Syracuse, NY – In a hurried process, Republicans failed to come together around a once in a decade Onondaga County redistricting plan, resulting in a veto by the County Executive.
Legal problems with the maps cited by the County Executive and others, as well as the chaos and confusion over the process begs the question of why should this be rushed to a vote next week?
The County Law Department is using a particularly literal interpretation of the provision of our Administrative Code that maps need to be put in place a certain period of time before the next election. Why would this be a reference to elections in 2022 such as the congressional election?
Legislator Chris Ryan has worked admirably to compile a local law that strengthens the Administrative code by making it clear that the next election would be the next County Legislature election, which in this instance would be in 2023.
The County Charter assigns the task of map-making to a Reapportionment Commission. For Legislators to instead draw their own maps is not appropriate and is legally questionable.
Since the County Legislature’s Republican Majority has chosen this direction for redistricting, the Democratic Caucus is putting forward maps that are legally sound, fair, compact, equitable, and keep communities of shared interest together.
The Democratic Caucus would like to encourage the public to view the Democratic Caucus’s proposal (proposed map 3) as well as the Republican alternatives (maps 2.5 and 4). High-resolution files are available at http://ongov.net/legislature/ReapportionmentCommission.html
The public can make their voices heard at the public hearing on Tuesday, December 21st at 11:30am in the Onondaga County Legislature Chambers on the 4th Floor of the County Courthouse.
