Syracuse, N.Y. – Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon today vetoed the county legislature’s proposed new maps of legislative districts.
His written veto message cites the need to comply with a technicality of state law. But McMahon told legislators informally that he also wants them to address “legitimate concerns’' about elimination of the county’s only majority-Black district, a spokesman said. Critics have called the changes to District 16 “racial gerrymandering.”
McMahon’s veto message asks the legislature to decrease the deviation in population size between districts to bring the new maps into compliance with state law. Under legislation signed several weeks ago by Gov. Kathy Hochul, the difference in population between the largest district and the smallest cannot exceed 5% of the average district size.
The difference between District 15, the largest with 29,137 people, and District 12, with 26,734, is 8.6% of the mean district population of 28,030.
It’s not in McMahon’s veto message, but while legislators tinker with the maps the county executive wants them to redraw District 16 to address concerns about the dilution of African American votes, McMahon spokesman Justin Sayles said.
District 16, on the South Side of Syracuse, is 59% African American, making it the only majority Black district. But the proposed maps would have reduced the Black population to 37%.
That plan sparked outrage from many residents, including the district’s Legislator-elect, Charles Garland, who has promised to sue unless the map is changed. It was not immediately clear whether McMahon has asked the legislature to restore the district’s status as majority Black.
In response to the veto, county legislators can either revise the maps themselves or reconvene the six-member redistricting commission to make changes. The legislature is expected to take up the matter at its next meeting Dec. 7. Legislator Chris Ryan, D-Geddes, said he will seek an opinion from county lawyers as to whether the commission or the legislature should make the revisions.
State legislation signed Oct. 27 by Hochul added new requirements to the redistricting process, including the stipulation that district populations vary by 5% or less. The law was initially misinterpreted, Sayles said. Previously, districts were allowed to vary by 10%, he said.
The county impaneled a six-member reapportionment commission in October to revise the district maps based on 2020 Census data. Three weeks after their first meeting, the commission approved new maps and forwarded them to the legislature. The legislature approved the maps Nov. 12 by a 9-8 vote.
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Report of the County Executive 11-22-21 by Tim Knauss on Scribd
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