POUGHKEEPSIE – The common council is seeking applicants to serve on the redistricting committee, one year after the committee was supposed to be established. By the rules of the city’s charter, Council Chairperson was supposed to establish the committee one year ago but failed to do so.
Mid-Hudson News reported on the council’s violation of the charter with regard to the redistricting committee. The story can be found here.
On the same day that Mid-Hudson News asked Salem about why the committee had not been established, the chairperson asked for a notice to be posted on the city’s website, seeking applicants. Salem has still not responded to the request from the reporter.
According to the City of Poughkeepsie website, Chairperson Salem is seeking applicants from city residents who are interested in serving on a five-member redistricting committee that will create a proposed plan for new ward boundaries. The members will serve as volunteers with no financial compensation.
No employees, elected, or appointed officials of the City of Poughkeepsie can serve on the Redistricting Committee, and no more than two members of the committee shall be enrolled with the same political party.
Interested applicants do not need to live within the City of Poughkeepsie, but should have a strong knowledge of the City of Poughkeepsie system of government and the political process.
The Common Council was, according to the charter, supposed to appoint four members to the committee at their March 1, 2021 meeting. The four members will then select a fifth member who will also serve as the committee’s chairperson. That deadline passed one year ago and the council is now trying to become compliant with the law. The redistricting commission, by law, was supposed to submit its plan to the common council in November of 2021 and that deadline has also passed.
City residents interested in serving on the Redistricting Commission, need to send their resume and a letter of interest to ssalem@cityofpoughkeepsie.com by Friday, March 25, 2022. Applicants will receive an email from Chairperson Salem if she is interested in conducting an interview.
