Last year, when I took the New York Uprising reform pledge, I knew that I made a promise to you and all New Yorkers to support policy that will help rebuild our politics and government to be more ethical and effective. I take that promise seriously, and very recently, I was able to act on Governor Cuomo’s Redistricting Reform Act of 2011. With the redistricting deadline fast approaching, Cuomo’s bill is a good starting point to prepare our state to redraw district lines for state senators, assemblymen, and congressmen.
I supported the governor’s legislation knowing that it would be important to get the ball rolling on redistricting reform, but I think it’s too early for Albany to pat itself on the back. If the goal is fair, non-partisan redistricting, there are a few deficiencies in the governor’s bill over which my colleagues and I have concerns. I am joining Assembly Minority Leader Brian M. Kolb (R,I,C-Canandaigua) in sponsoring legislation that addresses these particular areas to ensure equitable redistricting.
As written, the reform act gives a considerable amount of power to the Executive Branch in the selection of the Independent Redistricting Nomination Committee. The nomination committee is the very first step in the redistricting process and will select representatives to the Redistricting Commission. The governor has given himself four appointees while giving only one to each of the four legislative leaders. This struck me as unusual. Our bill would evenly split appointments, two each, to all leaders in Albany, including the governor.
Cuomo’s Redistricting Reform Act could drastically impact Upstate New York by skewing census statistics by counting prisoners at their residential address, which would mean the siphoning of representation and resources to New York City. In my joint legislation, we address this alarming departure from state Constitutionally-sanctioned and federally accepted census norms that count prisoners as residents of their incarcerated facility. Why shouldn’t inmates be counted as residents of the community in which their correctional facility is located? Inmates at Hale Creek Treatment Facility in Johnstown use local resources and infrastructure, and it is only right to count them as residents of this region. It’s not only right, but it’s a state constitutional requirement.
As a hero of reform, I believe that I am called to continually analyze and improve upon our reforms. New York’s political dysfunction won’t transform overnight, let alone with one bill. I ask that my colleagues join us in revisiting redistricting reform and adopt our suggestions to ensure independent and partisan-free changes.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about redistricting or ethics issues, please don’t hesitate to contact me at either my Johnstown office at (518) 762-6486, or my Herkimer office at (315) 866-1632.