New Congressional Map, ‘Major Disappointment:' Chester Councilman

CHESTER, NJ — Fewer competitive districts, more towns divided and a map that doesn’t sync with New Jersey’s political lean, were some of the critiques a Chester Township councilman offered about the state’s newly-released redistricted, Congressional map.

The map, which was adopted by the New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission on Wednesday, took the Democratic Party’s 2022-2031 proposed map over the Republican one, according to a Patch report.

See the map online here.

RELATED: NJ Democrats Win Tug Of War Over Redistricting Map

“If you're partial to competitive elections and responsive lawmakers, New Jersey’s new Congressional map is a major disappointment,” Republican Chester Councilman Michael Inganamort wrote in a statement he emailed to Patch.

“More towns are divided, more counties are split, fewer districts are competitive, and more independent voters are disenfranchised as a result,” he continued, sentiments he echoed in a Facebook post on the topic.

He called the map “out of sync with New Jersey's political lean and represents a step backwards for electoral competition.”

On Twitter, Inganamort shared a statement about former NJ Supreme Court Justice John Wallace, who reportedly said it was now time for the Democratic Party map to be picked, because the Republican one was chosen in 2011.

What "their turn" means:
❌More towns divided
❌More counties split
❌Fewer competitive districts (1 of 12!)
❌More voters moved compared to alternate
❌Disenfranchised independent voters
❌Out of sync with New Jersey https://t.co/9siIg4Sqgo
— Mike Inganamort (@MikeInganamort) December 22, 2021

“With so much at stake and so many worthy criteria to consider, Justice Wallace's statement that he chose the Democrats' map because ‘it was their turn’ represents a serious dereliction of duty,” Inganamort also wrote to Patch.

While Chester remains intact with Congressional District 7, Inganamort tweeted that the map splits Mendham Township between voting districts 11 and 7, calling it “an enormous headache on Election Day when voters in the districts have to use separate machines.”

Not only is Mendham Twp. split, but the one voting district in #NJ11 is itself split. Even-numbered houses on Dogwood Drive are in #NJ11; odd numbers #NJ07. This will be an enormous headache on Election Day when voters in the same voting districts have to use separate machines. https://t.co/r4pl168LcO
— Mike Inganamort (@MikeInganamort) December 23, 2021

The Fair Districts New Jersey coalition also expressed some concern about the approved map, saying that although the commission seemed to consider input from advocates about "racial equity," more details are urgently needed.

"We are also deeply disappointed about the lack of transparency during this process," the coalition wrote.

The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice tweeted similar sentiments:

Sure would have been nice to see this before it was voted on. https://t.co/2sG1yUquks
— New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (@NJ_ISJ) December 22, 2021

Multi-district municipal maps and data are expect to be posted online in the next few days before filing with the Secretary of State before January 18, 2022, the commission stated. Read more about the process – and purpose – of redistricting here.

Potentially, Democrats' 10-2 majority in the New Jersey delegation is likely to shrink to 9-3 under the new map, Politico reported.

Three of the state's four possibly endangered Democratic incumbents may have safer districts to run in next November: Rep. Andy Kim (District 3), Rep. Josh Gottheimer (District 5) and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (District 11), NJ.com says, but Rep. Tom Malinowski (District 7) could face a tougher challenge in a district that will become more Republican-friendly, the outlet also reported.

Malinowski tweeted on Thursday that the “redistricting gods haven’t made it easy for us,” but that he’s “only ever won hard races and my likely opponent has only ever lost them.”

We will make our judgements with the people who got me here in mind and in the loop.

Meanwhile, I will continue to fight to defend our democracy & deliver for New Jersey the infrastructure, tax relief, and progress DC Republicans oppose.

I'm at my best with nothing to lose.
— Tom Malinowski (@Malinowski) December 23, 2021

According to Ballotpedia, Malinowski prevailed over Republican Tom Kean Jr. in 2020, 50.6 to 49.4 percent, Malinowski taking 219,629 votes to Kean's 214,318.

John Isemann, 27, a Republican from Long Valley and a West Morris Central High School graduate, announced like Kean, he plans to run for the Republican nomination to challenge Malinowski in 2022. Both Kean and Isemann are focusing on their Republican campaigns full-time.

RELATED: Long Valley Resident Puts Hat In The Ring For Malinowski's Seat

Learn more about Isemann in the video below:

According to the Fair Districts New Jersey coalition, the new map will:

• Put Morristown and Dover in the same district
• Put Neptune, Neptune City and Asbury Park in the same district
• Keep South Orange and Maplewood together in the same district
• Keep Camden and Pennsauken in the same district

"While we are heartened that the commission clearly incorporated input from some community members, the map unfortunately does not do enough to ensure all New Jersey communities will be equitably represented," coalition members said in a joint statement.

This story contains reporting by Eric Kiefer

Questions or comments about this story? Have a local news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com