Courts May Decide N.Y. Redistricting
With no resolution in sight to the ongoing redistricting wrangle in Albany and Congressional primaries fastapproaching, federal judges appointed on Monday, Feb. 27, an independent judge to help draw new boundary lines for Congressional districts across the Empire State.
The panel of judges appointed Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann to oversee the creation of a map that would divide New York into 27 Congressional districts, reflecting the loss of two Congressional seats as a result of reapportionment based on the results of the 2010 Census.
Though the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR) had announced a proposal to redraw state legislative districts in January, the joint legislative panel had not proposed any new Congressional maps. Federal judges made the decision to intervene regarding Congressional redistricting based on a lawsuit filed by voters against the LATFOR proposal, which they charged was unfairly drawn for political purposes.
Mann has until Mar. 12 to submit to the federal panel of judges a proposed Congressional district map for NewYork State. The New York Times reported on Tuesday, Feb. 27, that the panel indicated it would “be prepared to impose a new Congressional map by Mar. 20,” which is the date that begins the petitioning process for the Congressional primaries scheduled for June 26.
This morning (Thursday), a state court judge will also hear arguments regarding a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by State Senate Democrats seeking to block the creation of a 63rd State Senate District as proposed in the LATFOR plan. Republicans argue that the new district is needed based on mandates in the state constitution, while Democrats believe the seat’s creation would only benefit the Republican majority in the legislative body.
When LATFOR released in January maps for the proposed realignment of Assembly and State Senate districts across New York, it unleashed criticism from various good government groups and lawmakers who claimed that the plan served only to maintain or expand the respective majorities in the state legislature. The Assembly is controlled by Democrats, while Republicans currently have a 32-30 majority in the State Senate.
Members of LATFOR got an earful from angry voters at various public hearings regarding the plan, including a Feb. 9 hearing at Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens. As a result of the backlash, there were rumors that lawmakers were working on a new set of maps, but as of press time Wednesday afternoon, none were forthcoming.
The Assembly and State Senate were scheduled to vote on their respective maps this week, but those votes also were not held. If lawmakers and the governor cannot agree upon a redistricting plan soon, federal or state judges may intervene and complete the task for them.
“This is the direction we’re moving in because party politics is getting in the way of the people’s interest,” State Sen. Joseph Addabbo said in a phone interview with the Times Newsweekly on Tuesday morning. “Any lines drawn by the legislature have to be vetoed [by the governor] because it’s not in line with the independent panel that we signed the pledge for.”
Addabbo was referring to the pledge put forth in 2010 by New York Uprising, a government reform campaign led by former Mayor Ed Koch, in which Albany lawmakers and candidates for public office were asked to sign a pledge to support the creation of an independent redistricting committee.
“If we had done the independent panel, it would have been made up of average people,” the senator added, “and it would have been an open and fair process.” He concluded that “the window of opportunity is quickly evaporating to do the right thing by the people.”
