New draft maps keep Jefferson County split in Congress, break up Lewis, St. Lawrence in state Senate

May 18—WATERTOWN — The latest maps drafted in New York's fraught redistricting process are in, and they still call for Jefferson County to be split between a Central New York district and a north country one.

Under maps submitted by court-appointed special master Jonathan Cervas on Monday, New York's 21st Congressional District would still cover all of St. Lawrence and Lewis counties, but lose its small hold in Oswego County and the south and western portions of Jefferson County.

Maps approved by the state Legislature and Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul earlier this year made similar changes to NY-21, removing the city of Watertown, parts of Fort Drum and a good portion of Jefferson County from the district. Those areas of the county were part of the 24th Congressional District under the maps deemed unconstitutional by New York's highest court. The state's Court of Appeals said lawmakers lacked the authority to pass the congressional and state Senate maps after an independent redistricting commission failed to reach a consensus.

In the maps submitted by the special master, the village of Alexandria Bay and a portion of Wellesley Island are back in NY-21. Fort Drum, which was split between NY-21 and NY-24 in the previous maps, is now also fully back in NY-21. The city of Watertown remains in NY-24.

The village of Black River is now split down its center, with the northern part in NY-21 and the southern part in NY-24. The village of West Carthage, and the western and southern parts of neighboring Carthage are also in NY-24.

From West Carthage south, the district line follows the border between Lewis and Jefferson counties, with the towns of Adams, Mannsville and Ellisburg in NY-24, as well as the northeastern parts of Oswego County. South of Lewis and Oswego counties, NY-22 — a Syracuse and Rome-based district — takes shape.

To account for its losses in the western portion of the former NY-21, the district now includes more Capital Region land, as far south as Middleburgh in Schoharie County.

In NY-21, candidates remain the same under the new configuration. Congresswoman Elise M. Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, as well as her Democratic challengers Matthew F. Putorti and Matt Castelli have all declared their intent to run in NY-21.

Under a judge's ruling earlier this month, candidates who qualified to run in the now-defunct districts can declare again for the new districts without having to submit new petitions to appear on the ballot in the congressional and state Senate primaries scheduled for August 23.

The 24th Congressional District looks very similar to its former configuration, with a few key differences that make it less evidently drawn for political purposes.

Whereas the last design for NY-24 snaked tightly around Rochester, relying on a 3.4-mile wide connection in Ontario County to stay contiguous between the east and west and included most of Niagara County, the new NY-24 includes the entirety of Ontario County, as well as all of Oswego, Seneca, Cayuga and Wayne counties. Livingston, Genesee and the southern portion of Orleans counties are all included in the district. Niagara County is no longer in the district, and NY-24 can no longer easily be called the "Lakeshore District," as it could in its prior form, as it does not include the western Lake Ontario shoreline of Niagara or Orleans counties.

Western Erie County, from its northern to southern borders, is now also included in NY-24. The former map included just a portion of Erie County's northeast.

Under the new map, little should change for the candidates who declared for the last configuration of NY-24. Geneva-area businessman Mario J. Fratto has already declared his candidacy for the newest version of NY-24. He had been planning face Congressman Chris L. Jacobs, R-Orchard Park, in a primary for the Republican line on November's ballot. Steven Holden, the Syracuse-area Democrat recruited to run in NY-24 last month, announced Monday that he will remain a candidate in NY-24 as well.

Congressman Jacobs has not yet made a public announcement about running under the newest district design.

The special master was also tasked with redrawing state Senate districts, which were declared unconstitutional in the same decision that invalidated the congressional map.

Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence and Franklin counties were previously included in Senate District 50, along with the northern part of Herkimer County. The new Senate districts split the region significantly.

Jefferson, Oswego and Cayuga counties and the northern and western parts of Lewis County are now in Senate District 48. The rest of Lewis County, as well as Herkimer, Hamilton and Fulton counties are in Senate District 48, with most of Oneida County, northern Otsego County and southern St. Lawrence County up to the St. Lawrence River, between Rensselaer Falls and Heuvelton. The border is drawn around the city of Ogdensburg to include it wholly in Senate District 48.

Northern St. Lawrence County, from Canton and Rensselaer Falls to the St. Lawrence River is in Senate District 45 now, which stretches south and east to include all of Franklin, Clinton, Essex and Warren counties.

Splitting what was formerly District 50 into three separate districts makes it unclear what candidates will run in those three districts. Assemblyman Mark C. Walczyk had been the only candidate to declare in Senate District 50, after Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, announced her retirement when her term ends at the end of the year.

Grouping Watertown and Oswego in one district could pit Assemblyman Walczyk against a Central New York opponent, and it's unclear who would declare to run in District 49 or 45. On Tuesday, Mr. Walczyk confirmed he will now run in Senate District 48.

"I humbly ask the residents of this new Senate District for their support, and together, I have no doubt that we will build a brighter tomorrow," he said in a statement.

The draft maps on the table are still subject to revisions, and the Steuben County court overseeing the process is taking public comment through Wednesday, via email at bwise@nycourts.gov. After the comment period concludes, the special master will reconsider the maps he has presented, and a final decision is expected by Friday.