Congressional District Map Approved by NYS Legislature on Feb. 2, 2022

New York State of Politics reports a federal judge has denied a bid backed by congressional Democrats to preserve the lines drawn by state lawmakers earlier this year for U.S. House districts in New York for a June 28 primary.

Judge Lewis Kaplan called the last-minute effort supported by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to keep the districts approved by lawmakers and signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul a “hail Mary” for the June primary.

The ruling means a special master appointed by a state court in Steuben County will likely have control of the congressional redistricting process for New York; he is expected to submit new districts for the U.S. House and state Senate districts in May.

The development comes after New York’s top state court last month ruled the congressional and state Senate lines were in violation of New York’s constitution.

A state judge previously moved the congressional and state Senate party primaries to August 23 as a result of the lines undergoing a revision by the special master. Democrats had argued in federal court the rejection of the districts gave little time for voters, and urged the judge to keep the lawmaker-drawn boundaries in place.

The state Board of Elections in a brief filed this week, however, contended there was enough time to conduct the August primary.

Martha Robertson

ITHACA – The Democratic candidate for New York’s 23rd Congressional District is getting some national recognition from her party.

Tompkins County Legislator Martha Robertson has earned a spot in the first round of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) Red to Blue program. DCCC officials say Robertson has surpassed demanding fundraising, organization and infrastructure goals and has also skillfully demonstrated to voters that she is a problem-solver who will strengthen the middle class.

The DCCC’s Red to Blue program highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, grassroots, and strategic support. The program will introduce Democratic supporters to new, competitive candidates in order to help expand the fundraising base for these campaigns.

Robertson is running for the seat currently held by Corning Republican Tom Reed, who’s expected to run for reelection. Unless Robertson is forced to run a primary and loses to another Democratic Challenger, it’s likely that she will be Reed’s Challenger in November. So far, no other democrats in the district has announced an interest in running for Congress.

The 23rd Congressional District includes Chautauqua County and extends eastward across the Southern Tier all the way to Tompkins County.

 The NY 23 Congressional District, containing: Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, Chemung, Schuyler, Yates Tompkins and Seneca counties – along with a portion of Ontario county.

Martha Robertson, Tompkins County Legislature Chair and candidate for congress.

ITHACA – The next congressional election is still more than 13 months away, but things are already starting to heat up in the race for New York’s 23 Congressional District.

On Wednesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee began to run a series of robo-calls to nearly 30,000 voters in the district, encouraging them to contact Democratic Congressional candidate Martha Robertson (Ithaca), demanding she cancel her upcoming fundraiser headlined by Peter Yarrow of the 60s folk group Peter, Paul and Mary.

In 1970, Yarrow was convicted of taking “improper liberties” with a 14-year-old female and served three months in jail for the incident. Yarrow was 32 at the time. On Sunday, Sept. 29, Yarrow is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Ithaca, with proceeds to benefit Robertson’s congressional campaign.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

The robo-calls featured a woman claiming to be from Bradford, Pa. and urge voters to contact the Robertson campaign and tell her to not have Yarrow as part of her fundraiser.

Robertson has refused to comment on the decision to bring in Yarrow for the fundraiser and has thus far resisted pressure to cancel the event. She is the likely challenger to Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning).

Reed has also been pressured by Democratic leaders. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Marc Brumer has said that Reed is the only candidate in this race who has potentially broken the law, and is now facing federal investigation into his use of campaign funds to pay his personal property taxes. Reed has said he welcomes the investigation, saying the payment was an inadvertent mistake that he quickly corrected.

Nate Shinagawa

ITHACA – Most of the money that recently came in for the campaign to elect Nate Shinagawa (D-Ithaca) is coming from private donors, while the majority of the money going toward the effort to re-elect republican Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) comes from special interests. That’s according to the third quarter candidate disclosure forms released earlier this week by the Federal Election Commission.

• VIEW SHINAGAWA 3RD QUARTER FEC DISCLOSURE FORM
• VIEW REED 3RD QUARTER FEC DISCLOSURE FORM

Tom Reed

According to a media release sent out by the Shinagawa campaign, the Democratic candidate for New York’s 23rd Congressional District, raised over $319,000 this quarter, with more than 80 percent ($259,000) of that money coming from individuals.

By comparison, Congressman Reed raised nearly $424,000 – about $105,000 more than Shinagawa. But unlike Shinagawa, the majority of his donations – a total of 57 percent ($242,000) – came by way of Political Action Committees ($53,000 in PAC funds came in for Shinagwa). About 40 percent ($171,000) of Reed’s donations also came by way of individual donations.

Shinagawa said the records show that Congressman Reed’s campaign is being controlled by special interest and that his votes follow the money, sometimes in his own personal interest. Shinagawa said Reed gets donations from the natural gas industry, the insurance and healthcare industry and the financial services industry.

During a media conference call on Wednesday, Shinagawa said that of the 18 emerging congressional races on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s watch list, his fundraising came in fourth highest. He said that bodes well for getting additional attention and funding during the final three week’s of the campaign.

“People aren’t watching this race because you know how it is in the southern tier, but I think this fundraising show that this is a race to watch,” Shinagawa said. “We blew way 14 other races, which is pretty substantial.”

Reed and Shinagawa are running in the newly created New York 23^rd Congressional District, which includes Chautauqua County and stretches across the Southern Tier all the way to Ithaca in Tompkins County.

Shinagawa leads the Democratic field in fundraising and cash on hand. He has the endorsements of the Chautauqua and Steuben County Democratic Committees along with Jamestown mayor Sam Teresi and several other officials throughout the district. He has also received the endorsement of the Working Families Party.

Shinagawa is running against democrats Leslie Danks Burke and Melissa Dobson for the Democratic Party endorsement, with a primary taking place on June 26. The winner will square off against Republican Tom Reed – who currently represents New York’s 29th Congressional District – in the Nov. 6 general election. Because of redistricting, Reed’s district has shifted to the 23rd Congressional District and now includes all of Chautauqua County.