At the recent Glens Falls Democracy for America meeting, we heard that the underlying plan behind the Glens Falls redistricting proposal is to grossly inflate the Republican enrollment in the five wards of the city, thus enabling the GOP to easily take back the supervisors positions it lost in 2005.

The increasingly liberal City of Glens Falls has become a minor nuisance to the Republican machine in Warren County, which literally has a virtual stranglehold on every single town in the county (Glens Falls being the lone exception). Currently the Republicans hold 17 out of the 20 posts on the Warren County Board of Supervisors, with all 3 of the Democrats coming out of the City of Glens Falls. If the Republicans can just reclaim control of the Glens Falls supervisor posts, they'll be able run the entire county lock, stock, and barrel once again, essentially leaving no opposition or dissenting voices on the Board of Supervisors.

Similar to what we've been seeing here in the Spa City 15 miles to the South, the demographics of Glens Falls are slowly changing, as the city continues to diversify and bring in more and more creative-minded types. So, instead of becoming more ideologically relevant with the current times, the Warren County GOP apparently finds it easier to remain in power by manipulating its way to victory rather than through using the traditional method of winning at the ballot box.

Still think this project is "biparisan"? Just look at some of the names who recently appeared in The Chronicle in support of the project...

• Mark Behan - President of Behan Communications; FEC filings show that Behan has given thousands over the past 15 years to former Republican Congressmen John Sweeney and Gerald Solomon


• W. Bradley Krause - Glens Falls City GOP Chairman


• Robert Regan - former Republican mayor of Glens Falls


• Harold Taylor - former Glens Falls Republican mayoral candidate