APRIL 13, 2012

Editorial

Divided we lose

On March 30, we reported on the congressional redistricting plan drawn by a judge after the state legislators fell down on the job. We had hoped that the judge, working out of earshot of parties clamoring for advantage, would come up with a sensible congressional map. But our hopes were dashed when we got a gander at the new District 16 that includes most — but not quite all — of Scarsdale.

The new district, currently represented by Democrat Eliot Engel, is relatively compact, without the meandering zigs and zags that are the hallmark of gerrymandering; it is now all within Westchester County rather than crossing the Hudson to take a bite out of Rockland. But why, oh why, did the judge shave off tiny portions of Scarsdale’s northwestern border and glom them onto District 17, Nita Lowey’s new territory? The only answer we were given when we asked the county Board of Elections was that the districts must have roughly the same populations. That principle does not justify breaking up a small politically discrete village to create a negligible gain in population for District 17 to the north.

The main objection we have to the congressional division is the difficulty of creating new election districts, which determine where people vote, for village residents who live along the northern border. Confusion about polling places and the identity of one’s representative are not conducive to voter participation. It also poses challenges for the representative who wants to be responsive to constituents.

Instead of being concentrated in one area, the new election district (s) will have to extend up Fenimore Road along one side of Walworth, to River Road, over to Farley, in a short way from Post, onto Dickel and Fairview, up Cushman around Willow and down Sheldrake. Voters must vote in the same election district in every election, whether or not it’s a congressional year.

Asked for her take on the new maps, village clerk Donna Conkling said she had not been able to get any information from the county Board of Elections, which must redraw the election districts. She was only told that the new districts would not go into effect until after the presidential primary scheduled for Tuesday, April 24. But she has not received any notice about the primary, or any requests to open polling places. As far as she knows, no notices have been sent to registered Republicans. Another primary, for Congress and/or state offices, is slated for June.

We may question the wisdom of the judge who created the new congressional districts and complain about the fact that we have no recourse — there were no hearings on the proposed lines, as there were for the new state districts. But make no mistake about who is at fault: the state legislators who were too busy gerrymandering their own districts to fulfill their responsibility to redraw the lines for Congress.

Once again, the needs of constituents took a back seat to the re-election ambitions of legislators.

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