Governor Cuomo promised, in essence, that there would be. During his successful campaign in 2010, Mr. Cuomo said he would fight for the creation of an independent commission that would be given power to redraw the state’s legislative and congressional districts, a process that unfolds every 10 years. Traditionally, both houses of the Legislature handle this task, and critics have charged that the legislators draw maps that insulate incumbents from serious challenges. Congressional incumbents and state legislators rarely are turned out of office in New York, the result, critics say, of unfair district maps.

Not surprisingly, legislative leaders haven’t jumped at the opportunity to turn over their map-making power to an independent commission. The result is a stalemate between Mr. Cuomo, who is attempting to make good on his promise, and both parties in the Legislature. Republicans and Democrats may not agree on everything, but leaders of both parties are of one mind when it comes to protecting incumbents.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has proposed a compromise that has possibilities: he suggested an eight-person commission—four Democrats and four Republicans—chosen by legislative leaders but made up of citizens, not lawmakers. The compromise needs some refinement, including assurances that the nonlawmakers have genuine independence and aren’t simply stand-ins for legislative leaders.

But if no such assurances are possible, the courts may have to step in to supervise the process. That would be unfortunate, but it may also be necessary. Primary elections will be held in June; the lines must be drawn by then.

Lawmakers shouldn’t have the power to draw legislative maps. That’s the not-so-simple principle that needs to be at the heart of this process.

Nowhere is that more true than in New York, where over one fifth of the delegation will be replaced with new members. Fittingly, for a year that saw Republicans retake the House by a convincing margin, all six of New York's new members are Republicans, and all six of them took seats previously held by Democrats. 

Without further ado then, New York, here are your newest representatives. >>

As the time line elapses from Oct. 21 to the current second, each candidate's blue or red orb — for Democratic and Republican candidates, respectively and obviously — expands and shrinks according to their Twitter popularity over time. Scroll your mouse over one of the tinier circles and the candidate's name and Twitter handle will pop up. There's also a search feature. Hey, it's not as game-changing as buying a hashtag, but still pretty cool!

In case you were wondering, the most-covered candidate this election season was Christine O'Donnell, The Upshot reported earlier today. Her circle is so engorged in the Times diagram that it stays at the maximum size for the entirety of the animation. And that's too bad — we would have loved to see a spike on Oct. 28!

nfreeman [at] observer.com | @nfreeman1234

Its place atop the Twitter totem pole was prearranged — it's a "promoted trend," which ensures it will stay on the list, right there above #bieber4australia. But while topics have mostly been bought by, for example, film studios hyping a movie, the organization backing #Election is none other than The Washington Post. As a spokesperson for Twitter told Poynter, it is the first time a media organization has promoted a hashtag on the social networking site, marking a type of collaboration that might predict how the old guard will utilize the microblogging service's ranking functions in the future.

When a Twitter user clicks on #Election on the left sidebar — or whenever it's included in a tweet — the aggregated tweets containing that hash tag will be filed under a tweeted link to a Post story. The message that the paper now has in that prime real estate says "Can Michelle Obama give Harry Reid the boost he needs? A last-minute campaign swing." Then it links to the story.

With such a fast-track to Twitter's showcase of the moment's most vital topics, The Washington Post is making a bid to be the indispensable resource for all things election day, at least in the eyes of Twitter devotees. Though it will certainly give the paper's website some sort of boost today, the "Election" hashtag is essentially worthless by tomorrow. The Poynter story doesn't indicate how much the paper paid for the exposure, but it will take more than one day befor any real integration between Twitter's 140-character bulletins and something like the Post's fully formed news reporting can take place. 

Regardless of how many extra hits the deal brings the Post, this kind of stunt will most likely take place again. As Twitter grows it will become a more accurate reflection of the world's news pulse, and at this point we can agree that even our oldest and most cherished media organizations need Twitter more than Twitter needs them. With the estimated value of Twitter now equal, or perhaps higher, than that of The New York Times, this is becoming less and less surprising. 

nfreeman [at] observer.com | @nfreeman1234

Trump denied having any knowledge of the poll, and at first played coy on whether or not it was an indicator of any future political aspirations. Now, today on Fox and Friends, Trump said he was "seriously" considering throwing his hat in the ring in 2012, the New York Post reports.

"For the first time in my life, I'm actually thinking about it [running for president]," Trump told Fox News Channel. He added, "I see what's going on with this country and it's never been worse. What's happening is a disgrace."

When asked what party he would affiliate himself with, Trump said the Republican party.

The poll, which was first reported on by Time magazine on Monday, mentioned a variety of potential candidates and pairings, but 30 of the questions were about Trump. 

The potential Republican candidate today continued to deny that he had any part in the New Hampshire poll, but did mention that "I hear the results are amazing."

I will always be grateful that at a time of great peril for our country, a man of Larry's brilliance, experience and judgment was willing to answer the call and lead our economic team. Over the past two years, he has helped guide us from the depths of the worst recession since the 1930s to renewed growth. And while we have much work ahead to repair the damage done by the recession, we are on a better path thanks in no small measure to Larry's wise counsel.

--

Larry Summers is expected to depart his role as director of the National Economic Council, Bloomberg reports.

Citing three sources, Bloomberg says that the former Treasury Secretary under Clinton, former World Bank chief economist and former Harvard president will be stepping down. The White House is now looking for a corporate executive in hopes of shedding President Obama's purported anti-corporate image. Bloomberg also reports that the administration would like to fill the role with a woman, in addition to desiring someone with the Summers' depth of experience.

Summers' departure would follow that of two other key figures from the Obama economic team. In July, Peter Orzag resigned as White House Budget Chief, and his replacement, Jacob Lew, currently awaits Senate confirmation. Christina Romer left her position as chair of the Council of Economic Advisors on Sept. 1. Austan Goolsbee replaced her a week and a half later.

Among those expected to attend are Rep. Carolyn Maloney, her challenger Reshma Saujani, Senator Chuck Schumer, Senate candidate Jonathan Tasini, State comptroller Tom Dinapoli, and the attorney general candidates: Eric Schneiderman, Kathleen Rice, Richard Brodsky, and Eric Dinallo.

I'm told Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is traveling upstate and can't attend, and that attorney general candidate Sean Coffey hasn't confirmed yet.

"Of most concern to members is what these candidates will do to address the financial and budgetary issues facing the state and impacting their lives and work," said the union's president, Greg Floyd.

The union was originally going to include gubernatorial candidates, but later decided to postpone it.

Which keeps the pressure off the one unannounced candidate.

Before the change was made, however, a person familiar with the event's planning said Republican gubernatorial candidates Steve Levy and Rick Lazio were both invited, and accepted. Later they both backed out, according to this source.

A retired State Trooper and member of the minority conference, Kirwan never styled himself as a traditional politician. And if he becomes the only incumbent in the lower chamber to loose his re-election bid - his loss brings the minority conference to 41 members - Kirwan is showing some aplomb.

"I didn't concede yet, but I know the difference between possible and probable, and this certainly goes into the probable," he said by phone from his Newburgh home. "It was a lot of fun, it was a great honor, and I'm grateful for the people for giving me 14 years. It's a great run. I wanted another two years, but if I don't get it, that's okay. Most people don't get 14."

His challenger, Frank Skartados, was holding a lead of over 500 votes after polls closed on election night. The district encompasses the cities of Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and Beacon.

He said he is most proud of working to get State Police into small cities to help crack down on crime, and working to stiffen criminal sentences. Also, as a minority member without much power, he did more than his share of constituent service. "It's stuff like that when you can help folks like that with the bur. Nightmares that really makes the job rewarding," he said.

Kirwan was also part of a lawsuit that alleged the structure of Albany was so unbalanced that members of minority parties in legislative chambers did not have the rights of equal representation.

At 75, Kirwan said he hopes to spend more time with this wife of 45 years, Verna, and his two grandchildren.

"All in all, I've had just one of those lives where - I don't want to sound like Lou Gehrig - but I've had a great life," he said.