Posts Tagged ‘NY1’
NY1 VIDEO: Inside City Hall’s Josh Robin leads a debate on the merits of the new congressional district maps released by a federal judge, between Executive Director of Common Cause New York; Susan Lerner, who supports the judge’s lines; Dick Dadey, the Executive Director of Citizen’s Union, who is fighting for a constitutional amendment for permanent redistricting reforms; and Brooklyn Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, who would be affected by the changes.
t was supposed to be a spirited primary for longtime Congressman Ed Towns, facing off against outspoken City Councilman Charles Barron and popular Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, both declared candidates.
But new proposed lines would draw Jeffries’ home out of the district, not to mention the entire State Assembly district he now represents.
With Albany’s leaders unable to agree on how to redraw New York’s Congressional districts, a federal judge in Brooklyn has taken charge of the process, holding a hearing Monday to listen to all interested parties, including those pushing for a majority Latino district in Upper Manhattan, Bronx and Queens.
“I had no doubt that after the judge would hear all the information she will be in our side to create a new Latino congressional seat in New York,” said City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez.
A federal judge in charge of drawing new Congressional districts released a proposed map Tuesday morning that could dramatically reshape New York’s political landscape.
Because of population changes around the country, New York is set to lose two members of Congress this year, going from 29 seats in the House of Representatives to 27.
Just how those districts would get redrawn and which members of Congress might get squeezed out in the process has been a matter of debate.
The federal court in Brooklyn is stepping in to help the state establish new congressional districts, less than four months before the congressional primaries are supposed to take place.
Primary voters are headed to the polls on June 26 to vote for candidates for Congress, but state leaders have not yet redrawn congressional districts as required by law. So today a three-judge panel in Downtown Brooklyn decided to do it for them.
Things got heated Thursday when members of the state’s redistricting task force, known as LATFOR, clashed with good government groups and activists at a public hearing.
“Destroying leadership of minority communities is an abhorrent thing, and you’re proud of it,” said Roman Hedges of LATFOR.
“You’re making your pointed partisan, mapping drawing allegation based on what you believe other organizations have said,” said State Senator Michael Nozzolio.
At issue were the task force’s proposal for new district lines.
The groups accuse the commission of playing politics.
“You have a legislature that has a very low approval rating. I don’t think it is because the voters are so enchanted by everybody,” said Susan Lerner of Common Cause New York.
They say the task force carved out districts to protect the Republican’s majority in the State Senate and the Democrats’ hold on the Assembly, pitting incumbents in races against one another.
After redrawing the state’s political map and getting slammed by critics last week, the legislative task force charged with redistricting held its first public meeting in Albany on Monday. NY1′s Zack Fink filed the following report.
The focus of Monday’s hearing were controversial new State Senate maps. Drawn by the Republican majority, they place six Democrats in Brooklyn and Queens into districts where they would to face primary challenges from fellow Democrats.
Critics say the process was completely co-opted by partisan politics, and they point to oddly-shaped district lines as evidence of gerrymandering.
Read More: http://www.ny1.com/content/155140/redistricting-taskforce-still-receives-plenty-of-albany-venom
Legislative maps have always had districts that look awkward or even funny. Some call the current configuration for the 51st state Senate district “Abraham Lincoln riding a vacuum cleaner.”
The proposed new 34th District is better described as “the flying bat.”
But good government groups are highly critical of the new maps, saying their source is raw partisanship, particularly in the Senate, where Republicans are hoping to preserve their narrow majority.
The redistricting task force, known by the acronym “LATFOR,” on Tuesday codified a law that was passed two years ago. For the upcoming elections, prisoners will be counted as residents of their home districts.
This affects 46,000 prisoners, two-thirds of whom are from New York City.
“I think it’s finally overdue. We all knew that these bodies, so to speak, persons that come from New York City, were being counted really in a very perverse way just to shore up the political fortunes of people in upstate communities,” said Juan Cartegena of Latino Justice.
New York’s Latino community is pushing for more political representation by drafting new proposals for Congressional redistricting. NY1’s Courtney Gross filed the following report.
Just like clothes, legislative districts, Latinos say, should fit the community.
“If you buy a good dress, you know from where, you know what designer to go with to fit your body. I think this is something that has the same type of scenario,” says Loreen Felis, an Inwood resident.
Hispanics, now 29 percent of the city’s population, are aiming for more sway in how new legislative district lines are drawn, a process that occurs every 10 years after the U.S. Census.
Several civil rights groups proposed a redistricting plan for New York Tuesday, saying their plan for new state assembly and state senate districts reflect the state’s changing demographics and protects the voting rights of Blacks, Latinos, and Asian-Americans.
They said the so-called “Unity Map” would increase the number of districts in which the minority was the majority.
NY1 VIDEO: Inside City Hall’s Errol Louis spoke with the executive director of Common Cause New York, Susan Lerner and Queens State Senator Michael Gianaris about their dueling plans to redistricting New York State.
See video here: http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/inside_city_hall/147628/ny1-online–redistricting-advocate-discussion-the-best-way-to-redraw-state-lines
A state task force comprised of mostly lawmakers is moving forward with drawing new legislative district lines, but good government groups and former Mayor Ed Koch are continuing to push for an independent commission to do it instead. NY1′s Courtney Gross filed the following report.
Former Mayor Ed Koch once again challenged the state’s redistricting process on Wednesday, at a Lower Manhattan meeting of the New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research (LATFOR), which is currently charged with redrawing legislative lines.
