Yonkers Insider: Yonkers Councilmember Merante To Hold Town Hall On Revised Redistricting Map.

DATE: This Monday, February 6^th - 6PM

LOCATION: Grinton I. Will Library, 1500 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10710

 

 

 

COUNCILMEMBER MERANTE TO HOLD TOWN HALL MEETING

ON THE REVISIONS MADE TO THE REDISTRICTING MAP.

 

Yonkers, NY (Feb. 4, 2023) Many sixth district residents were not able to attend this past Wednesday’s City Hall forum, so this town hall at the Will Library provides east-siders a more convenient location. The purpose of this meeting will be to brief the constituents in the district on the changes that were implemented to the map. Some minor changes were made after numerous complaints were expressed by previous Town hall speakers.  Documentation and the revised map will be presented at this meeting.

 

Councilmember Merante stated, “I’m truly disappointed with how this process was executed. I was totally left out of the discussions and had no input until the very end. I did not even get to meet with the redistricting consultant until Tuesday, January 31, 2023. That was eleven days after the original map was released. When I finally connected with the consultant, Dr. Andrew Beveridge, he was extremely helpful.  He provided details of the map and he listened to my requested changes. Unfortunately, the requested changes went on deaf ears. I was cut off from any opportunity to further negotiate.

 

Merante added, “I strongly believe that this process was pure and simple political

gerrymandering by the administration to make the sixth district non-competitive for Republicans. Republican voters were taken wholesale out of the sixth and placed into the fifth district. This was retaliation for my no vote on the term limit extension for the mayor.  I suspect this is pure political retribution because I stood up for the democratic process. I demanded that the term limit question be put to a vote by the people of Yonkers in a ballot referendum.

 

It seems now, that I’m the sole City Council member standing in the way of the administration’s one-party power consolidation agenda. I stand strongly on my principles and know, in the end, the people of Yonkers will make their voices heard at the ballot box. Our democratic process will not be thwarted by a lust for power.”