Independence is key in state redistricting

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle editorialized the importance of creating an independent redistricting commisssion so that district lines will be redrawn in a nonpartisan fashion.

For what it's worth, the New York Legislature's traveling committee on redistricting was in Rochester this week to gather public input on redrawing boundary lines for state legislative and congressional districts.

Though the four-member panel is bipartisan, includes two citizens, and is said to be committed to transparency, it was hard to take seriously. Its members, after all, were doing work that should be done by a panel independent of the legislative process.

No such panel exists because despite Senate Republicans' pledge to support independent redistricting during last year's election campaign, they've since reneged. Largely as a result of Republicans regaining control of the state Senate in the 2010 election, they're now concerned about losing that control under an independent redistricting commission.

Read the full article here.