McEneny plans to incorporate “good parts” of Common Cause maps into LATFOR plan

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Susan Lerner

December 21, 2011

212-691-6421

McEneny plans to incorporate “good parts” of Common Cause maps into LATFOR plan

Democratic and Republican legislators offer praise for non-partisan maps

On Monday, Common Cause NY released the first ever set of state and federal reform redistricting maps available as an interactive feature for New Yorkers to view at: www.newsday.com/umapny and www.citizenredistrictny.org.

Assemblyman Jack McEneny who sits on the Legislative Task-Force on Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR), the body responsible for drawing New York’s electoral districts, commented in Gotham Gazette:

“We have been anticipating them for some time. We will take a look at them and see what good parts we can incorporate into our plan. Then I would expect we will begin to have public hearings in January.”

In response, Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause NY said:

“I want to commend Assemblyman McEneny for opening up the typically secretive process of redistricting to include our fair, non-partisan, incumbent blind maps. Our maps provide an alternative vision of what non-gerrymandered lines might look like, and we are happy to provide LATFOR with further input.”

The maps have earned early bi-partisan praise from other legislators:

Senator Liz Krueger (D-SD 26) quoted in Gotham Gazette:

“It is kind of like pulling back the curtain.”

Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R-AD 122), commenting on the reform map of his district in a WWNY TV broadcast:

“The district looks like a good district, to tell you the truth. It keeps Jefferson together.”