Democratic politicians and others continue to claim the redistricting process in Onondaga County government now underway is unfair and violates new legislation signed this weekby Governor Hochul. The legislative districts are boundaries in which an elected official represents residents and there is a lot to consider.
Kyle Madden with Fair Maps CNY says the redrawn maps by the County Redistricting Commission are unfair and are not bipartisan.
"The Democratic map keeps the community in tact. Towns remain in tact, school districts remain in tact, town and board lines remain in tact. Those are important pieces of maintaining constituency and making a fair, contiguous map. The Democratic map does that. The Republican map fails to do that."
Governor Hochul’s new legislation requires that districts must be contiguous and keep large suburbs like DeWitt or the City of Syracuse intact as much as possible. However, Onondaga County Democratic Chair Pam Hunter saysthe proposed redistricting maps by Republicans are in clear violation and says the process allows for up to six months, and that the timeline has been cut short.
"If there is an issue with that we'll definitely hear from the governor's office or the attorney general's office. But six months doesn't equal three weeks, and this is where we're at right now."
She adds as communities and diverse populations grow in the county, the power and representation should remain together within the maps.
County Legislature Chair Dave Knapp says he is confident Republican map and the redistricting process is in compliance of the new state laws.
