This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

State Sen. O'Toole Talks Redistricting

Warns that Census 2010 Fallout Could Lead to Major Redistricting Changes in towns including Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes, Mahwah, Ridgewood, and Wayne

On Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. State Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-Dist. 40) spoke to group of 80 people from Bergen County about redistricting. The event, at the Larkin House on Godwin Avenue in Wyckoff, was hosted by the West Bergen Tea Party.

O’Toole said redistricting is mandated by the New Jersey State Constitution following any census. With the recent 2010 Census, a commission of five Republicans and five Democrats will redistrict the state New Jersey. O’Toole is one of the Republicans serving on this New Jersey Apportionment Commission.

District 40 covers Cedar Grove, Franklin Lakes, Little Falls, Mahwah, Midland Park, Oakland, Ridgewood, Ringwood, Verona, Wanaque, Wayne and Wyckoff.

It's expected that an agreement will not be met. If not the constitution calls for an 11th member, who was appointed by the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. O’Toole confirmed that Alan Rosenthal, a political science professor from Rutgers University who specializes in State legislatures, State politics, State policymaking and Legislative ethics, has been pegged as that 11th member. Rosenthal served on the committee in 1991 following the 1990 Census.

O’Toole was pleased with his choice and believed he will be a fair.

“We want to avoid what happened in 2001,” said O’Toole.

O’Toole believes in 2001, the 11th member who was chosen allowed for an “unconstitutional” redistricted map that allowed Newark and Jersey City to be divided into other districts which tilted constituents in favor of Democrat candidates.

“The law requires that a city is not to be divided,” said O’Toole.
He asked that citizens attend meetings and voice their support for a “constitutionally correct map.” By law, it is required the map to be redistricted and approved by the end of March. This gives less than two weeks (April 12) for candidates to file paperwork for the June 6 primary elections.

O’Toole said one of the biggest concerns is incumbents who wish to hold on to districts in their current state.

“I sympathize with the incumbents,” he said. “[After the 2000 Census], I lost 90 percent of my district and I had to campaign in new towns.”

As a Republican, O'Toole said his goal was to keep a unified party front during redistricting. He believed that in 2001 when Republicans controlled the legislature, some Republicans were more interested in their political career than the good of the party or the good of the State.

“If we have to blow up district [that was in Republican control] for the good of the party, we need to do it. Everyone needs to sacrifice,” he said.

He believes that by making districts competitive to both Republicans and Democrats, it will prevent a stagnant incumbency. “We want to get people involved and we need people attending these public meetings, contacting their representatives.”

Mahwah Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio, who attended, agreed and said the legislature needed to be more transparent with citizens.

“Legislators need to explain to the people why they supported the bills they do as well as explain the pros and cons of each action,” she said. “Most people do not understand how the process works, and they need to be informed.”

Wyckoff Mayor Kevin Rooney agreed with DiGiulio. “Having him here talking about this is extremely important, because how can any voter affect change without the right information?” he said.

 

Find out what's happening in Wyckoffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?