Patch Blogger: The Political Impact of the Census on Redistricting

Political storm clouds are hovering around the process of redistricting both statewide – especially in regard to the State Senate and Congress and locally here on Long Island  – in terms of the egregious overreach by the Nassau County Legislature.  The real question becomes will the process of redistricting be done with the people’s interests or the politicians’ in the forefront? Or more simply, will the voters get to pick their politicians or the politicians get to pick their voters?

Redistricting takes place every ten years after the Census is completed to address population shifts. It was our founders’ way of making sure a bedrock principle of democracy – equal representation in government – was constitutionally protected. Besides addressing issues of population changes, and ensuring compliance with federal law, other goals that should be set are crafting legislative or congressional districts that are contiguous and that municipalities fall within one single legislative or congressional district rather than divided among many.  

However, these principles are often ignored, and  the usual focus in redrawing legislative and congressional districts is ensuring incumbent protection.  This is because in New York incumbents are in charge of redrawing their own districts.  However, at least seven states have removed the legislature from this role and created independent redistricting commissions.   If the concept of an independent redistricting commission rings vaguely familiar it is because it was a 2010 campaign promise that all nine Long Island state senators promised when running for office but disregarded once elected. Why? Because they would prefer to have a preordained election outcome that they can control by reducing truly contested elections to a minimum.                        

This year, New York legislators have a historic opportunity to transform and invigorate our democracy.  Several proposals put forth in Albany, including by one of its biggest champions Governor Cuomo, would form a non-partisan redistricting commission.  The essence of the reform is to create a process for drawing legislative districts according to geographic contiguity and common sense in regard to community boundaries, rather than with hidden partisan and pro incumbent agendas.  This reform would put the public first, without obsessing about preserving one party or another’s political power.  More competitive elections would be a refreshing by-product of this process.

In fact, a reform group called NY Uprising spearheaded by former NYC Mayor Ed Koch, won signed pledges from almost all State Senators and most Assemblymembers, to vote for non-partisan redistricting this year, including all presently elected Long Island Senators. This action prompted Mayor Koch to herald the candidates as Champions of Reform where the candidates then touted this new title to the electorate via press release, press conferences, and their own campaign websites and social media pages. Not surprisingly, post-election, all of Long Island State Senators reneged on their pledges for non-partisan redistricting in 2012. They are instead insisting that the reform not occur, unless it is done via a constitutional amendment, which cannot take effect any earlier than 2022. Apparently after the election they no longer felt they needed voters or editorials boards heralding them as Champions of Reform.  They are now dubbed Enemies of Reform by Mayor Koch.

The current system of self-serving gerrymandering all too often leaves legislators beholden for their re-election to their legislative leaders, whose hands hold the redistricting pen and the lobbyists who fill the leaders coffers, rather than observing the will and interests of the voters who elected them.

The dysfunction in Albany is a direct outcome of legislators being subservient to these political elites, rather than acting as independent public servants rooted in their communities.  On issue after issue such as job creation, property tax caps, marriage equality, economic development, SUNY tuition differentials and mandate relief, a public consensus exists to enact these laws via recent public opinion polls, but they are systematically tossed aside as too controversial. So rather than the state legislature utilizing their time in truly fighting for changes and laws that voters want, they focus on maintaining their political fiefdoms, thus almost guaranteeing their re-election regardless of their failure to act as the electorate wishes.

Reapportionment shouldn’t be about protecting political fiefdoms.  It should be about making our government responsible, accessible, fair and effective for the people of the state of New York.  Our problems are far too serious for anything else.

I expect the Governor to stay true to his reform beliefs opposing partisan gerrymandering and for incumbent legislators to remain resistant to truly reforming reapportionment. If this remains true, I hope Governor Cuomo has his veto pen ready to remind our state legislators that they were elected to enact reform now, not a decade down the road.