On Tuesday, December 20th at 4pm the Yonkers City Council will hold a special meeting. The only notable item on the short agenda is the discussion of the city redistricting process of 2023.
The redistricting process occurs every 10 years in Yonkers and the last maps were drawn in 2013. There are six council districts in Yonkers of which two are held by Republicans, and the remaining four and the city-wide elected council president being Democrats. The process of redistricting is always an exercise in political power, despite the facade of constructing representative communities. We will see if the districts on the east side of Yonkers, expressly four, five, and six undergo changes to further tilt the council. This effort could weaken self-proclaimed independents like Anthony Merante and, in contrast, bolster John Rubbo in the fourth district.
The Westchester County Board of Legislators recently completed their redistricting process less than two weeks ago. The process was contentious, as these processes always are, and the maps underwent multiple revisions. However, the vote to adopt the new maps passed overwhelmingly with only the two conservative legislators in opposition of the 17 seat body.
The meeting on Tuesday is not expected to be a barn burner by any means. The agenda reads simply that there will be presentations from two potential consultants on the matter. There will be discussion presumably only amongst these consultants and the council members with no direct public comments.
You can read the announcement of the agenda below.
