The following is a remembrance from Jeff Wice:
New York and the nation lost a voting rights pioneer and leader last week. Dr. John L. Flatueau, a professor at CUNY’s Medgar Evers College, passed away suddenly on December 30th. He had a long and distinguished career in New York’s academic, government, and political worlds.
Dr. Flateau chaired CUNY’s Medgar Evers College Public Administration department, directed the Dubois Bunche Center for Public Policy, and served for a period as dean of the college’s School of Business and Office of External Relations
Perhaps most notably, Dr. Flateau was the lead plaintiff in a landmark 1982 federal court case that successfully challenged New York’s delay in redistricting the state legislature. As a result of the 1980 Census, New York State had lost five congressional districts. In Flateau v. Anderson, John and a group of plaitiffs charged that the state legislative lines enacted in the 1970s needed to be redrawn before the 1982 elections (and not six years later, as the then Republican state senate leadership insisted was permissible under state law). In Flateau, the court ordered the state legislature to redraw both the state’s congressional and state legislative district lines in a timely manner in 1982.
Dr. Flateau continued to provide key leadership on census and redistricting issues. He was a member of the New York City Districting Commission in 2002-2003 and then its Executive Director in 2022-2023. Most recently, Flateau was a member of New York State’s Independent Redistricting Commission. He participated in a Commission meeting just last Thursday.
Over his career, Dr. Flateau served in numerous other government positions. Among his roles, he was a member of the New York City Board of Elections, State Senate Deputy Secretary for Intergovernmental Relations, Chief of Staff to Mayor David N. Dinkins, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for the NYS Empire State Development Corporation, and Executive Director of the NYS Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus. He was active in local politics and managed several campaigns.
Dr. Flateau was a graduate of New York University (BA) and the CUNY Graduate Center (MA and Phd). John is survived by his wife Lorraine and sons Marcus and Jonathan.
John Flateau was a prolific leader, mentor, and dedicated public servant. His mentorship of so many students and government workers became legend. Dedicated to a complete census count and fair redistricting, John’s imprint on New York will endure. And he will be missed by so many. As a memorial notice by Medgar Evers Colleges read, “May Dr. Flateau forever rest in power.”
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Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, January 10th at the Bridge St. AWME Church, 277 Stuyvesant Avenue in Brooklyn, NY.