Published: May 18, 2022
By: Carl Campanile and Zach Williams
The New York Democratic Party’s redistricting debacle has worsened by the day and on Wednesday descended into an ugly racial furor among Congress members.
Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres accused fellow Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney — who is also chairman of the House Democratic Congressional Committee — of racism following reports that allies of the Hudson Valley Democrat suggested that incumbent black Rep. Mondaire Jones is not ideologically suited to represent his newly redrawn district.
Maloney indicated he wants to primary Jones for his newly redrawn 17th district instead of seek reelection in his own remapped 18th CD.
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“The thinly veiled racism here is profoundly disappointing,” tweeted Torres, who like Jones, is a gay man of color.
Torres was responding to a posting by journalist Jake Sherman that said, “Also — @RepSeanMaloney allies are spreading the message that jones would be ideologically better suited to another district.
“But is that their belief on behalf of the dccc? Or a candidate who doesn’t want a member-on-member primary.”
Maloney, a gay white man, had no immediate comment.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney has preferred not to contest in the redrawn 18th district. - AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File
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The spat is the latest sign of the interparty warfare ignited after the courts ordered new congressional maps because those pushed by Maloney and other Democratic leaders — and approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul — were tossed out for partisan gerrymandering.
Republican critics dubbed it a “Hochulmander.”
Civil rights activists expressed concern about potentially losing the voices of two black members of Congress — first-term incumbent Jones and Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who currently represents the 16th CD covering the northern Bronx and parts of Westchester County. Bowman’s new district now goes farther into Westchester and carves out The Bronx.
“I’m very surprised, very concerned about what I’m hearing,” said New York State NAACP chapter president Hazel Dukes.
Rep. Mondaire Jones is likely to be pitted against Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in the Democratic primaries. - Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
“Do I want to see two new African-American congressmen — Mondaire Jones and Jamaal Bowman — lose their seats? Of course not! I don’t want to see representatives who are committed to justice and equality sacrificed,” Dukes said.
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“I know Mondaire Jones personally. He grew up in the NAACP. He served as a youth coordinator on the national board. He’s a smart man. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon.”
Congressman Torres offered a solution.
“Maloney should run in NY-18, which he mostly represents. Jones in NY-17, which he mostly represents. Bowman in NY-16, which he mostly represents,” he said on Twitter.
“Problem solved.”
New York Republicans blasted Democrats for attempting to gerrymander GOP congressional districts. - Redistricting Partners
The spat between Torres and Jones on one side and Maloney on the other is just the latest example of House Democrats in New York attacking each other following the redistricting mess.
In Manhattan two super-senior House members — Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, who have each been in Congress for 30 years — are vowing to primary each other over Maloney’s redrawn 12th CD.
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