Unfair Advantage

Times Union, The (Albany, NY)
April 22, 2006

Redistricting the key to bring real change to politically safe Albany

Think of it as the mother of all New York reform measures. Think of it as the seed from which better government will grow. Or, if you're not in the mood for metaphors, just think of it as the way to return the power of the vote to the voter.

"It" is removing state legislators' ability to preserve the political status quo by manipulating the size and shape of the districts whose voters send representatives to the Assembly and Senate.

It has long been recognized that the key to Republicans preserving their control of the Senate, and the Democrats of the Assembly, is the responsibility of those houses to redraw their own district boundaries after the census reveals population shifts every 10 years. The premise behind redistricting, of course, is to maintain equitable representation, to get as close to the one person, one vote ideal on which democracy rests.

What should come with that is maintaining districts where real, competitive elections can be held, where political enrollments are enough in balance so that challengers of either party have a fair shot at making a successful case against an incumbent.

And what should flow from that is a Capitol filled with energetic, attentive lawmakers, eagerly responding to their constituents' needs, outdoing each other in attempts to advance legislation and improve the functioning of government. Such activity should be necessary to pave the way to re-election.

That's not the way it has worked in New York for some time. Assembly Democrats and Senate Republicans, for the most part, coast to re-election because their parties have industriously spent their post-census time stacking the political-enrollment deck in district after district. Most legislators, if they choose, can safely remain inattentive to their jobs and the need for reform in campaign finance, ethics and other key areas.

What we hope will bring new attention to this old situation and new will to change it is "Unfair Advantage," a report issued Thursday by the state's cadre of hard-working good-government groups: New York Public Interest Research Group, Common Cause/NY, League of Women Voters/NYS and Citizens Union. It adds fresh evidence about the cause and extent of the problem and pushes for a solution in the form of a bill that is so far attracted only good intentions in Albany.

The culprit identified in the report is a weakness in state law that allows the population of legislative districts to vary by as much as 10 percent, unlike the requirement that congressional districts must stay virtually even in population. That has allowed the Senate to keep districts smaller in population in upstate New York, where more enrolled Republicans can be found; Senate districts in Democrat-rich New York City are drawn larger. That creates more Republican-advantaged districts - and Senate seats - and tamps down the number of Democratic-favored seats. For the Assembly, of course, it works in reverse.

"In effect, this practice allows legislators to choose their voters, rather than the other way around," the report concludes.

The recommended solution is a bill that would take redistricting out of self-interested legislators' hands and entrust it to an independent commission. The commission would be required to keep district populations within 1 percent of each other; to draw them as compactly as possible - no gerrymandering; and to maximize competitiveness. Legislators would approve the proposed districts or send them back for more work, but could not change the boundaries themselves. In case of a stand-off between the Legislature and the commission, the state's top court would decide.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, a Queens Democrat, was reintroduced this session after dying in committee in the last. It is once again in committee. Local co-sponsors are Democrats Sandra Galef of Ossining, Adam Bradley of White Plains, George Latimer of Rye and Amy Paulin of Scarsdale. There is no Senate equivalent, an ominous sign even if the legislation manages to advance in the Assembly.

There is little question that New York's electorate would like to see action on the issue. A Quinnipiac University poll taken in December found that 66 percent of state voters favored an independent commission. The result was statistically identical in a poll taken 18 months earlier.

The Legislature in recent months shook off, not enough, but some of its dysfunctional ways. It was public opinion, whipped up by convincing documentation from reformers such as we see in "Unfair Advantage," that made that happen. Legislators would have to hear very loud voices, indeed, to tackle this issue, so dear to their political lives. Add yours.

On the Web

To read "Unfair Advantage," visit the New York Public Interest Research Group's Web site, www.nypirg.org. Click on the listing for the redistricting report under "What's New?"

To read the bill recommended by the report, visit www.assembly.state.ny.us; enter "A6287" in the Quick Bill Search field.

Author: Staff
Section: Opinion
Page: 6B