Wednesday, 15 February 2012, 3:01 pm

TESTIMONY OF RICHARD GILBERT, MEMBER OF COMMON CAUSE/NY (ROCHESTER)

TESTIMONY FOR THE LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON REDISTRICTING Richard S. Gilbert – 70 Harper Street – Rochester, NY 14607-3142 Monroe County Office Building – Rochester, NY February 15, 2012 I’m the Rev. Richard Gilbert, a retired Unitarian Universalist minister, and live at 70 Harper Street in Rochester. I have lived and worked in the city [...]

Wednesday, 15 February 2012, 3:00 pm

TESTIMONY OF JOHN KEEVERT, MEMBER OF COMMON CAUSE/NY (ROCHESTER)

TESTIMONY OF JOHN KEEVERT, MEMBER OF COMMON CAUSE/NY BEFORE LATFOR, FEBRUARY 15, 2012, ROCHESTER, NY My name is John Keevert. I am a resident of Rochester and a member of Common Cause/NY. I am testifying on behalf of the almost 20,000 Common Cause/NY members. Common Cause, in New York and around the country, is a [...]

Tuesday, 14 February 2012, 3:00 pm

TESTIMONY OF DONALD GOULET, MEMBER OF COMMON CAUSE/NY (SYRACUSE)

TESTIMONY OF DONALD GOULET, MEMBER OF COMMON CAUSE/NY BEFORE LATFOR, FEBRUARY 13, 2012, SYRACUSE, NY Good morning, my name is Donald Goulet and I am a member of Common Cause. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I want to take the opportunity presented by this hearing to compare and contrast the LATFOR State Legislature [...]

Thursday, 9 February 2012, 11:00 am

TESTIMONY OF BRIAN PAUL, RESEARCH AND POLICY COORDINATOR OF COMMON CAUSE/NY (LONG ISLAND)

TESTIMONY OF BRIAN PAUL, RESEARCH AND POLICY COORDINATOR OF COMMON CAUSE/NY BEFORE LATFOR, FEBRUARY 9, 2012, SMITHTOWN, NY My name is Brian Paul and I am the Research and Policy Coordinator at Common Cause NY. Thank you for the opportunity to testify here in Long Island today. When we at Common Cause decided to draw [...]

Tuesday, 7 February 2012, 3:00 pm

TESTIMONY OF SAM MASSOL, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COMMON CAUSE/NY (QUEENS)

TESTIMONY OF SAM MASSOL, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COMMON CAUSE/NY BEFORE LATFOR, FEBRUARY 7, 2012, QUEENS, NY My name is Sam Massol and I am the Associate Director of Common Cause/NY. Thank you for the opportunity to testify here in Queens. At each LATFOR hearing thus far, Common Cause has provided testimony comparing the LATFOR Drafts [...]

Thursday, 2 February 2012, 3:00 pm

TESTIMONY OF SUSAN RUBINSTEIN,BOARD CHAIR OF COMMON CAUSE/NY (MANHATTAN)

TESTIMONY OF SUSAN RUBINSTEIN,BOARD CHAIR OF COMMON CAUSE/NY BEFORE LATFOR, FEBRUARY 2, 2012, MANHATTAN, NY My name is Susan Rubinstein.  I currently serve as Board Chair of Common Cause New York.  Thank you for the opportunity to testify today about an issue that affects two principles on which our representative democracy is based: first, the [...]

Wednesday, 1 February 2012, 3:00 pm

TESTIMONY OF ELEANOR MORETTA, BOARD MEMBER OF COMMON CAUSE/NY (BROOKLYN)

TESTIMONY OF ELEANOR MORETTA, BOARD MEMBER OF COMMON CAUSE/NY BEFORE LATFOR, FEBRUARY 1, 2012, BROOKLYN, NY My name is Eleanor Moretta and I’m a board member of Common Cause NY. Thank you for allowing me to testify. I am a long-time resident of Brooklyn and have been an activist in my community for many years. [...]

Tuesday, 31 January 2012, 3:00 pm

TESTIMONY OF SEAN COFFEY, BOARD MEMBER OF COMMON CAUSE/NY AND CHAIR OF CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE (BRONX)

TESTIMONY OF SEAN COFFEY, BOARD MEMBER OF COMMON CAUSE/NY AND CHAIR OF CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE BEFORE LATFOR, JANUARY 31, 2012, BRONX, NY My name is Sean Coffey. I currently serve as a member of the board of Common Cause New York. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today about a matter that goes to [...]

Monday, 30 January 2012, 3:00 pm

TESTIMONY OF SUSAN LERNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMON CAUSE/NY (ALBANY)

TESTIMONY OF SUSAN LERNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMON CAUSE/NY BEFORE LATFOR, ALBANY, January 30, 2012 Thank you for allowing me to testify. I am Susan Lerner, the Executive Director of Common Cause/New York, a nonpartisan nonprofit advocacy organization. As an organization whose core mission is to help advance policies that allow citizens to make their [...]

Friday, 27 January 2012, 1:00 pm

Common Cause Analyzes LATFOR Maps

Numerical analysis of three criteria: minority districts, population deviation, and county divisions A day after LATFOR released the official electoral maps for New York State, Common Cause/NY offered up a numerical analysis of how the lines stack up against its alternative reform map. Measured against three criteria, LATFOR’s maps egregiously disadvantage minority communities, abuse the [...]

Thursday, 26 January 2012, 8:00 pm

Common Cause Initial Reaction to LATFOR Maps

Common Cause Initial Reaction to LATFOR Maps Detailed analysis pending, due to short notice NEW YORK, NY (01/26/2012)– Common Cause/NY Executive Director Susan Lerner released the following preliminary reactions to the redistricting maps released today by LATFOR. However, since LATFOR released the maps so late in the day a more thorough analysis is pending. “Overall, [...]

Friday, 20 January 2012, 8:47 pm

COMMON CAUSE NY 63 DISTRICT STATE SENATE PLAN

After weeks of speculation about a 63rd State Senate District, Common Cause/NY has drawn a 63 district reform plan. As a preface to this plan, Common Cause NY reiterates our opposition to the addition of a 63rd Senate seat. In our view, the State Constitutional formula clearly calls for 62 districts. But considering that public [...]

Monday, 9 January 2012, 10:21 pm

20,000 views and counting!

Map making is hard work, but our efforts are paying off. Since we launched our reform redistricting maps three weeks ago, New Yorkers have taken the opportunity to view what an alternative vision of our political landscape might look like over 20,000 times. And as the Daily News put it in an editorial today: “…it [...]

Friday, 23 December 2011, 9:40 pm

Instructions for Drawing Maps on U Map NY

These are detailed, step by step instructions on how to use U Map NY to draw your own district maps. UMapNY is the product of a collaboration between Common Cause New York and Newsday. You can access UMapNY either through Common Cause New York’s redistricting site, “www.citizenredistrictny.org” or through Newsday’s website at www.newsday.com/umapny. The Common [...]

Tuesday, 1 November 2011, 8:38 pm

NORTH COUNTRY REDISTRICTING COMMENTARY

This week, New York’s Legislative Task Force on Redistricting and Reapportionment (LATFOR) is holding its final public hearing before draft plans are released. The venue is Plattsburgh on the shores of Lake Champlain in the state’s “North Country.” This hearing was added to the schedule at a late date after some members of LATFOR correctly [...]

Tuesday, 4 October 2011, 9:00 pm

NASSAU REDISTRICTING COMMENTARY

With more than 1.3 million residents packed into an area roughly 15 miles from east to west and 20 miles from north to south, Nassau County is one of the densest suburbs in the United States. Before the New York City consolidation of 1898 and the creation of the five boroughs, what is now Nassau [...]

Tuesday, 4 October 2011, 12:00 pm

SUFFOLK REDISTRICTING COMMENTARY

Covering more than three quarters of Long Island and measuring more than 90 miles from the tip of Montauk to the border with Nassau, Suffolk is one of the largest counties in New York State. With almost 1.5 million residents, it is also the state’s most populous county outside New York City. LATFOR’s Suffolk County [...]

Wednesday, 21 September 2011, 6:56 pm

Testimony of Michael McKee at the LATFOR hearing in Manhattan

New York State Legislative Task Force On Demographic Research and Reapportionment September 21, 2011 Testimony of Michael McKee, Treasurer, Tenants Political Action Committee Historically, the process by which New York State redraws legislative and congressional districts every ten years is a prime reason why the public is more and more cynical about the State Legislature. [...]

Wednesday, 21 September 2011, 2:00 pm

MANHATTAN REDISTRICTING COMMENTARY

On Wednesday September 21st, LATFOR’s redistricting roadshow will arrive at 250 Broadway across the street from City Hall Park in downtown Manhattan. While Manhattan is the political and economic center of New York City, it is actually only the third most populous borough behind Brooklyn and Queens, with a population of roughly 1.58 million. Although [...]

Monday, 19 September 2011, 12:00 pm

BROOKLYN REDISTRICTING COMMENTARY

With a population of over 2.5 million, Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City’s five boroughs. More than 1 in 8 residents of New York State live in Brooklyn and if taken alone, the borough would be the fourth largest city in the United States. Like Queens, Brooklyn is a complex quilt of [...]