Time to stop Nassau power grab
On April, 26, 2011, Nassau County Legislature Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt showed new legislative district map. On Aug. 30, the state's highest court said the process for adopting new maps was not followed. Credit: Newsday/Karen Wiles Stabile
The turmoil over the redrawing of Nassau County's legislative lines needs to be resolved by the state's top court definitively and as quickly as possible. It's less than a month to the primary vote and three months to Election Day, and voters don't know who their candidates are, and the candidates don't know the boundaries of their districts.
This uncertainty is one result of a misguided effort by the Republicans to muscle themselves into a better position for the fall's elections by jumping the gun on the redistricting process that occurs every 10 years. The power grab this spring violates the county charter, which calls for a bipartisan commission and public hearings. The new lines might also run afoul of the Voting Rights Act, and a challenge on those grounds is pending in federal court.
For now, a ruling last Thursday by a state intermediate court is the most pressing. After a four-judge panel deadlocked, a fifth judge who had not heard the oral arguments was brought in to break the tie. He ruled the newly created districts were legal.
This haphazard jurisprudence is inadequate for a case about the integrity of county government. As of now, there isn't even a provision to allow a Democratic candidate to run in the new district along the southwest border.
The Nassau County Legislature that will take office in 2012 must confront very difficult issues that are likely to include cuts to social services, furloughing workers and right-sizing union contracts. The public must have the confidence that its local government is legitimate.
