BY ANGELO LYNN
MONTPELIER — The final maps of the redistricting bill, H.722, have been approved by the House and are headed to the Senate, which is expected to pass the legislation which occurs every decade after the new census.
In this revision, the current district of Rutland-6, which is made up of Brandon, Pittsford and Sudbury, has been divided into three new districts. Brandon will become a single district. Proctor and Pittsford will be joined into a single district. And the towns of Sudbury, Hubbardton, Orwell, Whiting and Shoreham will be merged into a single district.
Rep. Stephanie Jerome said it “was a long and arduous process to come up with an acceptable statewide plan, but it was approved with a near unanimous vote in the House.”
Rep. Jerome said she would be running for election to the single seat representing Brandon in the next election. Rep. Butch Shaw, R-Pittsford, said he never makes “a decision about his political future until much later in the legislative session,” but was quick to add he was “very happy with the new Pittsford-Proctor district.”
Rep. Jerome said that while she “truly enjoyed representing all three towns for the past six years,” it did mean that she and Rep. Shaw represented 8,200 constituents in those communities, compared to the 4,100 people just in the town of Brandon. “Every town has its own unique culture and character,” she said, adding it was a thrill to get to know all three communities and serve those voters.
What are the benefits of the new redistricting?
“From the perspective of constituent service, serving a more refined district allows you to be more focused on the needs of those particular constituents,” she said, but also emphasized that she and Rep. Shaw had worked well together, as does the entire Rutland delegation, so nothing is lost in the change.
“It’s going back to what it used to be before it changed in the last redistricting,” Rep. Jerome added, recalling that Rep. Bob Woods had served the town of Brandon as its representative for years.
