Cheektowaga discussing going to political ward system
CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — On Wednesday night, the Cheektowaga town board held a meeting to begin discussions on whether the town should be changed to a “ward” political system, similar to that of Buffalo’s.
In December Ken Young, a Cheektowaga resident who campaigned for a town board seat, filed a complaint against the town that accused them of violating New York State’s John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, costing him the election due to at-large voting in the town.
In Wednesday’s meeting, residents were able to make their voices heard on whether they agree with him.
“Not just about minorities being up there it’s about people from the communities neighborhoods that we live in that will have a spokesperson for us,” Young said.
In the initial complaint, Young alleges that town officials are aware of the segregation, and claims they chose not to do anything about it.
The idea is leaving residents split.
“Who is gonna be split? Is it going to be six districts or the board going down to four, is it going to be four districts? There’s a lot of questions here,” said Cheektowaga resident Rick Maisano.
Young’s allegation led the town board to hire national redistricting and voting rights experts Jeffrey Wice and Dr. Lisa Handley as advisors. in their findings, they claim that the results of the past two elections for town office were racially polarized. Wice and Handley say this restricts minority voters from electing their preferred candidates.
“In the south area is supposed to be this bad area but he did well, but the Republicans did well too. There’s reasons for these things,” Cheektowaga resident Frank Max said. “This is not prejudice.”
Young’s notice of claim, which is not a lawsuit, is still in the process of being reviewed of potential NYVRA violation, with the town saying Wednesday they will consider options like the district voting system and term limits. They have till June 10 to do so before Young could potentially sue.
“I want to see my neighborhood thrive and grow just like south Cheektowaga but the only way it can happen right now that I can see is they have somebody in the community to speak up,” Young said.
There is another meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday. Written complaints can also be filed with the town clerk.
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Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
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