The redistricting process is continuing to play itself out after voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have altered the process, and potentially handed more power to Democratic lawmakers over ultimately drawing the lines.
But those on the commission, including the panel's chairman, David Imamura, in a Capital Tonight interview on Friday, are confident an agreement can be reached between Democratic and Republican members.
Still, there's a lot at stake: Democrats in Albany are trying to maintain their supermajorities in the state Senate and Assembly. In Washington, the party is trying to head off a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives, and deep blue states like New York could make the difference in the narrowly divided chamber.
Commission members in September released two separate sets of maps, one drawn by Democrats and another drawn by Republicans. Imamura downplayed the signifigance of the differences between commission members, pointing to the ongoing public discussions surrounding the map drawing process.
In the past, congressional lawmakers have hired lobbyists to try to influence a process that at the time was in the hands of the state Legislature. This time around, no lobbyists have been retained. Nevertheless, at least one member of the Assembly spoke publicly about how his district would look under the proposals.