After successful efforts to downsize several town boards in Erie County, attorney Kevin P. Gaughan is setting his sights on what he considers the most bloated government of all -- the New York State Legislature.

But this project involves far more than a local petition drive. The veteran political activist acknowledges that his plan to reduce the size of the Assembly and the Senate means overcoming New York's traditional aversion to government by referendum. And at least one expert says the idea also requires an amendment to the State Constitution.

But Gaughan says his encounters with ordinary citizens in Western New York convince him that the political will to reduce the size of government is alive and well and that politicians must react or face the wrath of voters.

"If this comes with a strong demand that this take place, nothing will stop this," Gaughan said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon in the Liberty Building downtown.

He has gone so far as to draft language for bills that would reduce the size of the Assembly from 150 to 125 members and the Senate from 62 to 50. Besides saving the state about $37 million a year, he said, the move would reflect the same sentiment that so far has resulted in 11 referendums to combine or dissolve government entities in Western New York.

Gaughan said that he wants the November elections to be centered on government downsizing and that he has dispatched questionnaires to all potential candidates for the State Legislature. He asks them if they are for or against the idea, and will post their responses on his organization's Web site, www.letpeopledecide.org.

"I think they'll think twice about opposing it," he said.

The Hamburg attorney points to success in reducing town governments across Western New York as a result of petitions for downsizing votes. Gaughan said he visited more than 20,000 local homes carrying petitions for the measures and heard voters overwhelmingly support the idea.

But a similar effort statewide faces significant obstacles.

Peter J. Galie, political science professor at Canisius College and an expert on the State Constitution, said Gaughan will encounter constitutional problems in trying to change the Assembly's membership.

"He can't do anything about the Assembly [without a constitutional amendment]," Galie said. "The Constitution says, 'It shall be 150.' "

The Senate has provisions to add to its membership and, in fact, has increased from 50 to 62 over the years, Galie said. But while it has no provision in statute to decrease its membership, Galie acknowledged that -- theoretically -- anything is possible on that score.

Still, he envisions major practical and legal problems for Gaughan's plan to achieve downsizing by referendum. While various scenarios could skew his view, Galie said, he believes that a constitutional amendment would be necessary for a referendum to take hold, requiring the approval of two successive State Legislatures and a general election vote.

But he also points out that during constitutional conventions in the 19th and 20th centuries, the concept of referendum has never succeeded.

"It has never had any legs," Galie said, explaining that Middle Atlantic states such as New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have always resisted referendums, in contrast to the earlier state governments established in New England.

Gaughan does not dispute that significant constitutional and political hurdles lie in his path. He favors the referendum route, he said, because it would force politicians to pay attention to what he calls the will of the people.

"It's time to address it and time to bring New York State into the modern age of referendum," he said, adding that even constitutional amendments can be accomplished if the political will exists.

rmccarthy@buffnews.comnull