Hamilton criticized the Council in Federalist No. 77.
- End of the Council: The 1821 constitutional convention abolished it; it ended in 1822 after more than 15,000 offices had been controlled by it.
- Aftermath: The 1821 constitution moved many appointments to the Legislature or to local elections. The governor kept only a few appointments and could make recess appointments.