Oneonta redistricting draws concerns from college students

Mar. 28—Two Hartwick College students raised concerns about the city of Oneonta's redistricting plan during a public hearing Tuesday, March 28.

Redistricting Commission Chair Gary Herzig gave the audience an overview of the challenges the commission faced before he opened the meeting up to public comment. He said the commission was tasked with coming up with new borders for the city's eight wards after the 2020 U.S. Census showed where population declined and grew in the city.

The commission had to adhere to several criteria in order to meet the state Home Rule law, Herzig said. The Home Rule Law ensures equal representation is given to each common council member and city resident.

According to a media release, these criteria were:

—The difference in population between the most and least populous wards does not exceed 5% of the mean population of all wards.

—The wards were established with no intent or result of denying or abridging the equal opportunity of racial or language minority groups to participate in the political process nor to diminish their ability to elect representatives of their choice.

—All wards consist of contiguous territory.

—All wards are as compact in form as practicable.

—The Commission recognized residents of the Sixth Ward and students of SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College as Communities of Interest, in that they represent established communities with common interests that can be uniquely impacted by legislation or other actions taken by their elected officials. For this reason, the Commission worked to maintain their integrity, to the extent feasible, so as not to diminish their ability to elect representatives of their choice.

—The wards were formed so as to promote the orderly and efficient administration of elections.

Herzig said in order to adhere to the 5%, one ward cannot have 80 residents more than another ward. "That's a high bar for us to meet," he said.

Herzig said City Administrator Greg Mattice designed the new map, saving the city $16,000 as the commission was thinking of hiring a consultant firm to help draw the map. Mattice said he took data from the U.S. Census. He said the dark blue lines on the redrawn map were census tracts and the red lines were census blocks. The population was included in each block. The blocks were not necessarily the same as they were in 2010, including at the two colleges, he said. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges were asked to send the number residents of each dorm to the census department, Mattice said.

"This was important, especially with one block of 2,089 residents," Mattice said.

That figure was well above the 5% threshold, Herzig said, as each ward was allowed Herzig approximately 1,635 residents. Since the city knew how many residents were in each dorm, Mattice said he could split the resident halls into different wards.

This had two students from Hartwick College concerned.

Jasmin Ahmed asked why one dorm on Hartwick's campus was was placed in the Eighth Ward, while the others were placed in the Fifth Ward. "It's complicated enough to try to get students to register to vote and then participate in elections," she said. "Is there any way this could be changed?"

According to the proposed map, Wilder Hall and its 123 residents would be placed in the Eighth Ward, while the Saxton, Holmes, Leitzell, Smith, Van Ess, Townhouses, Apartments, Oyaron and Hilltop residence halls and their 800 residents would be placed in the Fifth Ward.

Mattice said he wouldn't say he couldn't redraw the line so all of Hartwick College was together; however, it would mean significant changes to the other wards if he did take that out of the Eighth Ward and put it in the Fifth Ward.

Herzig asked Ahmed if moving the dorm to the Fifth Ward would make a difference in whether or not the students voted. Ahmed said she wasn't sure since it's a freshman dorm. It might not matter, as some students may not be old enough to vote.

Mayor Mark Drnek, who represented the Eighth Ward, said they might like being in the Eighth Ward because it's connected to Downtown.

Ahmed said she was concerned because it was a "very small population," and she felt they wouldn't be heard by the council member who represented them.

Fellow Hartwick student Jack Mahn said he was also concerned about the one dorm on campus in the Eighth Ward, as the ward is focused on Downtown business and not on the community. "It makes them harder to have a voice when it's business-conscious," he said.

Mahn said he was also concerned about SUNY students broken up into different wards and how much influence they could have, and questioned the lines for the Seventh Ward, which extends around the Fourth Ward.

Commission member Laurie Zimniewicz said it might give them more of a voice because they would be represented by three different council members.

Center Street resident Diane Aaronson asked the commission why Wilber Park was placed in the Second Ward and not the First Ward, as she sees it across the street from her house. Herzig said commission member Susan Lettis fought to have it in the Second Ward, as it's historically been in that ward.

The commission asked Mattice if he could look at placing Wilder Hall in the Fifth Ward and how many changes that would mean to the other wards. If it's not feasible, the commission will meet to vote on the map and send it to the common council for approval. The new ward boundaries would take affect during the 2027 Common Council election, Herzig said.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.