Tuckahoe Village Departments

TUCKAHOE TALK
With Mayor John Fitzpatrick

Count 'em All – Let the Party Sort 'em Out

May, 2010

The census is upon us. I was well aware of this fact given my affiliation with the government, but I have also been reminded each day by billboards while driving down the West side of Manhattan. I don't have my children in the car for this daily excursion to work, but I wondered if their age group even notices billboards. Without an answer to that question, I decided I am certainly of the advertising demographic that still extracts information from billboards. After a little research, I discovered the new digital world media outlets of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are also being used to launch the importance of the census message to ensure younger generations are being reached as well.

Advertising this important undertaking, even the billboard variety is a fairly new phenomenon. The 2000 census was the first with an advertising budget and this year, from a total census cost of $14.5 billion, the government has allocated $350 million for advertising. The message, regardless of what language it appears in, is similar:

"Better healthcare, schools and roads are all within your reach. If we each take just 10 minutes to answer 10 simple questions, we can help determine how $400 billion dollars per year in federal funds will be dispersed in our communities."

Despite the hi-tech advertising evolution, the census has been here from basically the beginning of our country. The first, in 1790 under President Washington, had only six questions: five of these are still on the form which now consists of ten questions. In 1790 it also only cost 1 cent per person, whereas now it costs $47 per person.

In addition to the claims of how the information is utilized for important funding, other government agencies use the data for planning. For instance, in Tuckahoe, like most municipalities, it figures in our master plan preparation. The 10 year span is a good gauge for overall trends and long term plans. However, the village is ever mindful that even small adjustments to our zoning code or building codes can have instant impact to population variations.

TUCKAHOE CENSUS FIGURES 1990 AND 2000

The census data also figures prominently in the controversial process of election redistricting. In 2000, the Westchester County Legislature, in its infinite wisdom, gerrymandered the 10th district and sent Bronxville to Yonkers, and incorporated a great deal of New Rochelle with the remaining Eastchester. This was done with Democrats in majority at the County. Most often the purpose is political parties looking to solidify their power. Two different ideologies are often put to work during the gerrymandering of election districts; one is called "packing", which concentrates as many voters of one type to eliminate challenge. The other is "cracking", which spreads voters of one type out to deny them a sufficiently large enough voting block. It appears that the architects of Westchester's 10th used a little of both. They "cracked" out a then predominantly Republican Bronxville and "packed" in New Rochelle to create a significant Democratic majority.

Since I have always believed that the entire town of Eastchester deserves the same representative, I have been a vocal proponent of an independent redistricting commission, as opposed to the party with the majority controlling the process. In 1998, then Democratic County Legislator George Latimer proposed a bi-partisan redistricting commission but still our town's boundaries were not respected. While all these maneuvers are used for the purpose of ensuring incumbents' security, the effects of gerrymandering frequently lead to reduced voter turnout because people feel powerless to change the system. Often this is the desired effect; however, the disenchantment of voters and loss of democratic accountability should be unacceptable to representatives.

The attempt to control and stay in power isn't purely a Democratic Party flaw. The residents of Eastchester had the distinct honor of being part of the State's Republican gerrymandering, which included the NY Senate 34th district. Former Senator Guy Velella personally coordinated the new lines after the 2000 census, allegedly even drawing around the house of a would-be challenger. Ultimately, in the case of the 34th State Senate district, Guy Velella went to jail almost immediately after the redistricting and the seat did turn over. In the case of the County's 10th legislative district, we are about to see if Democrats can hold on to their "booty". I realize the word "booty" has other modern connotations, but I am referencing the ill-gotten treasure of pirates.

Many of you may know or have read that I recently sought the Democratic nomination to represent the 10th county district. However, the New Rochelle Democratic leaders made it clear from the beginning they had more votes and they were no longer interested in the representative being from Eastchester. During the next county redistricting, our town of Eastchester deserves to be united in its county representation. Eastchester, settled and established in 1665, nearly a century before our nation became independent, has earned the right to always remain unified.

Eastchester, like most communities nowadays, has nearly as many voters who don't want to be labeled either Republican or Democrat, and they shouldn't be held hostage to party controlled gerrymandering. I still believe you don't win elections by overwhelming your opponent with voter registration - you win elections by having the right message and a record of doing the right thing.