Three Auburn city officials asked state Supreme Court Judge Patrick McAllister to reject the proposed congressional and state Senate maps drawn by a court-appointed expert.
McAllister was the first judge to rule the district maps drawn by the Democrat-controlled Legislature unconstitutional back in April. Now, he will have a say in whether expert Dr. Jonathan Cervas’ new draft maps, released earlier this week, will be adopted by the state.
The task of drawing new maps was given to Cervas after the Court of Appeals- New York’s highest court- ruled the Legislature-drawn maps unconstitutional, ultimately agreeing with the lower court’s original decision.
New York’s proposed congressional district map. Credit: Jonathan Cervas
Related: Auburn Mayor Michael Quill to court: Don’t split city into multiple state Senate, congressional districts
Maps ‘devastating’ for Auburn, say officials
In separate letters to McAllister, Auburn City Clerk Chuck Mason and city councilors Terry Cuddy and Jimmy Giannettino argued the maps would be “devastating” for Auburn. Mason further argued that the maps drawn by Cervas should be thrown out and those drawn by the state Legislature should stand for one election cycle, according to The Citizen.
Under Cervas’ plan, all of Cayuga County and Auburn would be in the new 24th Congressional District, which spans from Erie County to Watertown. It would no longer be in the Central New York district with neighboring Onondaga County.
Before the new draft maps were released, Auburn Mayor Michael Quill sent a letter to Cervas asking him not to split Auburn into multiple districts. He noted that the city has been best served when “within districts that align strongly with the central New York region.”
With final versions due on Friday, May 20, Auburn city officials will have to wait to see whether Cervas’ took their concerns into account when drawing the final maps.
Related: Court-appointed expert releases drafts of New York’s redrawn congressional, state Senate district maps
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