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Griffo’s Proposal Doesn’t Stand Much Of A Chance

Even though it’s unlikely to go anywhere, legislation proposed by state Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, to change the way Senate districts are apportioned makes a lot of sense.

Griffo wants to reduce the number of Senate districts from 63 to 62 and then give each of New York’s 62 counties one senator. The only way to do so is to amend the state Constitution, which makes ever seeing Griffo’s proposal become reality a shaky proposition.

Many will say Griffo’s legislation is just a sour grapes reaction from a political party that lost control of the state Senate in the November election. Frankly, Griffo’s proposal makes a lot of sense when politics are removed from the equation. The recurring proposals to split New York into two states is indicative of the way many Upstate New Yorkers feel their interests are drowned out by the disproportionate number of representatives New York City receives in both the Assembly and Senate. Even when the Republicans controlled the state Senate, it didn’t mean there wasn’t a schism in policy that often skewed in favor of the eastern portion of the state.

Giving each county one voice in the state Senate mirrors the U.S. Senate, where each state has two senators regardless of their population. And, in the case of a resignation like that of former Sen. Catharine Young, it would ensure that broad sections of the state would still be represented while the vacant seat is filled. Young’s vacancy wouldn’t be quite as painful if Cattaraugus County residents could rely on senators from neighboring Chautauqua and Allegany counties to help advance their interests in the Senate while their Senate seat was filled.

The process to amend the state Consittution is tortuous, so we don’t think Griffo’s proposal stands much chance regardless of when it was proposed or which party proposed it. The fact a member of the Republican minority is proposing such a drastic change is just a second kiss of death. That’s unfortunate, because hundreds of thousands of state residents could benefit from the one county, one senator legislation.

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