"[Tusten is] a small town. What benefit is it to you to have it split up in such a fashion?"”

Nadia Rajsz

Narrowsburg, NY —The process of Sullivan County's redistricting has slowed down amidst concerns about the maps and about the information behind them. 

The legislature originally planned to vote on July 21 on a trio of options for redrawing Sullivan County's legislative districts, which determines what legislator represents what district. Legislative chair Robert Doherty held to that plan through a tense discussion at July 7's legislature meeting, saying, "I can tell you, voting on the maps will be on executive [committee] and will be on full board [on July 21], so this might all be moot by then."

After that meeting, several legislators met and agreed to put off deciding on the maps until August, according to district five legislator George Conklin. 

The delay gives legislators the time to hold a public hearing, which will occur during legislative meetings on August 4. 

Conklin appeared along with district 2 legislator Nadia Rajsz to discuss the maps at a July 12 meeting of the Tusten town board. 

Conklin and Rajsz, as the legislators for districts five and two respectively, are the two legislators who would represent Tusten in the current suite of redistricting options. Doherty, who currently represents Tusten as the district one legislator, was originally scheduled to appear, but Rajsz appeared in his place. 

Public consensus in Tusten is against the first of the three possible redistricting maps: option one. That option splits Tusten in half, carving out the neighborhoods of Narrowsburg and the Flats and connecting them by a thin strip of land to district two in the south. The rest of Tusten would go to district five under option one; Tusten, as a whole, would switch from district one to district five under options two and three. 

Rajsz took a strong stance against option one during the Tusten town board meeting. "I have nothing against having Tusten," said Rajsz. "I would love to have Tusten as one of my legislative towns. I'm a river town. I'm in Lumberland, we're the start of the river towns." But Tusten shouldn't be split up: "It's a small town. What benefit is it to you to have it split up in such a fashion?"

Rajsz as well opposed the breadth of her district as it appeared in option one: option one has district two stretch from Narrowsburg in Tusten to the borders of Bloomingburg in Mamakating. 

Conklin said he was personally indifferent to any of the maps. But it wasn't about him, he said; it was about the people he'd be representing in that proposed district. 

"I believe we've had eight or ten people [submitting comments] from Tusten in particular who have been unhappy with option one, which obviously I take into consideration," said Conklin. 

Later in the meeting, board member Jane Luchsinger addressed Conklin directly, saying, "I'm hearing you say that you don't have a big preference… but you're looking at the people in Tusten right now, and you do have a vote. I would hope that you would listen to the people in Tusten that you will represent, no matter what."

Conklin replied that he was not in favor of option one. He cited Rajsz' concerns about district two as a contributing factor in his opposition, particularly how it covered 6 different towns. "I absolutely do not think, on record, that its the right thing to do."

The Tusten town board authorized supervisor Ben Johnson to write a letter to the Sullivan County Legislature opposing option one. 

Board member Greg Triggs encouraged members of the public to continue contacting the legislature about their concerns with the redistricting maps. "It did seem impactful to them that they had already heard from almost ten people, so I for one would like to see that number grow."

The three options for the county’s redistricted maps can be found online at sullivanny.us/Departments/Legislature/Redistricting. Written comments can be emailed to clerk of the legislature Annmarie Martin at Annmarie.Martin@sullivanny.us and sent by physical mail to 100 North St., Monticello, NY 12701.

See the links below for more information on redistricting.

Click here to read about the concerns the public and legislators had leading up to the July 7 meeting of the legislature.

Click here to learn the nuts and bolts of county redistricting.