Large Crowd Expected Mon. Jan. 23 and Wed. Jan. 25
By Dan Murphy
A proposed redistricting of the six city council districts in the City of Yonkers, which by law is required every 10 years, has drawn criticism from one councilmember and from the Yonkers Republican Party.
Two public hearings are scheduled for this coming week; on Jan. 23 at the Riverfront Library and Jan. 25 at the Will Library.
City Councilman Anthony Merante, who represents the 6th council district of northeast yonkers, says that the proposed new maps take out republican portions of his district, making it more difficult for a republican to win in the 6th district. “I just learned of these Town Hall meetings on Friday Jan 20th with a notification by email. Sadly, as your councilmember I was totally cut out of the redistricting decision-making process. Equally upsetting is that you the people have not been duly informed as to how this would impact you as voters and given virtually no notice and time to absorb these pending changes,” said Merante.
“This is reminiscent of the ram it through process used to get Term Limits extended and it’s a blatant chipping away at our democratic process. From notice received on the 20th to placement on the Council agenda for the 30th – will make it a 10-day process in total! Very sad!
“Please rest assured that I will not abandon my current constituents and will continue to assist you with your issues¬ and I now welcome my new constituents that have been added to the 6th District. Please attend either Town Hall to speak your mind on these proposed changes.”
The Yonkers Republican Party and Chair John Larkin, issued a release on what they called the “newly gerrymandered 6th district.”
Here is the Y GOP statement:
On Friday, January 20th, the Yonkers City Council released their new City Council lines. The new City Council lines saw drastic changes in most districts. Every decade Federal law dictates that the Yonkers City Council must redistrict the six Council seats, so that the population matches on a 5% interval.
District 6 saw the biggest alteration. It now spans from the Hudson River to Central Avenue. This new district would give Democrats an unfair advantage in the 2025 election.
Yonkers Chairman & Former Yonkers City Councilman John Larkin said “If you look up “gerrymander” in the dictionary, you will see the new District 6. Elbridge Gerry would be proud of this district. It would be unfair to allow District 6 as is to pass. It’s a shame that the district I represented for 8 years has been so radically altered!”
Larkin continued, “The way Northwest Yonkers was split up is messy. In particular, the neighborhoods of Monastery Heights and Woodstock Manor have been cut street by street into Districts 1, 3, and 6. To the point that in Woodstock Manor neighboring houses are in three different City Council Districts.”
Larkin continued, “This map moves around over a quarter of the Yonkers population into new districts. With such radical alterations to the City Council map, residents have three days’ notice to let their voices be heard. The Districts will be on the City Council agenda for the 31st giving the Republican Party only a few days to fight this.”
Larkin ended with “We need every concerned citizen possible to come to the Riverfront Library Monday at 6 PM or the Will Library Wednesday at 6 PM to let their voices be heard.”
While some republicans will find that they have moved from the 6th to the 5th Council District, others will have moved from the 5th to the 6th. The 5th district is currently represented by Councilman Mike Breen. A piece of the newly drawn districts getting attention is the part of the new 5th district that does not include republican Ron Matten.
Matten, who ran for City Council President in 2021, was considering challenging Breen in a GOP primary in June for the 5th council seat. However, in an email to the Executive Committee of the Yonkers Republican Party dated January 5, 2023, Matten stated that he is withdrawing from consideration and would prefer to contemplate a mayoral campaign in 2027. Additionally, and in the same email, Matten resigned his position as Second Executive Director of the Yonkers Republican City Committee as he intends to “…spend the next four years working on my brand and building alliances within and across party lines. Therefore, I may be supporting some candidates who are not the party endorsed candidates.”
Matten’s comments have brought pause to some who have worked with him in the past. One Republican District Leader commented that “Espousing Republican ideals appears only to be acceptable when it works to Mr. Matten’s benefit. Now that the Republican Party’s endorsement is no longer in play for him, he is setting himself up to help run primaries against those that the hard-working members of the City Committee select in the same way he was selected just two short years ago.”
Councilman Breen is expected to announce his intention to run for reelection in the coming weeks.
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The Yonkers City Council will be hosting a Town Hall Forum to discuss redistricting of the Council Districts on the following dates and locations:
RIVERFRONT LIBRARY: Monday, January 23, 2023 @ 6pm
WILL LIBRARY: Wednesday, January 25, 2023 @ 6pm
The Yonkers City Council will be hosting a Town Hall Forum to discuss redistricting of the Council Districts on the following dates and locations:
RIVERFRONT LIBRARY: Monday, January 23, 2023 @ 6pm
WILL LIBRARY: Wednesday, January 25, 2023 @ 6pm
