ALBANY -- A state task force has released new district maps today for all 213 legislative seats after a lengthy and secretive process that has been derided by good-government groups.
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WNY's districts have been redrawn in the proposed plan. Senator Mark Grisanti, who currently sits in the 60th district, will oversee the "waterfront district" according to the proposed plan.
Everybody in the state has been waiting to see what Republican Grisanti's district would look like.
The reason? Grisanti's huge upset win over Antoine Thompson in 2010 gave control of the Senate to the Republican party by a single vote.
Grisanti won despite a district that had five Democrats for every Republican.
"As we now know, my area of representation will include the 'Waterfront District,'" said Grisanti. "I believe that the greatest opportunity for growth, job creation and tax stabilization lies within this area. I will be the leader and the voice in Albany for cultivating our underutilized waterfront," he says.
Grisanti's new district starts on Grand Island in the north, includes his North Buffalo home, the Buffalo waterfront and heads south down to Evans and Brant.
In the new district, Grisanti will pick up more Republican voters.
Here's why that's so important- if Grisanti can win re-election it would go a long way in ensuring that Republicans retain control of the senate.
The other big change concerns Republican George Maziarz. In his new district Maziarz, would represent all of Niagara County, prior to this Maziarz did not represent the city of Niagara Falls.
For decades the Falls had been represented by a senator from Buffalo, which many believe helped to contribute to the problems that have plagued the Falls.
By picking up the Falls, Maziarz's district goes from slightly Republican to slightly Democratic.
The plan adds a 63rd Senate seat, which will be located in the Capital Region and Upper Hudson Valley, which experienced the largest percentage increase of population growth in the state since the 2000 U.S. census.
The state is required by law to redraw district lines for the state Legislature and Congress every 10 years because on population shifts. But the process has been derided for not being independent, with the parties in power drawing lines that help them retain their majorities.
This year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to veto any lines not independently drawn, but so far an independent process hasn't been established.
The new lines, set to be released this afternoon, is coming from the state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, which is made up of lawmakers. Lines for New York's 27 congressional seats have yet to be finalized, legislators said.
Republicans are seeking to retain their one-seat majority in the Senate, and Democrats charged that the GOP is creating gerrymandered districts to help them keep their power after the November elections -- when all seats will be on the ballot.
"The Republicans have been keeping the public in the dark, trying to manage expectations instead of letting New Yorkers see what they've cooked up and judge it for what it is," charged Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan.
As part of the new lines, Senate Republicans are poised to add an additional seat, bringing the total seats in the Senate to 63.
The new district would be crafted from Amsterdam in Montgomery County to Kingston in Ulster County.
The move, according to legislative officials, would likely mean changes in districts for other Hudson Valley lawmakers.
For example, Sen. Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, who has much of Columbia County, is expected to move more into a district that's almost exclusively Dutchess County.
Sen. Greg Ball, R-Patterson, Putnam County, is expected to have less of Dutchess County, as a result. His district would cover more of Westchester County; he already represents Putnam County.
Sens. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, Orange County, and William Larkin, R-New Windsor, Orange County, may also be shifted south and west because the new 63th Senate District would include much of Ulster County -- which the senators now share.
Bonacic said today he has not seen any new lines.
Larkin told Gannett's Albany Bureau earlier this week that he's comfortable with however it shakes out, saying 2012 will be his last election.
Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, Schenectady County, said he doesn't mind picking up other areas in the Capital region for the new seat.
"I think it's good. It makes sense. It helps the Capital region," Farley said.
Assembly members began getting word of their new districts late Wednesday.
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, Ontario County, said his district will change. He no longer will have parts of five counties in the Finger Lakes; instead he'll have all of Ontario and Yates counties.
The move means Assemblyman Sean Hanna, R-Mendon, Monroe County, will shift from parts of Ontario County to having more of nearby Livingston County.
Assemblyman Joel Miller, R-Poughkeepsie, said his district will change and would become a more Republican district. He said the new lines -- which he saw for the first time this morning -- didn't impact his decision to retire at year's end.
The 102nd District is expected to move north, he said, with the town of Poughkeepsie -- currently in his district -- as the southern point.
You can find more information on the state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment here: http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/
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