Tenants PAC Supports the Call for Honest and Fair Reapportionment

NY State Senate and Assembly will redraw lines for their districts in the coming year.

Every ten years, New York State redraws legislative and congressional districts. This process is going on now, and public hearings are being held around the state. The process is controlled by the leaders of the majority party in the Senate and Assembly. Michael McKee, Treasurer of Tenants Pac recently testified before the legislative committee about the upcoming reapportionment:
There is an old saying: “The true business of Albany is incumbency protection.” But the preferences of incumbent legislators should be removed from this process. If there is to be any integrity in the new districts, they should ignore the residences of sitting legislators. The lines should be drawn in a rational, fair way, as if there were no incumbents and as if the districts were being established for the first time. We support the principles promoted by Common Cause and others.

• Districts must be contiguous and compact.
• Lines must respect municipal and county borders.
• Districts in cities should respect traditional neighborhoods.
• Communities of interest should be kept together, defined by racial, ethnic and socioeconomic data.
• Party registration and voting patterns should be eliminated from consideration.
• Districts should not vary from the average by more than one percent, unless a slightly higher variation is necessary to keep communities of interest together.
• The location of residences of incumbent legislators should not be considered.