The Cortland County Legislature appointed members to its redistricting commission via a 15-1 vote at its Thursday meeting.
The legislature also approved an amendment that would expand resident input and solidify the inclusion of the county’s elections commissioners.
The deadline to appoint members to the redistricting commission is Feb. 11. It marks six months after the release of local 2020 U.S. Census data, according to legislator Ann Homer (D-LD7).
Federal census information suggests the population in the county has gone from 49,336 (in 2010) to 46,809 (in 2020), marking a 5.12% decrease in population in the span of a decade for the county. The purpose of the commission is to “evaluate the existing county
legislative districts for equity and representation in relation to population,” according to a resolution approved by the legislature.
The commission is chaired by Legislative Chair Kevin Fitch (R-LD8) and includes Majority Leader George Wagner, (R-LD15), legislator Kelly Preson (R-LD10), Minority Leader Beau Harbin (D-LD2) and legislator Cathy Bischoff (D-LD3).
The resolution originally approved by the legislature also called for the creation of a Citizens Advisory Committee. It consists of:
- One City of Cortland elected or appointed official
- One Cortland County municipal supervisor
- One representative from the Cortland County business sector
- One representative from the Cortland County education sector
- One attorney
- Two Cortland County residents
In seeking to expand elections know-how and resident representation, Harbin proposed an amendment to expand the number of Cortland County residents on the advisory committee to five. The amendment also included the addition of the county’s elections commissioners — Republican Robert Howe and Democrat Thomas Brown.
“This change is important to make sure our citizens have full participation in this board and that we bring in the expertise of our election commissioners,” Harbin said.
That amendment narrowly passed the chamber with a vote of 9-7. Fitch and Wagner both opposed the new provisions. Before their inclusion as part of the advisory committee, Fitch said the commission would rely on the elections commissioners’ input as advisors.
“I’d like to see us as a commission convene to discuss this particular topic,” Wagner said. “I think we need to discuss this as a commission and then get back to the legislature.”
Homer responded to Wagner, noting that there would be very little time for additional consideration.
“I would encourage us to take action on this now and at least appoint this commission now,” she said. Homer added the commission can discuss further amendments at a later date.
Legislator Paul Heider (R-LD16) asked county chief assistant district attorney Wendy Franklin if the amendment was permitted through Local Law No. 2 of 1972, which largely dictates how redistricting efforts are conducted.
“I am not sure at this time. I was not aware I would need to provide that information (tonight),” Franklin said. She added she sees the expanded representation as a positive. “I do think there has been a lot of discussion suggesting that it would be helpful to have more voices than just legislators taking a look at redistricting. That way, everybody feels involved.”
Legislative clerk Savannah Hempstead said the law does not indicate any restrictions on who can be a part of the commission. She added the commissioners were on board with joining the advisory committee.
“The discussion we had is healthy and important,” Harbin said after the vote. “This is why we need to have this board, because we haven’t updated our redistricting law since 1972. This is really gonna help us set up redistricting for 2030.”
