A group headed by former mayor Ed Koch has gotten agreement from three 2010 gubernatorial candidates and one very likely 2010 candidate to support nonpartisan redistricting of legislative and Congressional seats in New York State. Republicans Rick Lazio, Steve Levy and Carl Paladino signed a pledge to the group, while Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the expected Democratic frontrunner, signed his own letter (since he's not an official candidate). Gerrymandered districts are alive and well in NY—check these out.
After each census, New York State's Legislature redraws district maps, which are then approved by the governor and the Justice Department. The NY Times reports, "Critics have long charged that lawmakers’ main priority is coming up with districts designed to protect their seats." Or, as an interactive graphic accompanying a Times editorial put it, "Mapmaking in New York can be a dark art form designed to make certain that incumbents in the majority party are safe from electoral competition (a k a democracy)." And prisoners, who don't vote, are often counted in districts where they are serving time, not where they live.
Cuomo's dad, former governor Mario Cuomo, as well as former mayor Rudy Giuliani are also part of Koch's New York Uprising group. And if any of them go back on their word, Koch promises to shame them, saying that he'll tell them, "You're not a person of your word. You're a liar... I don't think people in office today want to have that confrontation."
