May 2nd, 2022 Daily Headlines

The Tompkins County Independent Redistricting Commission has released a proposal for the county legislature’s new electoral map. The proposal would expand the number of seats in the legislature to 16. The map includes 15 districts that voted for President Biden. In thirteen of those districts Biden won with over 60 percent of the vote. One district, the proposed 9th district based in Groton, voted for former President Trump giving Trump a little over 51 percent of the vote. Currently the legislature has 11 Democrats and 3 Republicans. The commission is allowing for Public Comment on the maps ahead of their May 10th Meeting. Residents can submit comments on the county’s website at Tompkinscountyny.gov/redistricting

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On Friday, Ithaca Mayor Laura Lewis released a statement on the Reimagining Public Safety process. Mayor Lewis said she was concerned by the process’s quote “failure across the past year to consult

with [the] Common Council.” Lewis also stated she was concerned by the possibility of a financial influence on the process by a third-party. The statement comes after Councilor Cynthia Brock, a prominent critic of the reimagining public safety process called for an ethics investigation into former Mayor Svante Myrick. Brock is claiming Myrick sought outside funds to pay members of the reimagining public safety task force without council approval.

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Congressional Candidate Vanessa Fajans-Turner has announced she will continue her campaign even as New York’s congressional maps have been thrown out. Fajans-Turner is an Ithaca resident who announced her campaign for the now invalid 22nd District. New York’s congressional and state senate maps were thrown out by the state’s court of appeals. In a 4-3 ruling the court found the maps were drawn with “unconstitutional partisan intent.” New maps will now be drawn by a “special master.”.

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New York State has announced it will allocate $2.6 Million to support holocaust survivors. The funds were announced last week by Governor Hochul. New York is home to about 40,000 holocaust survivors. Funds will be put towards medical, legal and financial support. Last Thursday was also Holocaust Remembrance day.