Redrawing Assembly Lines

Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell Gains New Ground

By Carisa Keane

In an effort to ensure that citizens are appropriately represented by their elected officials, the Joint Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment released a rough draft of new state legislative district boundaries earlier this month.

The proposed plan would shrink Long Island's Assembly delegation from 22 to 21 seats, granting the remaining seat to New York City. Furthermore, the proposed lines adhere to the principals expressed in the Voting Rights Act and follow each decennial census of the state's population. A series of statewide hearings to gather public comment on the plan are expected in coming weeks, according to Task Force co-chairs Senator Dean Skelos and Assemblyman William Parment.

"By ensuring that every man and woman in this state have equal access to government representation, we are reinforcing our democratic process and preserving one of the fundamental values of this nation," Parment said. Concern for ensuring minority voting rights took precedence in the decision-making process.

The draft plan will essentially affect every assembly district on Long Island in one form or another, resulting in various shifts of power. Specifically, Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell, who currently covers Garden City, Carle Place, Garden City Park, Mineola, parts of Floral Park, Stewart Manor, the Willistons and New Hyde Park in the 17th Assembly District, will also cover areas in the Town of Oyster Bay, including the Brookvilles, Matinecock, Locust Valley, Oyster Bay, East Norwich, parts of Syosset and more.

"At this point, the 17th Assembly District is just about 90 percent the same," O'Connell said. "However the southern part of the district, which includes Uniondale, East Meadow, Merrick and North Merrick, will be eliminated. Instead of the district taking a sharp turn south it continues east and fans out to include areas in the Town of Oyster Bay, including places like Old Westbury, Locust Valley and Glen Head. I've gained a lot of geographic areas and have gained significantly in population - about 10,000 to 11,000 new residents. That's true across the board."

Moreover, the proposed plan could have Assemblyman Marc Herbst or Donna Ferrara, who currently represent the 14th and 15th Assembly Districts respectively and are up for re-election in November, covering East Garden City, which would be included in a newly reapportioned 15th Assembly District. The reapportionment would leave both Republicans living within the same district (Herbst lives in Hicksville, Ferrara lives in Westbury). As a result, both could not represent the same district.

"One district isn't turning into another district," Tom Dunham, press secretary for Task Force co-chair Senator Skelos, said. "It's almost like starting with a blank slate and drawing new lines."

Assemblywoman O'Connell made it clear during an interview last week that these newly released assembly lines are strictly proposals at this point in time and could change. "There will be public hearings on the lines, which will be voted on in the state legislature sometime in March or April," she said.

Both Parment and Skelos said they are virtually on schedule to meet the same redistricting timetable as in 1992 despite disruptions at the Task Force's lower Manhattan headquarters resulting from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

"I know from my experience that even small changes are very meaningful to communities so although I think of them as relatively small, the communities may think of them as significant. Of course that's part of the purpose of having public hearings on these proposals - to get their impression," Parment said.

"Just to give you some background, redistricting happens every 10 years and is required by the US Supreme Court's interpretation of the federal Constitution. It is really a response to the knowledge that the current districts are mal-apportioned if measured by the criteria of whether or not they have substantial equal numbers of residents residing within the current districts," he said.

"If there were no population changes we wouldn't have to do this. But the population changes are such that some districts have as few as 100,000 people and some have as many as 170,000 people so the US Supreme Court's requirement for equal representation - the so-called one-person one-vote standard - must be met following each census."

According to information found on the Task Force's website, www.latfor.state.ny.us, the 17th Assembly District's current population is approximately 117,031. Once the proposed plan goes into effect, the 17th Assembly District's population is expected to be 131,139.

Also known as delimitation and reapportionment, redistricting results from population changes that are weighed against political considerations to determine whether a political district's lines need to be dramatically altered, slightly adjusted or left alone.

The redistricting plan will determine how every citizen and community will be represented at the state and federal levels of government for the next 10 years. It will also determine whether New York's diverse communities will have sufficient political strength to elect candidates of their choice.

In a prepared statement, Skelos said, "The recrafting of district lines every 10 years is designed to ensure that citizens are appropriately represented by their elected officials. The process won't end here. We will continue to solicit the public's input on this proposal so as to reach and craft a final plan that meets all the legal requirements to best serve the people of this state."

One person-one vote, the idea behind the redistricting plan, should be observed so each district has approximately the same number of people in it. The US Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s clarified the constitutional intent to provide equity of representation for all Americans in both congressional and state legislative districts.

Dunham said he is hopeful that the redistricting plan will not be approved. Such changes, he said, will have a substantial effect on the Senate District as well. "From a local constituent point of you, [the change] would effect continuity," Dunham said. "When you have different representatives in different towns all of a sudden being grouped together you may not have anything in common anymore. Also, you have to factor that so many members have substantial seniority and that is an important outlet when it comes to getting things done."

He also said that redistricting does not occur within the Senate. "What we did is try to ensure that the existing core of our communities remain constant and stable," he said. "What we try to do is make only those changes that are necessary to reflect population shifts and that sort of thing. The assembly chooses to do what they want to do."

The state legislature and Governor George Pataki must approve the plan. In addition, the US Justice Department's Civil Rights Division must review and approve it for compliance with the Voting Rights Act. Since politicians must announce their candidacy by July, the vote is expected to take place in another month to six weeks.

Task Force Releases Hearing Dates

The New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment released the public hearing schedule on proposed Senate and Assembly district lines. Task Force co-chairs Assemblyman Parment and Senator Skelos will conduct seven statewide hearings to allow the public to comment on the proposal.

Those wishing to testify at a hearing should provide 10 written copies of their testimony to the Task Force at the hearing. Those wishing to submit testimony without appearing at a hearing can send written comments directly to the Task Force located at Suite 2100, 250 Broadway, New York, NY 10007. The telephone number is 212-618-1100.

Oral testimony will be limited to five minutes. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Task Force will attempt to honor individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. Please inform the Task Force as early as possible.

All Task Force facilities are available to those with disabilities. Accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such people access and admission. The following hearing schedule includes Long Island and the immediate metropolitan area and does not include those taking place in Buffalo and Rochester March 6 and 7.