Community Corner

Windsor's Redistricting Proposal Submitted

The proposal suggests Windsor hold a majority in the fifth district, which currently includes Hartford voters.

With the at heart, Leo Canty, chair of Windsor's Democratic Town Committee, submitted a proposal to the State Legislative Redistricting Committee Wednesday, detailing the reasons Windsor should, and how it could, have a majority in one of its voting districts.

Windsor is currently served by three state representatives (districts, 15, 60 and 61) and two state senators (2 and 7), and the town fails to hold a majority in any of the districts.

Windsor failing to hold a majority in any of the districts has created a situation in which residents are "mostly shut out of the legislative process," argued Canty in the proposal.

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

To amend the issue, Canty's proposal includes the following suggestions:

  • District 15 (currently Bloomfield and Windsor, and represented by State Representative David Baram) will cover all of Bloomfield, add 3,184 Hartford residents, and will no longer include Windsor residents.
  • Windsor residents would be added to District 5 (currently Hartford, and represented by democratic State Representative Marie Lopez Kirkley-Bey). This would be the district in which Windsor would hold a majority of 14,670 residents to Hartford's 9,000.
  • District 60 (State Representative Peggy Sayers) will continue to represent part of Windsor and Windsor Locks, but 4,672 Enfield residents will be added.
  • District 61 (State Representative Elaine O'Brien) will continue to serve part of Windsor, Suffield and part of East Granby.

The majority represented in the proposed changes to the 5th district "would provide for a better chance – no guarantee of course – for a Windsor person to win that election," Canty's proposal said.

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

An increased chance for a Windsor resident to represent the town at the state level is one of the principle reasons for the push to gain a majority in one of the town's districts, as expressed when the .

This is currently the first time in 370 years that Windsor has no resident representing the town at the state level. Retired Republican State Representative, and Windsor resident, Ruth Fahrbach was the last to do so, representing the town until 2009.

According to Canty's document, Windsor is the largest town in CT with no majority house district within its borders.

He also made it clear in his proposal that "The committee did not list incumbency protection as a stated priority for this exercise in redrawing boundaries."

An effort to protect incumbency has been something of great concern with regards to Windsor's chances of being granted a majority in one of its districts.

With the town's desire to have a resident representative, the implication is that the incumbent would be in danger of losing their position as the representative of the district in which Windsor holds a majority.

The opportunity for redistricting only comes once every ten years.


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