We have a new year in full political swing here in the Capital District. Albany County Executive Dan McCoy has thrown out the idea of term limits and shrinking the size of the County Legislature. Term limits, maybe someday. Shrinking the size of the legislature, when pigs fly. They are way too concerned with maintaining their little fiefdoms to give up an ounce of power. One thing that has been talked about, but ignored just as quick is the shrinking of the Albany Common Council. Albany currently has 15 members of the council representing 15 Wards. I have tried — albeit somewhat unsuccessful — to identify how Albany came about having 15 Wards. (If someone wants to fill me in on that fact, please do.) I’m sure it came about in a Charter review some year, as we take great pains to redistricting these Wards every 10 years, for reasons that I still really don’t understand. (It’s supposed to be about making sure the minority vote is not compromised.) Albany is sitting at about 97,000 residents as of the latest census. Here is what other Capital Cities of similar size do for their government:
- Hartford, Connecticut Population 124,000 Mayor + 6 Council Members
- Springfield, Illinois Population 116,000 Mayor + 10 Council Members in 10 Wards
- Topeka, Kansas Population 127,000 City Manager + 9 Council Members in 9 Districts
- Trenton, New Jersey Population 85,000 Mayor + 7 Council Members, 4 in Wards, 3 At Large
- Lansing, Michigan Population 114,000 Mayor + 8 Council Members, 4 in Wards, 4 At Large
Now, if you really want to downsize your government, look at Austin, Texas. They run their city, population 821,000 with a Mayor and 6 Councilpersons. So why Albany do you need 15 representatives? The bottom line, I guess, is how do we go about reducing the size of our city government? The City Charter, as I read it, can be amended at anytime, although it must be reviewed every twenty years beginning January 1st, 1999. So the next mandatory review would occur on January 1st 2019. That would be the ideal time to set in place a Ward reduction. You could set it in motion in conjunction with the 2020 census. Why can’t the issue go to a popular vote the way citizens weigh in on other city matters? What would also benefit the city would be having At Large council members. It is evident by observing the goings-on with the current redistricting that these lines will be drawn according to the wishes of the Common Council. I will be railed on about that statement, but plain and simple, that is exactly what’s going to happen. Albany is so hung up on all the neighborhood associations, and beautify this, and beautify that associations, that if you draw one line, one street over, everybody in that Ward is all up in arms. With a reduction in the number of Wards, and the addition of At Large members, the city would be more that adequately represented without the representatives being chained to city blocks.
And that is “The Daily Take”