NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT PUBLIC HEARING CONGRESSIONAL AND STATE LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING Legislative Office Building, 2nd Floor Hearing Room A Albany, New York Monday, January 30, 2012 10:30 a.m. TASK FORCE MEMBERS PRESENT: SENATOR MICHAEL F. NOZZOLIO, Co-Chair ASSEMBLY MEMBER JOHN J. MCENENY, Co-Chair SENATOR MARTIN M. DILAN ASSEMBLY MEMBER ROBERT OAKS DEBRA LEVINE ROMAN HEDGES WELQUIS LOPEZ LEWIS HOPPE Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 1-30-2012 INDEX Page ROBERT BAIN 12 RESIDENT TOWN OF GUILDERLAND DANIEL J. DWYER 22 MAYOR CITY OF RENSSELAER MICHAEL CUEVAS 27 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SCHENECTADY COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE JAMES SOTILLE 38 FORMER MAYOR OF KINGSTON MICHAEL MCMAHON 42 MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SERVICES SUSAN LERNER 46 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMON CAUSE NY BRIAN PAUL 61 RESEARCH AND POLICY COORDINATOR COMMON CAUSE NY GUSTAVO RIVERA 95 STATE SENATOR 33rd SD CLAUDIA TENNEY 108 ASSEMBLY MEMBER 115th AD BILL MAHONEY 117 RESEARCH COORDINATOR NYPIRG BARBARA BARTOLETTI 132 LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS NYS Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 1-30-2012 ALEX CAMARDA 158 CITIZENS UNION RACHEL FAUSS 161 CITIZENS UNION BETH MURPHY 189 RESIDENT ULSTER COUNTY JEFF STERLING 200 RESIDENT NEW BALTIMORE Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 5 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 1-30-2012 2 (The public hearing commenced at 10:30 3 a.m.) 4 ASSEMBLY MEMBER JOHN J. MCENENY, CO- 5 CHAIR, NYS LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC 6 RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT: Good morning. My 7 name is Jack McEneny. I am the co-chair of the 8 Legislative Task Force on Redistricting and I am 9 joined with my co-chair and other members here. 10 The purpose of this hearing--and I'll allow other 11 members here to speak briefly before--is to get a 12 more specific criticism of the maps that are out 13 there. Now we have had 14 public hearings and an 14 incredible amount of written and oral testimony, 15 much of it submitted even outside the 14 public 16 hearings, which were held across the state of New 17 York. 18 This is an opportunity to move, perhaps, 19 from the general to the specific. To give us 20 ideas, you all have a set of maps, and if you've 21 been following us regularly, you've probably 22 downloaded them on your own as well, and it's a 23 time to come in now and say this works, this 24 doesn't, this should be changed. Now, will the Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 6 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 1-30-2012 2 maps be changed? Historically, the maps have 3 always been changed; sometimes to small degree, 4 sometimes to large degree. And the way those 5 maps are changed and the reasons for changing 6 those maps has a great deal to do with the input 7 from people like yourselves, who represent not 8 only yourselves as individuals and citizens, but 9 also in many cases, groups within the state of 10 New York. 11 We have a limit as to how long people 12 can talk. We advertise something like five 13 minutes. We have never enforced five minutes, 14 but we would ask you to be succinct, to give us 15 as specific information as you possibly can. 16 This is not to talk about how LATFOR functions or 17 whether there should be an independent group. We 18 know where you stand on that. One way or 19 another, that's out there. This is to come in 20 and criticize these maps and let us know where 21 the changes should be made. 22 I am joined today on the panel here, on 23 the Assembly side by my ranker, if you will, Bob 24 Oaks, and also our citizen representative, Dr. Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 7 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 1-30-2012 2 Roman Hedges, who has participated in many 3 redistrictings and has also taught on the 4 subject. And we are also joined by our executive 5 directors on each end, and I'm going to stop now 6 and pass it on to my co-chair, Senator Mike 7 Nozzolio and then open it up to the people on the 8 panel here if they wish to make opening remarks. 9 SENATOR MICHAEL F. NOZZOLIO, CO-CHAIR, 10 NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON 11 DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT: Thank 12 you, Assemblyman McEneny. On my far left, your 13 right, is Executive Director of the LATFOR Task 14 Force, Debra Levine; the Senate Citizen 15 representative on the task force, Welquis Ray 16 Lopez; and our Senate Minority ranker on this 17 committee, good friend, Senator Martin Dilan. 18 Before others speak, I wish to echo the 19 co-chairs comments relative to this process. It 20 is the first of nine hearings we will be 21 conducting across the state to take testimony 22 from primarily citizens who are interested in the 23 question of communities of interest, that the 24 maps proposed are reflective of the Voting Rights Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 8 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 1-30-2012 2 Act of the State of New York, the New York States 3 Constitution, the United States Constitution, 4 that we believe strongly that they, as presented, 5 are legal and appropriate. For the first time 6 ever, there is an Asian district created that the 7 majority Asian district in Queens at the New York 8 State senate level, and that district was the 9 creation of the result of many hours of testimony 10 from the Asian American community, primarily the 11 borough of Queens, but in a number of meetings 12 afterwards, where communities put forth their 13 intentions to establish communities of interest. 14 And we hope these hearings will continue in that 15 process to further enhance it and develop it. 16 I'd also like to indicate that I just 17 came from the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways 18 and Means Committee, as Assemblyman Oaks is also 19 wearing his two hats as ranker on Ways and Means, 20 but the testifiers were asked to summarize their 21 testimony. The written testimony will be part of 22 the record. Submit that today or in the future 23 and that testimony becomes part of the permanent 24 record of the LATFOR proceedings. Maximize your Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 9 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 1-30-2012 2 impact and the amount of time you have available 3 by summarizing your testimony. Please just don't 4 sit and read it. Summarize it and ensure that 5 those comments are put forward. 6 I should also add that your testimony 7 and the testimony on every task force hearing 8 that we conduct will be available for viewing on 9 the LATFOR website. That website contains a 10 video record, for the first time in our state's 11 history, of those who testify. So, we appreciate 12 your comments and welcome those comments to be 13 part of the permanent record. With that, any 14 other members of the task force wish to comment? 15 Mr. Hedges? 16 ROMAN HEDGES, NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE 17 TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND 18 REAPPORTIONMENT: No. 19 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Assemblyman Oaks? 20 ASSEMBLY MEMBER ROBERT OAKS, NEW YORK 21 STATE LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC 22 RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT: I'll just welcome 23 everyone today and look forward to hearing the 24 input from people. It's been a long time. I Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 10 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 1-30-2012 2 know people gave a great deal of input before. 3 It's been a long time getting to this point, but 4 clearly, this is a process that needs to move 5 forward and needs to move forward judiciously, 6 and this is the first of three weeks of hearings 7 that we'll be holding and clearly, I look forward 8 to--I'm sure I'm going to have suggestions to how 9 these maps could be changed; I look forward to 10 hearing yours. Thank you. 11 MR. HEDGES: I want to welcome everyone, 12 but I also want to make particular point. 13 Several groups and individuals submitted plans in 14 the first round of hearings; common cause, a 15 coalition of voting rights groups that produced a 16 plan that they call the unity plan.