The Monroe County Legislature’s proposed new districts were unveiled Wednesday, and while a new map could have spelled doom for Democrats, the Republican proposal doesn’t appear to punish the minority party.
“Overall, my first reaction is that it could have been a lot worse,” said Minority Leader Edward O’Brien, D-Irondequoit.

The legislature’s redistricting commission on Wednesday morning recommended the Republican proposal in a party-line vote to the full legislature for its consideration.
The legislature voted during a special meeting Wednesday night to hold a public hearing and vote on May 10.

Some Democrats in the legislature live within blocks of each other, and there was some thought that incumbents would be put into the same district, either by necessity or as a way for Republicans to gain an advantage.
The Republican map, however, does not force any incumbent to run against each other, and leaves 75 percent of voters in the same districts they live in now.
“I wanted to make sure these districts were done the right way, and done fair,” said President Jeff Adair, R-Wheatland.

Adair is hoping for some Democratic support for the map, and Democrats on Wednesday were weighing whether they would vote in favor of it.
Sixteen of the legislature’s 29 members are Republicans, and population loss in the city, where Democrats run with little Republican opposition, could have pushed districts more into the suburbs, where Republicans are stronger.
In the last 10 years, the city lost about 9,200 people, while the suburbs gained about 18,200 people, according to the census.

The Republican map maintains 11 districts that represent part of the city. One of those districts, represented by Legislator Vincent Esposito, D-Irondequoit, is based in Irondequoit and includes just 38 city residents, who live around Durand-Eastman Park.
A second “city” district, represented by Legislator Rick Antelli, R-Greece, includes just two election districts in the city.

All 29 seats will be up for election in November, and candidates will run in the new districts, if new lines are successfully adopted.
The lines are redrawn to maintain roughly the same number of people in each district following the census every 10 years.

The new district with the smallest population is District 3, represented by Legislator Mary Valerio, R-Chili, which includes the part of Chili north of Black Creek, and is home to 24,459 people, according to the 2010 Census.
The largest new district is District 4, represented by Legislator Steve Tucciarello, R-Gates, with 26,836 people — 9.7 percent more than the smallest district. District 4 includes Gates and an eastern portion of Ogden.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110428/NEWS01/104280322/Monroe-County-Legislature-s-proposed-new-districts-unveiled

The new map:

• Preserves districts heavily populated with racial minorities. 
• Leaves one district without a representative. District 5 — represented by Legislator Mark Cassetti, R-Greece, who cannot run again because of term limits — has moved south, and includes Rush, Mendon, the western part of Henrietta and the southeastern corner of Pittsford. No incumbent legislator lives in this new district. This is done roughly by dividing an existing district in the southern part of the county into two. 
• Cuts the town of Sweden into two districts, while continuing to split the village of Brockport into two, as in the past.
• Stretches the district that includes the eastern half of Sweden east to Greece, about 14 miles wide.
• Puts Parma and the northern part of Greece in the same district. 
• Continues to divide most of Irondequoit into two districts that are north and south of each other.