Santino: I don’t accept the question’s premise. Hempstead Town enacted a bipartisan redistricting plan supported by Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, a Democrat. The redistricting was upheld by federal District Court & fully conforms to all federal & state laws, including the Civil Rights Act. Town Democrats mislead the public by creating a false issue. They objected to this bipartisan plan and gerrymandered their own highly partisan map — rejected unanimously by council members of both political parties. I look forward to continuing to represent each and every neighbor with the same responsive and personalized constituent services that are the hallmark of my tenure.

Gillespie: Unfortunately, the town has already redistricted and disenfranchised thousands of residents. Although the county's redistricting process was not transparent and extremely partisan, they did take the responsibility of creating a second minority district in the county seriously and made the third district a majority minority district. The town on the other hand, drew districts to be majority Republican rather than majority minority. The first district remained a majority minority district, but they disenfranchised thousands of African-American and Hispanic voters living in Elmont, Valley Stream, and a few other areas.

What should the town be doing to help protect its residents who live in flood prone areas?