Today I became a co-sponsor of a bill that calls for the independent, non-partisan reapportionment of congressional and state legislative districts, a process many say has too long been dominated by politics at the expense of fair voter representation.
The bill (
A.5279) creates a citizen reapportionment commission to replace the state legislature's own redistricting task force. The commission would hold public hearings and be held to a set of standards with regard to shape, size and political composition of districts.
My support of this bill dovetails with my recent signing of the "
Pledge for Change New York", created by the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) and Citizens for Better Government in New York (CBGNY). The pledge explicitly urges a new approach to redistricting, among other reforms, as a means of restoring citizens' trust in state government.
Of all the crises facing New York, loss of public faith is perhaps the most damaging. When our reapportionment process is seen as nothing more than incumbent protection, that faith is further undermined. As the language of the bill states, voters should select their representatives, not the other way around.
I am pleased to take part in this effort to fundamentally reform the nature of New York state government.
After each US Census, congressional and state legislative districts are redrawn according to new demographic data and on the basis of guidelines meant to protect communities of interest and minority populations.
When drawn by the same elected officials who campaign for office within them, critics contend, there is a strong likelihood that boundaries will be set in order to exclude or minimize the strength of potential opponents and their supporters. It is a process that has been controversial in US governance since the Republic's inception. In 1812, a district in Massachusetts was so clearly compromised that politicization of districting has since been called "gerrymandering," after Elbridge Gerry, the governor who approved it.
With this bill we put the power of reapportionment where it belongs, with the voters who send representatives to Congress and the State Legislature. I would hope that every member on both sides of the aisle see the wisdom in this approach and join us.
