Panel agrees on redrawn lines for Assembly districts, but it is far from final

By Zander Frost, Chronicle Staff Writer

The New York Independent Redistricting Commission released a proposed State Assembly map that would take effect in the next election, in 2024.

The map used this year was deemed an unconstitutional gerrymander in May, but the court said there was not enough time to draw new lines before the election.

The maps are subject to change. The commission will hold public hearings soliciting input in early 2023 at 12 different locations.

Assembly District 114, represented by Republican Matt Simpson of Horicon, would now include the most populated parts of Warren County, all of Washington County [which is currently divvied into three districts], and a small part of Rensselaer County.

Mr. Simpson’s district would regain Glens Falls, which was sliced into Democrat Carrie Woerner’s district this year.

Saratoga County would be split among four districts. Ms. Woerner’s 113th district would include Moreau, South Glens Falls, Saratoga Springs, Schuylerville and Mechanicville.

Meanwhile, Corinth and Hadley, plus Warren County’s Lake Luzerne, Johnsburg, Thurman and Stony Creek would be in the massive 118th district that includes Cooperstown and borders Long Lake.

It contains parts of Lewis, Oneida, Otsego, Herkimer, Fulton and Hamilton Counties, as well as parts of Warren and Saratoga Counties.

Assemblyman Simpson told The Chronicle Monday, “This is progress, that actually the IRC, the Bipartisan Commission, came to an agreement — unanimous, which is encouraging.”

Last time, the commission stalemated along party lines. It ended up that Democratic state legislators who are the majority drew the maps that the court later threw out as gerrymandered.

“This map is clearly just a draft map, isn’t probably going to be what the final map will ultimately be,” said Mr. Simpson.
Would he be happy with these lines?

The Assemblyman said he’ll have an opinion when he sees the final outcome.

But he said, “I think it’s best to try to keep a county wholly intact.”

He added, “I didn’t have any input on the map, but it seems to me that you could very easily keep Warren County intact, and maybe have, rather than have two towns in Rensselaer County, maybe you would only have one.”

He noted, “Washington County has had three assembly districts for many years.”

Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner returned a call as we neared deadline.

“My job is to represent the district however it’s defined,” she said.

Ms. Woerner added, “I will say that my sense is that the city of Glens Falls fits better with a district that has other cities in it. Having that be the only city in a very rural district…it’s kind of an outlier, and the issues that cities have around transit, around housing, around aging infrastructure is unique to cities,

“It’s helpful to be represented by somebody who has other cities, so that they have they build up an expertise in those funding streams and those issues.”

Republican Dave Catalfamo, who lost to Ms. Woerner in 2020 and 2022, had filed a complaint with the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying contending Ms. Woerner broke the law by involvement in prior redistricting, specifically by urging that Glens Falls be added to her district.

Asked about it by The Chronicle in November, Ms. Woerner replied, “I did not personally get involved in the process. Did I have an opinion? Everyone has an opinion.”

Mr. Catalfamo told The Chronicle Monday, “You can’t look at the district and say that what they did comported with the rules of how the law is, you just can’t.”

Prior to the 2014 amendment, he said, “you and I could go sit in a room and I could trade you block by block and gerrymander. And while that might be unseemly, it was perfectly legal.”

Now, though, “It’s not legal…ratified by the people of New York, and then you [the Democrats] did it anyways.”

Mr. Catalfamo said, “The losers aren’t me. The losers are the voters of the 113th who were disenfranchised.”

“It’s frankly disgraceful,” he said. “People should have more respect for the rule of law and for the voters.”

Ms. Woerner, when asked about Mr. Catalfamo’s accusations Tuesday, said, “Both the prior instantiation of the 113th Assembly District, and the one that I ran in this time, had Republican enrollment advantage both times…and I won both times.”

“My job is to be the very best representative of all the people who live in the district, regardless of what party they are enrolled in. That’s the job and that’s the job I do. And people recognize that and they vote for me. So, I don’t have anything else to say about it,” she said.

Mr. Catalfamo said he suspects something close to this proposed map will be approved. “And folks in Glens Falls, in particular, are going to have a new representative.”

Will Mr. Catalfamo run again?

“Never say never,” he said. “I believe strongly in public service.”

“My first litmus test, again, will be whether or not Albany gets its act together to make sure that New Yorkers aren’t living in an unsafe state with laws that put the rights of criminals over the rights of law abiding citizens.”

“If they’re able to address that, I’d have a whole lot less impetus to run….But I will say frankly I don’t think that they took that lesson from the election at all.”

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