Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins Announces Appointments To The Independent Redistricting Commission

(Albany, NY) Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins today announced the appointments of John Flateau, Ph.D. and David Imamura to the Independent Redistricting Commission. This independent redistricting commission will be charged with drawing Legislative and Congressional district lines every ten years to ensure a neutral process for all constituents in New York.

“The Independent Redistricting Commission is fundamental to restoring trust in our democracy,” Senate Democratic Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said. “I am proud to appoint John Flateau, Ph.D. and David Imamura to serve and advance that goal. Redistricting should be a transparent process based on population, not on partisan politics.”

The commission is composed of 8 members appointed by the Temporary President of the Senate, Speaker of the Assembly, Minority Leader of the Senate, and Minority Leader of the Assembly. The commission was created through a Constitutional Amendment passed by the State Legislature in 2012 and 2013, and approved by New York voters in 2014. The amendment reforms the process to create a neutral system that establishes new state legislative and congressional district lines every ten years. The role of the Independent Redistricting Commission is to draw the Legislative and Congressional district lines in an independent manner that protects minority voting rights and communities of interest, and operates in a bi-partisan manner.

The appointees from Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to the Independent Redistricting Commission are:

• John Flateau, Ph.D. is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Business Administration at the School of Business, Medgar Evers College, CUNY. He holds over two decades of experience working as commissioner and census coordinator for New York State and the US Census Bureau, and previously served as Chief of Staff to New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins. John Flateau earned his Ph.D. focused in Political Science and Government from City University of New York.
• David Imamura is an Attorney at Debevoise & Plimpton where his practice focuses on regulatory investigations and civil litigation. He is a co-author of Goldfeder’s Modern Election Law (6^th edition), currently serves as a member of the Westchester County Human Rights Commission and the Westchester County Complete Count Committee, and was one of the drafters of the Westchester County Immigrant Protection Act. I. David Imamura earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School.