Otsego voters finally learn state, Congressional lines
Otsego County voters finally know their political home for the next decade after a state Supreme Court judge last week finalized new election district boundaries for the state’s congressional and state Senate representation.
A combined five courts – including the state’s highest – rejected boundaries drawn by the state Legislature after the voter-approved independent redistricting commission failed to agree on districts.
The court-approved, final lines keep Otsego County entirely within the state Senate’s 51st district, rejecting original boundaries that sought to combine the region with a wide swath of Montgomery, Schenectady, and Herkimer counties. Senator Peter Oberacker, the Republican incumbent, is campaigning to keep his seat.
“There’s a real sense of relief that I finally know where I’m running,” Senator Oberacker told The Freeman’s Journal / Hometown Oneonta after the new lines were made public. “I feel regret for the counties I lost; I met some great people and built strong relationships. There are projects underway and I want to tie up some loose ends before I hand it off to the new Senator.”
