Morning Read: Will NY-23 remain intact? What about its rural character?
Current NY-23 boundaries based on the 2000 census
The 23rd congressional district, which sprawls across northern New York, is one of the most complex and colorful political battlegrounds in the East.
After decades of being safe Republican territory, the 23rd has provided several dramatic elections, with outsized personalities like Doug Hoffman and Deedee Scozzafava.
But now the district needs to grow by roughly 53,000 people, in order to match the target population of congressional districts after the 2010 Census.
At a meeting this week in Plattsburgh, politicos and residents worried aloud that the character of the 23rd could be changed as it grows even larger. This from the Plattsburgh Press-Republican.
Ray Scollin of Saranac Lake said the district could gain the people needed by adding the rest of Essex County and part of Fulton County.
“They are much like the rest of the district,” he said.
Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush, a Republican from the Watertown area, said the North Country district has been roughly the same for more than 30 years.
“I think it is important to keep it as a single district,” Blankenbush said.
“If it is split, our representation would be diluted, and we could be represented by someone who is unlikely to live in our area.”
So what do you think? In recent years, most of the North Country has been represented by lawmakers from Watertown or Plattsburgh. Is there a danger that a future representative could come from farther afield?
What if the city of Utica (population 62,000) were lumped into the district? Read the P-R’s article here and chime in below.
Tags: election12, politics, redistricting
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Perhaps the problem is the very idea that a district must have a certain population.
At the federal level it was recognized that all states would have two senators no matter the population, while congress could be all about population numbers. Perhaps something similar in the state could be used to recognize low population areas having a voice.
Pete – Apportioning votes in the House is fixed in the US Constitution. Your idea is interesting, but it would require a full-blown constitutional amendment process.
Brian, NCPR
Ray Scollin’s idea is obviously the most fair and logical, if the demographics work. Right now the state maps kind of looks like the 20th CD making a rude gesture in the middle of the 23rd. Hopefully Governor One Percent will force the pols to let something like this happen.
Not betting on it.
If it means getting rid of Betty Little I’m all for 23 being dissolved.
I’ll second that Dave. We need a change in politicians, like a forward-looking individual with fresh ideas.