Onondaga County lawmakers are voting Tuesday on their own redrawn legislative districts aiming to satisfy a court order. Residents have one more chance to weigh in before a decision is made.
The majority Republican caucus and minority Democrats once again don’t agree on the best way to draw the lines. Republicans made only minor adjustments along the edges of districts mainly closer to and inside the city to accommodate the 1,600 incarcerated people with a residence in the county. At a recent public hearing, chair of the Syracuse Republican Committee Kevin Ryan said he’s pleased with the map.
“They comply with what the court required pursuant to the settlement," Ryan said. "The new maps are narrowly tailored to meet the modification. What they do for me as a resident of the city is to keep wards intact in communities of interest intact. These are good maps and I urge that they be adopted by the legislature.”
But his brother. outgoing democratic floor leader Chris Ryan, says not so fast. He says his party’s map proposes more meaningful changes.
“The city of Syracuse districts are a lot tighter. They're certainly more contiguous," Chris Ryan said "The new American district, per se, is a much, much better district. We have the Eastwood Hawley-Green instead of going all the way out to East Syracuse. The Village of East Syracuse should be within the town of DeWitt.”
Former Democratic legislator Mary Kuhn was part of the lawsuit filed by fellow legislators and party officials alleging the maps were gerrymandered by republicans and broke up minority voting blocs. The judge did not rule on those arguments, but she says Democrats are seeking equal representation.
“The communities of interest are better represented. It's a tighter map and I hope that there is some consideration." Kuhn said. “I know that the Democrats are in the minority, but I think in the spirit of bipartisanship, it would be nice to really look at the spirit what these maps are to represent”
Only three people spoke at the public hearing. Residents have one more chance to weigh in Tuesday in an effort to sway lawmakers. They’re scheduled to vote on the competing maps at their 1:00 session.
