The redistricting process has once again illustrated the arrogance of far too many of this state’s elected officials.
Once again, Democrats and Republicans have banded together to continue their shared goal of closing the electoral process to the citizenry at large. In an effort to insure that meaningful competition remains absent from electoral politics, the district lines have been drawn without any regard to the needs of the voters.
Goals such as community cohesiveness, commonality of interest, geographical conciseness, and equally sized districts, have, as usual, not played much of a role. Little notice was given about the timing of hearings at which public comment could be given.
The proposed redistricting scheme clearly violates the pledge that almost every current state senator and state assembly member made during their 2010 campaign to support independent redistricting. The new lines are little more than a thinly veiled attempt to guarantee that incumbents remain in office.
Despite a dismal record of failure and corruption (Speaker Silver is certainly the poster boy of "politicians gone bad") during the past decade, the re-election rate of state elected officials has been an astronomical 96%, actually reaching a disgraceful 100% in one year.
An additional senate district has been instituted—in a state where the per-capita cost of government is already the highest in the nation.
It’s not just redistricting that makes a mockery of fair elections. During election years, many incumbents abuse their “official” newsletters, as well as their role in handing out member items, to turn these taxpayer-funded programs into thinly veiled campaign assets.
With apologies to Abraham Lincoln, Albany has become a government of the politicians, by the politicians, and for the politicians.
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