STATEMENT FROM NEW YORK CIVIC ON PROPOSED REDISTRICTING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

Here is the latest on the redistricting going on in NYS. I am sure the new congressional seat will continue to be a heated issue. So far many of our Bronx elected officials have not been happy with how Bronx residents are being chopped up into various gerrymandered districts. Some of our them have already called the lines drawn to date, the colonization of Bronx voters. Here is input from the New York Civic Association related to the proposed redistricting.

Gregory

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STATEMENT FROM NEW YORK CIVIC ON

PROPOSED REDISTRICTING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

The constitutional amendment drawn up in a secret backroom deal and released in the dead of night by the Legislature is a slap in the face to anyone serious about real redistricting reform in New York State. Far from being a step forward, it is, in truth, a deeply disturbing step back.

The so-called “independent commission” - which would be appointed entirely by the self-serving leaders of the Assembly and Senate - is nothing more than a cynical ploy by the Legislature to keep its total control over the redistricting process. Even worse, the amendment would undermine the hard-fought victory achieved by proponents of social justice to end prison gerrymandering in New York State, and codify preferential treatment for incumbents in our constitution, giving short shrift to communities of interest.

Last year, over 100 members of the Legislature – a majority of both houses – promised to Mayor Koch that they would finally end the shameful practice of gerrymandering in our state. They lied.

Now, the legislators in Albany are asking us to accept the same old gerrymandered lines for the next decade, in exchange for the passage of a deeply flawed constitutional amendment that won’t even take effect until 2022.

As if this weren’t insulting enough, there’s a catch.

Since an amendment to the constitution has to be passed in two successive sessions of the legislature, the real vote on this issue won’t even occur until next year, when all of the political pressure on our elected officials will have died down. So what’s the guarantee that this constitutional amendment will ever be passed? Once again, we’re being asked to take our legislators at their word.

We all know what that’s worth.

That’s why New York Civic today joins Mayor Koch in once again calling for Governor Cuomo to honor his pledge to veto the Legislature’s gerrymandered lines. This amendment is not representative of good government reform – on the contrary, it is demonstrative of cronyism as its worst.