Capitol Confidential with Dan Clark

Capitol Confidential with Dan Clark

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Capitol Confidential with Dan Clark
Capitol Confidential with Dan Clark
Hochul wants to disband New York's redistricting commission

Hochul wants to disband New York's redistricting commission

'We are at war," Hochul said Monday as Texas Republicans move ahead with redistricting.

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Dan Clark
Aug 04, 2025
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Capitol Confidential with Dan Clark
Capitol Confidential with Dan Clark
Hochul wants to disband New York's redistricting commission
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Good afternoon — it’s Monday and Chocolate Chip Cookie Day.

In today’s CapCon:

  • Hochul said Monday that she wants to overhaul New York’s current process of delegating redistricting to a special commission.

  • There’s a lot that people have forgotten about how we got here. Read about it.

  • Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie told me in an interview for an episode of the CapCon pod that his conference wants to take a look. Here’s a preview.

  • Republicans blasted the plan from Hochul, saying it’s an attempt from Democrats to rig the state’s elections in their favor.

  • Marc Molinaro has finally been confirmed to his post in the Trump administration.

  • This Week in New York History: The first female justice of the peace, Mount Marcy.

Names in today’s CapCon: Kathy Hochul, Carl E. Heastie, Andrew Cuomo, Blair Horner, Janet DiFiore, Rowan Wilson, Rob Ortt, Will Barclay, Elise Steanik, Marc Molinaro

Hochul with Texas state Rep. Mihaela Plesa Monday (Will Waldron/Times Union)

🗺️ Hochul says she wants to overhaul New York’s redistricting process

Democrats in New York now want to take back the power they helped give an independent commission about a decade ago to redraw the state’s districts for Congress, state Senate and Assembly each decade.

I asked Gov. Kathy Hochul Monday if she would support an amendment to the state constitution that would disband the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission. That would require approval from voters, which could happen as early as 2027.

“Yes,” Hochul said at the Capitol, where she spoke with Democrats from the Texas state Legislature. “I’m tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back.”

I also spoke with Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie Monday for an episode of the Capitol Confidential Podcast coming this week. He also wants the process to change. I’ll give you a preview of what he told me further down.

But this is no small thing, as exhibited in the language used by Hochul to describe their ire over the ordeal.

“This is a war. We are at war,” Hochul said. “That's why the gloves are off and I say bring it on.”

It’s unclear if they would prefer to replace it with a new entity or revert the process back to what it was before the commission was created.

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