From the folks who backed India Walton, a community-led approach to redistricting.
By Geoff Kelly, The Nation
A coalition of community activists here has once again thrown a spanner into this city’s political works.
It’s not as head-turning a rebellion as the one that helped democratic socialist India Walton, in her first run for office, beat a four-term incumbent mayor in last summer’s Democratic primary.
But it’s a lot of the same people, a lot of the same energy. And community activists elsewhere would do well to examine what’s happening here.
The current uprising has to do with redistricting the city’s Common Council to comport with 2020 US Census numbers, which showed Buffalo gaining population for the first time since 1950.
Redistricting is not a sexy topic. At its best it is wonkish, involving complicated formulas and tests for compactness, population deviation, and racial balance. At its worst it is corrupt—an opportunity for once-in-a-decade deals between politicians seeking to protect themselves and their allies from challengers.
Recent Posts
Did Antony Blinken Approve A Policy To Bomb Aid Trucks In Gaza?
Take Action Now Did the Secretary of State give the OK for a policy that explicitly contravenes international law?By Yaniv Cogan, Drop Site…
Before Hurricane Helene, A Perfect Storm Of Climate Denialism
Take Action Now North Carolina was once a climate leader, but more than a decade of Republican and corporate obstruction left the state ill-prepared…
In Israel, Peace Is Not An Option
Take Action Now An interview with Israeli academic, left-wing activist and resister Idan Landau (he has been jailed three times in military prison…
The American Killing Machine And Us
Take Action Now This country was built on war, and that foundation shows no signs of wavering.By Caitlin Schneider, Discourse BlogI have a…