Those of us of a certain age well remember John Dean’s famous remark about the Nixon administration: “There is a cancer on the presidency.” That term also appears at the conclusion of a recent New York Times op-ed by the founder of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project and a professor of neuroscience at the university. Quite pointedly, he concludes with the observation that “when cells disregard the boundaries of the organ where they belong, the result is cancer.”

In arguing that states must take the lead now that the Supreme Court has refused to provide a federal remedy to this blatantly undemocratic practice, Dr. Sam Wang prescribes the creation of independent redistricting commissions. As it happens, our state has the rare opportunity to end partisan gerrymandering in New Hampshire: House Bill 706, negotiated and endorsed by both houses of the Legislature, is now before Gov. Sununu. This carefully balanced measure is critical to restoring integrity to the process that will establish voting district maps following the 2020 census.

Please act today. Contact the governor’s office by phone (271-2121) or email (governor.nh.gov/contact) to support this independent commission and address a major cancer on our democracy.

SALLY EMBLEY

Webster