Credit: Getty Images.
Who could have guessed New Yorkers would be given timely, competitive and fair new congressional election districts by our state Legislature, mandated every 10 years as our population shifts, without a state or federal court dictating those lines, directly or indirectly? I doubt anyone did.
We just broke at least a six-cycle, 60-year run of bitter partisan impasses requiring court interference. Although admittedly this is the second bite on the apple in this decade. The first time, two years ago, was a colossal embarrassment, with the court-ordered special master’s maps helping send what amounted to the Republican majority in the House that has been among the worst in American history.
That was on us, bluer-than-blue New York. I have a hunch some Democrat up the chain, about where Hakeem Jeffries sits, although that is strictly a guess, decided enough is enough. Too much is at stake here.
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After all, there are Democratic supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature, plus we have a Democratic governor. So why are we allowing ourselves to be tyrannized by the minority?
To reverse our fortunes, we needed a redo of the Court of Appeals decision that established the special master’s map that tilted the playing field Republican that we thought we were going to be stuck with until 2030. To that end, a bunch of stuff happened quickly and with little subtlety. A perfectly fine though conservative jurist was sacrificed so that the high court could be changed from somewhat conservative to moderately liberal. The state Senate had the constitutional power to confirm judges and governors to appoint them, and for once Democrats behaved the way Republicans do all the time, taking full advantage of every opportunity while making deft political moves in the process.
And before anyone raises a fuss that the independence of the judicial system was mucked with, it is well worth noting this is hardly the first time the makeup of the high court was played with by the executive and legislative branches for ulterior motives. In fact, the architect of the majority ruling that resulted in the special master’s Republican-tilted map was Janet DiFiore, rammed into place as the chief judge of the Court of Appeals by Andrew Cuomo during his wars with progressives. So much for the sanctity of the judicial nominating process.
As irony would have it, it was DiFiore’s resignation — with various clouds over her head — that created the opening for a more liberal majority. And it was her arrogant overreach of a decision sending the redistricting process to a special master rather than the constitutionally required Independent Redistricting Commission that laid the ground work for the reprieve we got.
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It was politically smart of the Democrats to play for modest advantage with the redrawn maps, when Republicans were fully expecting exactly what they would do if they were in the majority, an aggressive gerrymander. First off, Tom Suozzi’s victory last month strongly suggests that Democrats can be competitive in any district in the state if they put forth worthy candidates and pour resources and energy into the campaign. They dogged it two years ago. There should be consequence to the fact there are more enrolled Democrats in the state than independents and Republicans combined.
There is nothing like fear of humiliation to motivate good behavior. Democrats got burned two years ago by the courts and it cost them dearly. Even though they changed the court, better to go lightly down the gerrymander path rather than risk being handed back the special master’s maps to embrace for the next six years. No challenge by Republicans means that’s one hurdle behind us.
This year Democrats have a secret weapon that will make every race at every level competitive. The political gift that keeps on giving. Donald Trump. He is reviled in New York. After all, we know him best. Especially by women. Especially in the suburbs. Guess where a number of those Republican districts are in our state. And sure enough, the day after Super Tuesday, most of the Republican congressmen from New York pledged allegiance to Trump. Let’s see how that works out for them.
So, is the recently witnessed collegial,unchallenged redistricting lines signs of things to comes, or a one-off? Who knows. Certainly Democrats took a smart step to help themselves by shutting down judge-shopping, which is how in the past Republicans have gotten a leg up.
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Law professor Jeffrey Wice of NYU, a redistricting expert, says we now need to focus on what mistakes and mishaps of the past two years to avoid, and prepare for the future with another constitutional amendment that will make the Independent Redistricting Commission what it claims to be. Because it is clearly not independent. It is advisory. And it is destined to come to impasse over and over because of a flawed structure.
Enticing, and probably a great idea eventually. Redistricting, to be uniformly fair, ought to flow from a mandated national model, not states doing so piecemeal. Let’s see where our fortunes take us at the end of year. Plenty of time.
LeBrun: At last, a smart move from Democrats
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10.03.2024
Credit: Getty Images.
Who could have guessed New Yorkers would be given timely, competitive and fair new congressional election districts by our state Legislature, mandated every 10 years as our population shifts, without a state or federal court dictating those lines, directly or indirectly? I doubt anyone did.
We just broke at least a six-cycle, 60-year run of bitter partisan impasses requiring court interference. Although admittedly this is the second bite on the apple in this decade. The first time, two years ago, was a colossal embarrassment, with the court-ordered special master’s maps helping send what amounted to the Republican majority in the House that has been among the worst in American history.
That was on us, bluer-than-blue New York. I have a hunch some Democrat up the chain, about where Hakeem Jeffries sits, although that is strictly a guess, decided enough is enough. Too much is at stake here.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
After all, there are Democratic supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature, plus we have a Democratic governor. So why are we allowing ourselves to be tyrannized by the minority?
To reverse our fortunes, we needed a redo of the Court of Appeals decision that established the special master’s map that tilted the playing field........
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