The Democratic caucus of the Cayuga County Legislature has announced its support for a plan to reduce the number of legislators from 15 to 11.
The Citizen reports the caucus, made up of Christina Calarco, Elane Daly, Aileen McNabb-Coleman, Brian Muldrow, Heidi Nightengale and independent Tricia Kerr, issued a statement Thursday in support of the plan to shrink the legislature. In its announcement, the caucus said reducing the number of members “can result in appropriate legislative participation and representation.” District lines must be redrawn every ten years following the federal census, with each district roughly equal in population.
Related: Cayuga County Legislature to consider competing redistricting plans
Another proposal calls for keeping the membership at 15. It’s not clear whether the 11 legislator proposal has enough support to pass. Government Operations Committee chair Chris Petrus tried without success to get a resolution favoring the 11 legislator plan to pass at the committee’s last meeting. The 11 lawmaker plan would end what’s known as weighted voting, where the votes of lawmakers in more populated districts count more than those from less populated districts.
Whatever the legislature decides, it must do so by August, so voters can have the final say in November.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected]