Sen. Joe Griffo Has Just Asked for the Impossible to Happen

New York State Senator Joe Griffo might as well be telling people that Santa Claus is about to make another run through the area to double us up on gifts. I'd say the chances are better of that happening than his request that the majority in New York's Senate and Assembly do the "right" thing when it comes to redistricting.

The news that the Independent Redistricting Commission has failed to reach agreement on state legislative and congressional district maps is really no surprise. That means it will fall back onto the legislature where the party in control, mainly the downstate Democrats, will have the opportunity to do exactly what the people have asked them not to do: draw up the districts to give a strategic advantage to their party for upcoming elections for years to come.

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"Voters in November rejected a partisan attempt to alter the redistricting process because they believed that the Commission should be allowed to conduct its business with their best interests in mind," said Griffo. "However, the failure of the Commission to maintain New Yorkers’ confidence will return the process of drawing maps to the Legislature. This is not the outcome that voters approved of in 2014, nor is it what they expected to happen when the Commission’s work began in earnest last summer," he said.

Democrats are not the only negative party in this gerrymandering process. After the census in 2010, both parties played a role in chopping up the state and creating crazy looking districts that better serve incumbents than the people they're supposed to serve. One of the most egregious examples in New York is the 101st Assembly District which looks like a snake stretching from the Mohawk Valley, all the way down narrowly to Orange County near the Pennsylvania border. Many say, that district was punishment for then Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney who was considered abrasive to both parties, and as a result, received one of the most difficult districts in the state. Assemblyman Brian Miller currently represents the 101st. Miller recently told us in an interview that he's hopeful that his district becomes more manageable and local to the community it's supposed to serve. "It's only fair to the constituents," he said.

"I would urge my colleagues in the majorities of both the state Senate and Assembly to recognize the importance of preserving integrity in the redistricting process and to resist the urge to gerrymander legislative districts, something which would further erode the confidence of voters throughout the state,” said Griffo.

I'm pretty sure former Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry is laughing at Senator Griffo from his grave right now, 210 years after inspiring and the concept of gerrymandering. This is just another element of proof that the more things change, the more that really just stay the same.

Good luck Joe. You're going to need it with this one.