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Post by dgriffin on Apr 13, 2011 7:37:43 GMT -5
But back to legislature size. Is that how representation is determined? The mix of "suburban" and "city" reps doesn't self adjust according to the population distribution? Not when the population deflating cities is not relocating to rural or suburban areas, but outside the county entirely. Well, yes, that's certainly true. But isn't the RATIO of county/city increasing in the county's favor? And that could be all that counts. But I'm on thin ice here. By the way, is this really a problem? I mean that the city with its falling population turns up OVER represented. Larry didn't mention that, come to think of it. |
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Post by firstamendment on Apr 13, 2011 10:25:53 GMT -5
But you also have to think about how finely tuned do you want this representation to be? Hell, you can take a legislative district that encompasses different areas in Utica that can have issues conflicting with one and other. There are 8 legislative districts in the City of Utica. Does there need to be than many for one city? There won't ever be a perfect system but there definitely is room for improvement.
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Post by Clipper on Apr 13, 2011 10:40:12 GMT -5
Especially when we are PAYING for those positions. Hell, they could have a legislator for every block in the city and it would probably not do any more to improve life for the residents. 4 or 5 would be sufficient, or make them positions elected, with expenses paid, but no salary or benefits.
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Post by dgriffin on Apr 13, 2011 11:51:33 GMT -5
But you also have to think about how finely tuned do you want this representation to be? Hell, you can take a legislative district that encompasses different areas in Utica that can have issues conflicting with one and other. There are 8 legislative districts in the City of Utica. Does there need to be than many for one city? There won't ever be a perfect system but there definitely is room for improvement.Yes, but in which direction, more or less legislators? OK, I'm going to stop arguing. It turns out ... probably ... there may be as many unique reasons for increasing or decreasing the size of a legislature as there are legislatures. In the example I offered from my part of the state, I saw a reduction in representation when the county legislature dropped positions. You may see better results when you do the same in Oneida County. But strictly from a theoretical point of view, I wonder if you will. It just seems it's an arrow pointed at the wrong target. By the way, a google of "decrease size of county legislature" yields interesting results. Why all this activity around the state? Also, a common thread in these articles and discussions is that politics is expected to prevent it from ever happening anyway. |
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Post by firstamendment on Apr 13, 2011 12:31:05 GMT -5
My last post wasn't implied to argue but merely point out there are lots of fish in the pond so there are lots of different interests to consider. As Clip puts it, you could have a legislator for every city block looking out for their interests, but how effective would that be? A legislator should be looking out for the general interests of the district as a whole rather than specifically for a particular portion thereof. It is up to the leaders in the smaller areas of the district to look out for the specialized interests of their areas.
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Post by dgriffin on Apr 13, 2011 13:04:24 GMT -5
My last post wasn't implied to argue but merely point out there are lots of fish in the pond so there are lots of different interests to consider. As Clip puts it, you could have a legislator for every city block looking out for their interests, but how effective would that be? A legislator should be looking out for the general interests of the district as a whole rather than specifically for a particular portion thereof . It is up to the leaders in the smaller areas of the district to look out for the specialized interests of their areas.Agreed, but it didn't happen here because we lost our rep through redistricting when the legislature was reduced in size. But I'm repeating myself. Anyway. No, I didn't take your post as being argumentative. |
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Post by Swimmy on Apr 13, 2011 22:26:51 GMT -5
As I said, I was taking a stab at it, not saying I had much to go on. I think we're both on thin ice with that one. lol
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