MidHudson News is reporting during a July 8, meeting to disband Dutchess County's Independent Reapportionment Commission, Democratic lawmakers walked out. But the resolution was passed by the GOP representatives that stayed around after the Democrats left. Legislature Chairman Republican Gregg Pulver moved to disband the commission after it was learned a Democratic appointment to the commission, Richard Keller-Coffey, was an elected school board member, a violation of the rules establishing the group. “Reapportioning the county Legislature must be truly independent and having an elected official on the Commission muddies the waters too much,” said Pulver. Democratic legislators protested the proposed law to create a new commission and to ban any member of the current body from serving on it. The measure that was approved would reopen the application process. When the commission was first created, 163 county residents expressed interest in serving. Minority Leader Rebecca Edwards said, ”So, 163 volunteers is not enough for seven slots? That’s absurd on its face. The obvious agenda here,” she said, “is to blow up the commission and install someone who is not in the current applicant pool. On a pretext, the democratic process is being overturned.” Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.