Draft NY Assembly maps kick out 3 Central New York members from their districts

Election Night in CNY 2022

Assembly member Pam Hunter, D-Syracuse, would represent a redrawn district that includes most of the city under a state commission's redistricting plan. Hunter is shown speaking at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown, Nov. 8, 2022. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

A draft plan released today by an independent commission would force three state Assembly members from Central New York to run in newly configured legislative districts where they don’t live.

The New York Independent Redistricting Commission voted today to approve the bipartisan plan, but it’s far from final.

After a series of public hearings, the commission is due to submit final maps by April. Then, state lawmakers will have to approve the new district boundaries or come up with their own maps next year.

The draft plan approved today would dramatically remake the districts for three out of five state Assembly members representing parts of Central New York.

The biggest change would consolidate most of the city of Syracuse into a single Assembly district (129th) that no longer would include the home of Assembly member Bill Magnarelli, D-Syracuse.

Magnarelli’s existing 129th District includes his home on Brattle Road in Syracuse’s Sedgwick neighborhood. Under the draft plan, Sedgwick and part of Eastwood are moved into in a new 128th District.

Assembly member Pam Hunter, D-Syracuse, who lives on DeMong Avenue on the East Side, would be within a block inside the border of the new 129th District that includes most of the city.

The 128th Assembly District, currently represented by Hunter, would also change dramatically under the proposal. The new district would stretch from Cicero in the north to DeWitt and Manlius in the eastern suburbs, and south and west to LaFayette and the town of Onondaga.

Under the proposal, Magnarelli’s home would be in the the 128th District along with Assembly member Al Stirpe, D-Cicero, who now represents the 127th District.

If Stirpe stayed in the redrawn 127th District, he would no longer represent Cicero. But he would continue to represent the town of Clay and pick up some of Onondaga County’s western suburbs, including the towns of Geddes and Camillus.

Proposed NY Assembly districts for Central New York

Draft plan for NY Assembly district

This map shows proposed state Assembly districts for Central New York.

Assembly member John Lemondes, R-LaFayette, would lose Auburn, Camillus and his home in LaFayette in a redrawn 126th Assembly District.

The new sprawling 126th District would stretch from Van Buren south through Marcellus and Skaneateles in Onondaga County. The district would continue south through Cortland and Chenango counties.

Assembly member Will Barclay, R-Pulaski, would continue to represent Oswego County but he would see his 120th District grow under the plan. The district would expand to include a larger part of the town of Lysander, including Baldwinsville and the Radisson community.

Barclay was re-elected this week to serve a second term as the Assembly Republican leader.

Hunter, Magnarelli, Stirpe, Lemondes and Barclay had no immediate comment on the draft plan. The Assembly members and their staffs received their first look at the proposed district maps after the commission approved them this afternoon.

If the maps don’t change, Magnarelli, Stirpe and Lemondes would have to decide whether to run in a new district where they don’t have a residence.

New York requires state Assembly and Senate members to move into the district they represent within one year of an election.

The commission’s proposal also appears to consolidate Madison County into two Assembly districts. The county had been carved into five separate Assembly districts under a redistricting plan approved for last month’s election.

Madison County is currently represented by Assembly member John Salka, R-Brookfield, whose 121st District includes all of the county.

The new maps are the result of a court order that found the maps used in the November election this year were unconstitutional.

New district maps drawn by an independent “special master” were used in the November election for New York’s state Senate and members of Congress.

A separate bipartisan legal challenge seeks to have an independent expert draw the new Assembly maps as well.

The commission plans to hold a series of 12 public hearings on the draft plan. The first will be Jan. 9 in Buffalo.

The only hearing in Central New York will be at 5 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Syracuse University College of Law, Dineen Hall, 950 Irving Avenue in Syracuse.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to report that Assembly member Bill Magnarelli’s home is not within the borders of the proposed 129th Assembly District in Syracuse. Assembly member Pam Hunter’s home is within that city district.

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