POUGHKEEPSIE – The City of Poughkeepsie, pursuant to city law, was required to establish a “redistricting commission” by March 1, 2021. Under the leadership of former Council Chairperson Sarah Salem, who has since resigned, the commission was not formed until March of 2022; one year past due according to the law. The commission was required to use recent census data to draw new districts for council representation by November 2021 which needed to be approved by the council no later than November 1, 2021. Again the council broke the law.
The common council had a deadline of December 1, 2022, to approve a new map and submit it to the Dutchess County Board of Elections (BOE). For the third time, the council broke the law by failing to meet its requirements. Because the council floundered for so long, the BOE will base the 2023 elections in the city using the current maps.
Both the Republican Election Commissioner Erik Haight and his Democratic counterpart Hannah Black issued a joint statement to Mid-Hudson News on Wednesday afternoon, saying, “By the common council not adhering to the timeline as outlined in the charter they essentially created a scenario where next year’s elections will have to be conducted on the old lines.”
The timeline of the council’s inaction is as follows:
In October of this year, Commission Chairman Tom Lawrence submitted two maps for the council to consider. After the presentation, Council Vice-chairman Evan Menist, from the Second Ward, pointed out that the proposed maps were in violation of the law because the 300 inmates at the Dutchess County Jail were not included when the council was tallying the population of the city.
The council took no action on the maps in October and gave the commission additional time to draw up acceptable maps. That deadline has also passed.
According to Council Chairperson Natasha Brown, “The entire redistricting process was delayed by the former council chair.”
Mrs. Brown explained that the commission chairperson introduced a new map to the Democratic caucus recently. The Democrats had “concerns about the map, especially around preserving incumbency.” Brown also said that, at the same meeting, Menist produced an alternative map that was slightly different than the one that the commission produced but was favored by the caucus.”
The common council had a deadline of December 1, 2022, to approve a new map and submit it to the Dutchess County Board of Elections. For the third time, the council broke the law by failing to meet its requirements. Because the council floundered for so long, the BOE will base the 2023 elections in the city using the current maps.
Despite several attempts to obtain additional information or an explanation, Councilman Evan Menist did not respond to Mid-Hudson News.
