Press release from State Sen. Ed Rath:
As the Congressional, Senate, and Assembly map lines come into focus, one thing is clear: the will of the people was ignored. In 2014, the voters of New York resoundingly supported a constitutional amendment creating an Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC). This amendment made it crystal clear that New Yorkers wanted legislative lines drawn in a fair, non-partisan fashion.
This past November, the voters spoke again – furthering their support of an independent process for redistricting. Twice in 7 years.
Both of these referenda were completely ignored, sidestepped and bypassed by Democrats in the Legislature.
Now, we are seeing the results: communities that have been bound together for years have been separated with little public notice and no public input on these maps. Make no mistake, this is the least transparent redistricting the state has ever seen. Plain and simple, too many communities in Western New York and the state are losing a voice. And in return for what? New York City is gaining two new Senate districts to further its partisan agenda. It's proposals like this, which we are seeing from this majority, that is the reason why people across our state do not trust our government.
This is not good government, nor the intention of the IRC. It’s more hyper-partisan politics, as usual, out of Albany.
There has not been one public hearing on these maps nor any public input. This is unacceptable.
Not sure which plan Mr. Rath
Not sure which plan Mr. Rath is critical of; there are three: a republican plan, a democratic plan and the independent committee plan. For our WNY region they all appear the same and virtually identical to the existing district lines. I question his assertions, "... little public notice and no public input on these maps..." There were numerous, well-publicized opportunities for public input- of which I and others known to me have participated in. Mr. Rath would seem to be grossly under-informed.