SYRACUSE -- Tuesday's special session of the county legislature only lasted 13 minutes but it set into motion what could be a significant power shift in Onondaga County government. The lawmakers approved the creation of a six member Reapportionment Commission to recommend new boundaries for legislative districts.
Democrat Tom Buckel opposed the creation of the commission because he expects Republicans to seize an opportunity. "Politicans who are in the majority and control the process will protect themselves." Buckel told reporters.
The Reapportionment Commission must take into account the voter referendum to reduce the number of Onondaga County legislators from 19 to 17. The commission must also comply with new census figures which show a population shift from the City of Syracuse to the suburbs. Currently each county legislator represents about 23,000 people. The new districts are expected to encompass about 27,000 residents. Syracuse city residents are expected to lose one of their representatives, but so will people living in the suburbs.
Legislature Chairman Jim Rhinehart says it will be a fair process. "The challenge will be the size. Each district will increase because we have less legislators."
But Democrats fear gerrymandering, in which district boundaries would be drawn to favor Republicans in future elections. "You want them to keep... neighborhoods together that should be together."
Legislator Robert Warner may have stunned some of his fellow Republicans when he revealed that members of the Reapportionment Commission have already been meeting unofficially for two months. "The people that were named today have been working on this for some time now." Warner told CNY Central's Jim Kenyon.
Rhinehart explained, "We've been collecting a lot of data, doing research on past commissions." When Kenyon asked Rhinehart if by meeting before their formal appointments, the Commission's findings would be a foregone conclusion, Rhinehart replied, "very far from that. we've got a ways to go, we've got a lot of work and we've got to get concensus."
The first meeting of the Reapportionment Commission will be Thursday at noon at the County Legislature chambers. The meeting is open to the public.
The six members of the Commission are:
Nick Pirro - former Onondaga County Executive
Edward Ryan - Democratic Elections Commissioner
Helen Kiggins - Republican Elections Commissioner
Linda Ervin - Democrat, County Legislator
Jim Rhinehart - Republican Legislature Chairman
Ryan McMahon - Republican Syracuse Councilor
Original story from Tuesday morning:
New census figures for Onondaga County could lead to important changes in the makeup of the Onondaga County Legislature.
County lawmakers will hold a special session at noon Tuesday to begin the process of redistricting the county legislature. The legislature is expected to appoint a "reapportionment" commission to recommend new election district boundaries that will reflect the 2010 census.
That census found a slight decrease in the population of the City of Syracuse, with increases in the suburbs, most notably Cicero.
Some predict that Republicans will try to eliminate two seats because they currently have a 12-7 majority. One of the seats that could be eliminated is in the City of Syracuse, where Democrats enjoy an advantage in voter registration.
The redistricting could happen quickly. The commission is expected to recommend its changes in time for a public hearing on April 13th, with a vote by the full legislature the following day in a special session.
