Redistricting for incumbent Congressional members here in 2012 means some big changes for some of New York’s delegation. Freshman Representative Chris Gibson (R- Kinderhook) currently represents the 20th district, a gerrymandered area that stretches from Lake Placid to Poughkeepsie and then west of the Catskills. His new district loses the northern section and gains more area to the south and west. According to the state Board of Elections, this new district has 11,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. That’s significantly less than his old area where the advantage was closer to 60,000. Today we caught up with him at an event in Saratoga Springs, where he said he believes he’s “earned a second term,” highlighting the fact that he’s been labeled the 4th most independent Republican in Congress based on his voting record.
After the state’s Legislative Taskforce on Demographic Research and Reapportionment failed to come up with a set of Congressional maps that the legislature found agreeable, the federal courts intervened and New York now has its twenty-seven district lines set in stone. Due to a population decline, the state will now have two less representatives in Congress. Many districts around the state have changed, so it’s important to know who will be running to represent your area. To find out where your town now falls, check out the new Congressional maps below.
Governor Andrew Cuomo promised to have the most transparent administration in the state's history when he took office, but he's now facing some criticism after he recently passed a number of important bills in the middle of the night. Redistricting and pension reform, two topics that have been hotly debated for months, became law while most folks were long since in bed. The irony of these behind-the-scenes decisions is that it took place during 'Sunshine Week,' a time period highlighting openness in state government.
