A shallow line in the sand

The closer you look at Gov. Cuomo’s proposed gerrymandering deal with the Legislature, the worse it gets.

The high-stakes horse trade calls for Cuomo to sign off on blatantly partisan Assembly and Senate districts this year in exchange for the promise of reform beginning in 2022.

It was always going to be an ugly deal — not unlike letting a bank robber pull off one more job if he promises to go straight in the future.

Still, it was worth a shot. Had Cuomo leveraged his veto threat into an ironclad constitutional amendment coupled with tolerably decent maps for 2012, the tradeoff might well have been worthwhile.

But when details began to emerge Sunday night, it became clear that he fell short on both goals. When it came to giving up gerrymandering — a key weapon in Albany’s incumbency-protection arsenal — the Legislature did not budge nearly enough to constitute genuine reform.

Cuomo should answer that stonewalling by doing exactly what he promised in the first place: veto the lines.

The best part of the amendment is that it declares, flat out, that districts should not be drawn to advantage or disadvantage incumbents, particular candidates or political parties.

Beyond that, however, the amendment is deeply flawed.

First, it leaves too much control in the hands of legislators.

Their party leaders would directly or indirectly appoint all 10 members of the supposedly independent redistricting commission, and they would have final word on whether its proposed maps become law.

The only real procedural difference from the status quo is that sitting legislators would not directly draw the lines — although their children and business partners would be eligible — and that minority parties would have somewhat more say.

Still, incumbent politicians would rule the roost — and could all too easily gang up against voters for their mutual benefit.

Also, the amendment fails to require that all districts be roughly the same size — a necessity for upholding the principle of one person, one vote.

As things work now, Senate Republicans deliberately underpopulate districts in Republicans areas upstate while overpopulating them in Democrat-heavy New York City — thus giving the GOP a disproportionate share of seats. Democrats do much the same in the Assembly.

The amendment would let that obvious abuse continue, demanding only that mapmakers explain themselves in writing.

The proposal also missed the chance to repeal an arcane and archaic clause that calls for periodically adding new Senate seats — which Republicans have repeatedly exploited for partisan advantage.

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