Redistricting Battle

My story last week didn't make the paper's website, so I'm posting it here. 

Vigilance Called For In Redistricting Battle

Panelists at a forum on redistricting Tuesday night, Feb. 21, urged a largely Hispanic crowd in Elmhurst to call on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to veto the proposal as it currently stands.

            “The Governor made a campaign promise, if the lines weren’t suitable, he would veto the lines,” Kenneth D. Cohen, regional director of the NAACP NYC Metro Council, said. “If we allow what has been proposed to happen, you won’t be represented fairly.”

            The forum, held at the Make The Road New York offices at 92-10 Roosevelt Ave., was meant to be an educational tool on the redistricting process. It quickly became an indictment of the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment – LATFOR – the committee charged with redrawing district lines based on the 2010 Census.

            “The idea of independence really is nowhere near this process,” Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause, said. “The maps ought to reflect the communities, and not the self-interest of the legislature.”

            Using a PowerPoint presentation, Lerner showed the lines proposed by LATFOR and contrasted them with a proposal created by Common Cause, an advocacy organization that seeks to hold elected leaders accountable to the public interest. Lerner said her organization drew district lines based on communities of interest, using factors including race, religion, shared history and class structure.

            “What we did not look at was where the incumbents live,” she said.

            Lerner also called out LATFOR for not yet releasing proposals for new Congressional district lines. New York State will lose two districts because of population changes in the 2010 Census.

            “But we don’t know how they’re going to redraw the maps because they haven’t seen fit to tell us,” she said.

            The forum – which included a translator to accommodate English and Spanish speakers – stressed to the audience to continue to push for better district lines and a more fair process in the future.

            “It’s an ongoing battle,” Cohen said. “I know it’s a long process, but don’t give up. Stay in the fight.” 

Originally published in the Queens Tribune's Astoria/Jackson Heights/West Feb. 23-29, 2012 edition.