Times Union Editorial: Shame on you, legislators

As a member of ACCORD, AABANY has been following developments in redistricting.  Earlier this week, Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann (EDNY) released Congressional maps in connection with a pending case in Federal court, a little more than a week after being assigned the task.  The Times Union editorial has some harsh words to say about the New York state legislature’s inability to draw fair and reasonable lines after working on maps for a year.  You can read the full text of the editorial by following the link above.  Here’s an excerpt:

THE RIDDLE:

How many legislators does it take to draw fair, nonpartisan maps?

THE ANSWER:

Trick question. They can’t.

It took the state Legislature the better part of a year to come up with new congressional district maps, and then, only with a court breathing down its neck. It took U.S. Magistrate Roanne Mann just eight days to do the same thing — and to do it, by most accounts, much better.