County Executive Dan McCoy told a federal judge Wednesday that he kept his hands off the county’s controversial 2011 redistricting process after he created the commission charged with carrying it out. “When I put the commission together, I gave them no guidance after that,” said McCoy, who was at the time chairman of the Albany County Legislature and the county Democratic Party. His testimony, which last 35 minutes, came on day nine of the trial in a lawsuit challenging the political map. McCoy asserted he did not recall many of the details of the contentious political maneuvering that embroiled the legislature’s sharply divided Democratic majority during passage of the electoral map nearly four years ago. Democrats including McCoy split 16-14 in favor of the law creating the map, which ultimately passed 22-14 with Republican support.
Asked if he could recall why Majority Leader Frank Commisso — then his most significant rival for control of the legislature — opposed the plan, McCoy said he couldn’t “really remember.”
“I was thrown off guard because in caucus he said he was voting for it,” McCoy told the court. “He changed his vote on the floor.”
McCoy’s stint on the witness stand followed that of his lawyer, County Attorney Thomas Marcelle, whom the plaintiffs called as part of their attempt to prove Marcelle misled the public about how the county was counting minorities for purposes of redrawing the political map after the 2010 census.
The suit was filed by members of Albany’s minority community alleging the redistricting plan diluted their voting power by failing to create a fifth legislative district in which minority voters are a majority.
Full Article: McCoy denies he meddled with redistricting – Times Union.