County Democratic Party boss Shawn Hogan: No political party should be gerrymandering any districts
County Republican Chair Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski: Political grandstanding
By Sonya Ellison,
Steuben County party officials reacted to Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent call for New York to be redistricted in an effort to pick up more Democratic seats for representation in the House.
In an August 4th press conference, her office called the move a “Trump-Backed Redistricting Power Grab”.
Texas redrew five of their congressional lines, gaining more Republican seats. Hochul said this disenfranchises communities of color called on New York to redistrict and pick up more Democratic seats as a response to the extra GOP representation in Texas as a result of their redrawn lines.
But Steuben County Republican Committee Chair and 148th district Assemblyman Joe Sempolinksi said in a recent statement:
“It is the height of hypocrisy for Gov. Hochul to say she’s opposed to gerrymandered districts”, calling the move “political grandstanding….as she runs for re-election.”
Assemblyman Sempolinski says since the most recent census, “multiple attempts have been made by the Democrats to gerrymander the congressional lines in New York.”
Steuben Democratic Committee Chairman Shawn Hogan told the Hornell Sun:
“First, no political party should be gerrymandering any districts to slant one way or the other. Second, redistricting should take place every 10 years after the census, which has traditionally been the acceptable protocol. Third, no political parties should be involved in the process, PERIOD. “
Hogan called Sempolinski’s response “partisan”. He also notes another problem with gerrymandering is it divides single counties like Steuben into several different districts.
“Let me point out the NYS Legislature, including Republicans, approved the current maps which dissects Steuben County into three Assembly Districts. Does that make sense?” Hogan said.
New York isn’t scheduled to be redrawn until 2032 and mid-cycle redistricting would require a change to the state constitution.
Sempolinski says he hopes voters would oppose the measure, if it were to appear on a ballot.
“My hope is that if an amendment to allow mid-cycle redistricting makes it onto the ballot, the people will reject it and stand up for anti-partisan congressional district lines and fair elections.” he says.
But Chairman Hogan says partisan politics is the biggest underlying issue:
“Rather than appropriately denouncing this backdoor stacking of the deck by both parties, he [Sempolinksi] just attacks Democrats. And there you have the real problem.”
Hochul doubled down in a recent Fox News interview, insisting that the gerrymandering in Texas is “a legal insurrection” and “These times call for fighting fire with fire.”
Sonya Ellison is a Steuben County based reporter who enjoys writing about local politics and featuring local culture. You can contact her anytime, ms.sonyann@gmail.com
