Glens Falls finishes redistricting process

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) - On Monday, the city of Glens Falls announced the end of a long redistricting process. Based on population data, the city's five wards have been outlined anew, with the goal of bringing greater equality to how those communities are represented.

“We are absolutely delighted to have this process fully complete,” said Mayor Bill Collins. “I said from the outset, I didn’t want anyone in the City of Glens Falls to be worried about gerrymandering. Bob Curtis and the entire task force undertook the process with 100% transparency. The boundaries are fair, and the task force never took politics into consideration.”

The physical ward changes are minimal, and many city residents should expect their wards to remain unchanged. An interactive city map provides information on where changes have been made, with colored shading to indicate changes, such as parts of Ward 1 that have moved into Ward 2, and a large part of western Ward 3 that has now been converted into part of Ward 4.

With the physical changes, the city has updated its list of polling places, which now includes:

• Ward 1
  • Abraham Wing School, 120 Lawrence St.
• Ward 2
  • Jackson Heights School, 24 Jackson Ave. (off Sagamore Street)
• Ward 3
  • Sanford Street School, 10 Sanford St. (Logan Street entrance)
• Ward 4
  • Church of the Messiah, 296 Glen St. (Parish Hall)
• Ward 5
  • Village Green Apartments, 1 South Delaware Ave.

The process of adjusting wards revealed some discrepancies with the previous layout. The city Redistricting Task Force came in with the goal of maintaining no more than a 10% difference of 2,966 people between districts, and found that previously, Ward 1 and Ward 4 had a difference of 14.25%. The new map maintains a population difference of just 1.55% between wards.

Residents with questions or concerns regarding ward changes are invited to reach out to Communications Director Tim Drawbridge by email at communicationsdirector@cityofglensfalls.com, or tdrawbridge@cityofglensfalls.com.