Map mayhem for Dems
New lines mean faceoffs in House, N.Y. Senate
ALBANY — The court-appointed expert tasked with crafting nonpartisan congressional and state Senate districts released a preliminary draft of new boundaries that could spell trouble for Democrats.
The competitive maps made public on Monday come a month after the state’s highest court determined Democrats unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts in their favor earlier this year.
House lines drawn up by special master Jonathan Cervas could pit incumbent Dems against one another and rearranges long-blue districts across the city and state, creating major headaches for candidates and incumbents after the primary was already pushed back to August.
One of Cervas’ most dramatic changes would unite the Upper East Side and Upper West Side of Manhattan in a single district, potentially pitting Rep. Jerrold Nadler against longtime colleague Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
Both longtime Dem leaders indicated Monday they plan on running for the new seat.
“The special master has released new draft maps, and I am proud to announce that I will be running to continue to represent the 12th Congressional District,” Maloney said in a statement.
Steuben County Supreme Court Judge Patrick McAllister will now review Cervas’ submission and is expected to sign off on maps by the end of the week following a short public comment period.
Some advocates expressed disappointment in the new map.
“It divides communities of interest and neighborhoods, particularly in New York City and ignores the cores of the existing congressional districts,” said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause NY.
Another change wipes deep blue Park Slope from Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ Staten Island-centric district.
Redrawn Long Island districts will also remain more competitive than the scrapped Dem-drafted plan.
In the Hudson Valley, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said he plans to abandon his current district and will run in the 17th district, setting up a primary against progressive freshman Rep. Mondaire Jones.
Cervas’ plan also shifts boundaries in Brooklyn, making it so Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries no longer lives in his district and Nadler’s old District 10 now crosses the East River from lower Manhattan to include a much larger portion of Brooklyn, stretching from Carroll Gardens to Borough Park.
Jeffries slammed Brooklyn’s new districts, arguing the draft map “dilutes the Black population” in the borough.
“Apparently, Republican operatives and conservative activists have found a sympathetic audience as a result of the broken process set forth by the New York Court of Appeals,” he said in a statement. “The draft map draws four Black members of Congress into the same district, a tactic that would make Jim Crow blush.”
Cervas’ Senate map differs greatly from current districts and could see several incumbent Dems in the city face off against one another in tight primary races.
The draft plan unites the Upper West Side, currently split across four Senate seats, into a single district. It also divvies up parts of Astoria represented by Sen. Mike Gianaris into multiple districts and splits Throgs Neck in the Bronx in two.
The new lines, which will be in place for the next decade, come after Democrat-drawn congressional maps were deemed unconstitutional by New York’s high court.
The Court of Appeals found lawmakers unfairly drew up blue-leaning districts and disregarded a constitutionally-mandated process after an independent commission failed to reach a consensus on competitive lines.
Maps drawn up by the Demled Legislature would have given Democrats an advantage in 22 of the state’s 26 congressional districts. Now, the newly proposed lines include eight competitive districts out of 26, according to Michael Li, senior counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program.
New York’s congressional and state Senate primaries were pushed back to Aug. 23 in order to give Cervas time to finalize his maps. Assembly and gubernatorial primaries are still scheduled for June 28.
While the initial Republican-backed lawsuit that prompted the do-over did not challenge the legality of the Assembly maps, several legal efforts have been made to get them tossed as well.
A lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court is the latest seeking to have the Assembly lines discarded and the state’s primary consolidated in August.
The changes to the state’s congressional map will have national implications as Republicans seek to regain control of the House during the midterm elections in November.
While the new congressional districts will undoubtedly add to the chaos of the state’s scrambled election calendar, Li said the maps still give Democrats a slight advantage down the road.
“Overall, this isn’t a terrible map for Ds,” he tweeted. “In a D cycle, they could win 20 or 21 of 26 seats. In R cycle, though, a lot of competition could mean they win only 16 or 17.”