On Jan. 27, Yonkers City Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy, pictured above, said she opposes adopting the current proposed Yonkers redistricting map and will urge the City Council to refrain from seeking to vote on the proposed map at the January 31 Council meeting. We must allow the public an opportunity to observe and understand the redistricting process. The Council should hold at least one additional meeting where the public can view a revised map based on their interests and concerns.
The City Council does have time to wait, and still pass a redistricting plan that meets the deadline in February.
“I want to thank everyone who attended the two recent town hall forums on the proposed new districts. They were a great example of participatory democracy,” said Collins-Bellamy, adding, “Democracy requires that elected leaders listen to what the people say. I’ve listened, and it’s clear we need more time to respond to the many thoughtful comments we have heard in the past several days from the voters.”
“Yonkers has grown a lot in the past decade, to the point that there is a fifteen percent population difference between some of the existing Council Districts,” said Collins-Bellamy, “That violates one person one vote, so redistricting has to happen. But it must happen in a way that people think is fair and transparent, and right now we don’t have enough time to respond to the many questions that have been raised and still meet the political calendar for the nominating process. So the only fair thing to do is put the process on hold, spend more time talking with the public, and then adopt a map that people can agree is fair to everyone.”
Collins-Bellamy said that the growth in the City’s population, which has vaulted it to the third largest city in the state, resulted in a redistricting that necessitated more extensive changes than usual. She noted that the population growth has been disproportionate throughout the City, which meant that to comply with the law, significant changes are required to ensure that the total deviation citywide could be at most five percent, as required under State law.
“This meant that minor adjustments, which may have occurred in the past, aren’t enough to comply with the law,” she said, “There have to be some significant changes, but that requires we make maximum effort to discuss those changes with the voters who find themselves moved between districts. The only way to ensure those discussions take place is to put the vote on hold and use the time to respond to people’s questions.
“The bottom line is that the voters must have trust in our democracy,” said Collins-Bellamy, “If we move forward with the proposed map without taking the time for more discussion some will lose that faith, and we shouldn’t let that happen.”
