Come November, voters will almost certainly be asked to decide if the process of mayoral succession should be shortened.

By law, the commission had to consider changes to the entire document, not just the rule governing mayoral succession.

It is possible that the controversy over mayoral succession takes the spotlight away from other proposals to be explored by the commission.

Instead the commission wisely agreed that on this year's ballot there would be only one small charter change, tidying up the timing for mayoral succession.

But yesterday, the commission's staff recommended against moving hastily to change the line of mayoral succession.

But any plan to revise the Charter on the topic of mayoral succession is likely to become a cumbersome, politically thorny matter.

At the bottom of their ballots on Tuesday, New York City voters will find a small, somewhat confusing question about mayoral succession.

It's hard to imagine how to change the mayoral succession without creating some quirky possibilities.

But obvious flaws in New York's present system of mayoral succession are going to have to be debated sooner or later.

He said he hoped that, among other things, it would study the issue of mayoral succession.