Letters-to-the-Editor & Commentary

Is this good leadership?

Published 1 year ago1y ago • Bookmarks: 35

November 14, 2023

By Marty Dolan—

The “Independent” Redistricting Commission (IRC) has requested comments on its plan for Congressional Redistricting by November 15^th.

Well – the IRC’s old-school gerrymandering and insider games calls for a lot of comments.

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First, why is Plan A for Commission Chairman Ken Jenkins’ 2024 (IRC) calling for lower Westchester to be split into three separate Congressional districts?

The sound shore communities (e.g., New Rochelle) would be taken over the Throgs Neck by Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’14^th District;
White Plains, Scarsdale, and Greenburgh would be sent to Rockland over the Tappan Zee to Mike Lawler’s 17^th District; and,
The scraps of the 16^th District would be contorted into a bizarre hourglass shape to include Yonkers, Co-Op City’s 50,000 residents and up to the Putnam/Duchess border.
The proposed plan

A voter could walk through three Congressional Districts in about 5 minutes along Surrey Road in Eastchester.

Westchester leaders’ Plan A is for Westchester to become an ‘orphan’ county – its perspectives on immigration, crime, housing, and taxes lost in favor of others’ priorities.

This could be the third set of district lines in four years. Is this good leadership?

But there’s more —the disenfranchisement of Westchester’s Jewish voters. Their voices are entirely unaccounted for in the IRC database. Scarsdale, Greenburgh, White Plains, and New Rochelle won’t be in Bowman’s 16^th District; instead, they will be funneled into Mike Lawler’s District in the 17th or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s District in the 14^th.

Plan A is why Jamaal Bowman is indifferent to Westchester public opinion, particularly Jewish voters. He doesn’t think they matter – because they won’t. Bowman is laughing at the Jewish voters redistricted to CD-17 or CD-14 and unable to vote him out. Is this good leadership?

Plan A also sheds light on County Executive George Latimer’s waffling on his home turf. Unlike other candidates (me), Latimer has used excuse after excuse to duck the central issue. He’s stalling to see what the district lines look like.

When our rabbis have pleaded for clarity, Latimer has failed to explain that they could simply be exported to other districts (by his Deputy, by the way). Under Plan A he wouldn’t even reside in Bowman’s District. So he makes speeches and plans trips to Israel.

But where does the County Executive, our senior-most representative with a fiduciary duty to us, stand on Plan A, which has now been public for two years? Does George Latimer think having Queens, Rockland, and Mt Vernon/NYC representatives speaking for us makes sense? If Plan A is some interim plan, why create so much confusion? Where is his leadership on this critical issue, which shapes our power—after the 2030 census, which means 2032?

More importantly, does the IRC understand that it is supervising the single most important connection between voters and government for the 20 million people in New York State? New York is supposed to generate leaders, not confusion. The purpose of the 2014 legislation, which created the IRC and was ratified by voters, was to create an independent redistricting commission:

If so, why are 30,000 Democratic voters being relocated from the 16^thto the 17^th? Is it just to defeat Republican Mike Lawler? Voters are smart, but it’s no surprise that voters get disillusioned when treated like pawns.

How does the IRC explain that Ken Jenkins, seeking to succeed his boss George Latimer, is overseeing the redistricting of District 16? When the individual drawing lines can directlyinfluence his related promotion and that of his boss, even if with best intentions, it is hard for voters to see it as fair and impartial.

Does the IRC understand the negative impact of frequent changes in district lines on voter engagement? With district lines changing three times in years, and the possibility of endless litigation leading to primaries in June, July, or August, it becomes challenging for candidates to plan and prepare for elections. Doesn’t the public deserve to vote for candidates who have sufficient time and clarity to prepare?

Shouldn’t the Deputy County Executive temporarily recuse or permanently excuse himself from Redistricting in an area where he could see personal gain? Isn’t the goal to ensure great candidates, ample time, and public support for the outcome of elections? Wouldn’t that be good leadership?

The solutions are simple:

The IRC should “do no further harm” by doing….nothing. The 2022 district created by the Special Master should be left as it is – a coherent picture of lower Westchester, our Jewish communities together as they have been for decades. Let’s have a June—not an August—2024 primary. We can get the IRC right in time for the 2030 Census.
We need higher standards. IRC should be truly independent. Our elected leaders in Westchester, whatever their future interests may be, have a primary responsibility to speak for our current local interests in Westchester. They should be advocating for one lower Westchester district. Our representatives should not be self-districting.

We should have one and only one Congressional District in lower Westchester. My submission to the IRC will advocate for this.

Marty Dolan has declared his candidacy for New York’s 16^th Congressional District. His web site is: MartyDolanForCongress.com

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