Lest we forget, government works for the people it represents. When the people provide their government with a mandate to act on their behalf, public officials should listen; without showmanship, without tricks and without trying to impose their own will on that mandate.
So naturally, when New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly for a mandate demanding the state follow a fair, independent redistricting process…our government did the opposite, with all the chutzpah only a New Yorker could muster.
Anyone following New York’s redistricting process knows it is desperately behind schedule and hopelessly caught up in political squabbling. This should come as no surprise to New Yorkers, who by now are used to inadequacy from their government. But it is nonetheless disappointing.
Redistricting is an inherently political process, I understand that. It is hard to separate the politics from the process — especially for self-interested politicians. It’s why an independent redistricting process was needed. But so far that hasn’t been enough, which is why the Empire Center was among the many independent groups to develop maps for a state panel to consider in its deliberations.
Read the full op-ed in the New York Daily News.
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