[click here for video of Senator's remarks]

“This is a very sad day for the constituents we represent because Senators and Assembly Members were sent to Albany to represent all the people in New York. I can assure you that the great preponderance of individuals in our Senate and Assembly districts do not support this attempt at the legalization of gerrymandering.

Let me be very clear: Two wrongs don’t make a right. Partisan gerrymandering when it comes to redistricting is wrong no matter what party is in power.  It’s wrong for Texas to do it and it’s wrong for New York as well.

A few years back, I and several current members of this Senate Chamber, including members of the Majority joined the late Mayor Ed Koch to sign his ‘Heroes of Reform Redistricting Reform Pledge.’

The Pledge called for ‘an independent commission to propose and draw district boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts every 10 years following the U.S. Census’ and to ‘ensure the even-handed and non-partisan drawing of lines.’

The legislature went on to pass, and the voters approved an independent redistricting commission that largely lived up to the spirit of that pledge.

Unfortunately, this Majority has repeatedly tried to break that Redistricting Reform pledge and bypass the will of the people all in the name of brazen partisan politics. And the state’s highest court has rejected their partisan schemes when they last tried to subvert the Independent Redistricting Commission and threw the lines out.

Elected officials and partisan political hacks shouldn’t rig the game by drawing district lines so they can choose our representatives. Only voters should choose their representatives.

New Yorkers deserve fair and equal legislative districts that are based on the commonalties of communities and not on political power blocks.

Those who supported this bill can no longer be called ‘Heroes of Reform’ because they’ve gone to the dark side and betrayed their pledge becoming an ‘Enemy of true democracy and Reform.”