Democratic county legislators Monday blasted a fast-tracked Republican redistricting plan that would move 59 villages, hamlets and other communities into different legislative districts resulting in changes for 44 percent of voters countrywide in November.
The GOP plan calls for District 10, which is represented by Democratic Legislator Judi Bosworth and now covers all of Great Neck, to be split in two with much of the peninsula joining Manhasset and Port Washington. And several villages in Great Neck would be split in two including the Village of Great Neck Estates at Cedar Drive, the Village of Great Neck Plaza at Middle Neck Road and a smaller part of the Village of Thomaston.
A new District 11 to the south would include the villages of Lake Success and Russell Gardens, the hamlets of University Gardens and North New Hyde Park, part of which is currently in District 9, along with North Hills, Manhasset Hills and most of Roslyn. New Hyde Park would remain among the towns in District 9, along with Williston Park and East Williston.
This map “doesn’t look like anything but a rush job” and is a “disgrace,” Democratic Legislator Judy Jacobs said during a Nassau County Legislature Rules Committee meeting on Monday.
Fellow Democratic Legislator Diane Yatauro said the map was crafted by “partisan map makers” seeking to ensure GOP control of the county Legislature in the future.
In a press release issued before the meeting, Nassau County Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs called the plan’s timetable illegal, saying ignored provisions in the County Charter that outline a two to three year process for redrawing districts.
Republican Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt said that if the county does not enact new legislative districts, “people would be disenfranchised.” Schmitt said the 2nd legislative district has grown by 10,000 people since 2000, making it much larger than the other districts.
Schmitt and other Republican legislators claim the county charter requires the creation of temporary news districts, based on the 2010 Census, before November’s elections.
“Doing nothing is not acceptable,” Schmitt stressed at the hearing, as did County Attorney John Ciampoli.
Redistricting, or reappropriating legislative districts must be completed every 10 years. Nassau County last redistricted in 2003, and the Legislature must adopt a new district map before general elections in 2013.
Democratic legislators and several residents beseeched Schmitt at the meeting of the rules committee to create a redistricting commission before adopting a preliminary map as had previously been the practice in the county.
But Schmitt said the first step is to “do something” and put a new map in place, then form the commission – as is provided by the County Charter.
Yaturo said that In 2003 the redistricting process took about nine months, Yatauro said.
In a letter addressed to Republican leaders and sent to Blank Slate Media, Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman blasted the proposed changes to Great Neck’s legislative districts.
“You said that the proposed map respects town and community lines better than current district boundaries,” he said of Schmitt’s proposal. “In the case of the Great Neck peninsula nothing could be farther from the truth. The proposal not only splits the Great Neck peninsula, it splits three of our villages. The Great Neck peninsula – nine villages and a number of unincorporated areas – are a community with one village officials association, one school district, one library association, one park district that serves most of the peninsula, one train station, an intermunicipal agreement to share equipment and personnel in emergencies, and one name – Great Neck – among other things.
“It is shocking that a proposal of this magnitude is something that I, as a village mayor, knew nothing about before receiving a telephone call on April 25.” Kreitzman went on. “It is equally shocking that most people including some mayors, until I spoke with them, knew nothing about it. To this day I have not been able to find a map that clearly displays the newly proposed districts”
Bosworth said the Republican’s timetable did not allow the Democrats to review the census figures or appeal the boundaries.
“Here’s the problem,” Bosworth said, “there has been no time. We don’t know where maps were drawn up. Plans just emerged.”
Bosworth said she believed there would be a lawsuit to stop the changes.
“It is impossible for me to think any rational, good governance is involved without opportunity for residents to understand it and comment on it,” she said.
Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn) he also believed the Republicans’ timetable violates the county charter.
“It’s clear that in an effort to seek some sort of partisan advantage they have proposed new maps illegally and in an untimely manner,” Wink said.
Wink said that under the GOP’s proposal he will lose nearly 60 percent of his current district. Wink agreed with Boswroth that there would be a lawsuit filed if the plan was approved by the Republican majority.
A public hearing before the full Legislature will be held Monday at 10 a.m., and the Legislature is expected to take a vote on the law amending the legislative district map the following Monday, May 16.
Ciampoli said a final, possibly revised legislative district map would be adopted in 2013, Ciampoli pointed out.
After receiving 2010 Census date on March 31, Ciampoli was directed to review the data and draw up a map based on three guidelines, Schmitt said.
Schmitt said the guidelines he issued were to reduce population deviation, or overpopulation in any legislative district; respect town lines, and take into consideration the emergence of a third minority district on the western side of the county, as well as protecting the minority districts in the center of the county.
“The population shifts compel us to do something,” Ciampoli said, otherwise the county could be vulnerable to civil rights lawsuits. The county must give the minority population that emerged “a full, fair chance to elect a representative,” he pointed out.
When undertaking the redistricting, “We also considered incumbency, a political consideration allowed by law,” Ciampoli said.
Great Neck resident Michael Zarin said his legislative district “should remain a single district.”
“We know Great Neck is one community,” Zarin said. “Keep our community together.”
