Redistricting reactions

The proposed new legislative districts drawn up by legislative task force on redistricting were released last week and the response was, shall we say, not enthusiastic.

They have been called maps that resemble an art project at Satan's Kindergarten and clearly the most gerrymandered lines in recent New York history.

Common Cause says that the proposed districts egregiously disadvantage minority communities, abuse the federally mandated principle of 'one person one vote', and violate the constitutional provision to avoid crossing county lines whenever possible.

The Daily News opines, "Nothing less than the future of representative democracy in New York is on the line as the Legislature establishes new district lines based on the latest census."

There is more, much more, that we will be commenting on in coming days. For now, however, read these reactions and think about what you are going to do to restore fairness to the redistricting process. As people of faith, we believe that this is a matter of justice that must be addressed.