Erie County voters will get a chance later this year to downsize their County Legislature

to 11 members.

Lawmakers set the stage for a ballot referendum on downsizing after voting Thursday to

reduce the size of their 15-member body.

The measure, one of four considered by lawmakers, also has the backing of County Executive

Chris Collins, who vetoed a different downsizing measure last year.

"Is there anyone out there who doesn't realize our population is declining?" said

Legislator Thomas A. Loughran, the Amherst Democrat who sponsored the current bill. "We're

hemorrhaging."

The legislation, if approved by voters, would eliminate four legislative seats but, unlike

last year's downsizing measure, keep legislators' terms at two years, not four.

The 9-6 vote in favor of downsizing was the result of six Republicans and three Democrats

joining forces to get the bill passed.

The bipartisan coalition held together as lawmakers entertained two competing proposals,

one for nine members with two-year terms and another for 11 members with four-year terms. Both

measures failed.

"If this isn't real reform, I don't know what is," said Republican Edward A. Rath III of

Amherst. "This is real, this is significant, this is tangible."

Opponents argued that with the downsizing will come a loss of representation, especially

for minority voters in the City of Buffalo.

"Downsizing by four?" said Democrat Betty Jean Grant of Buffalo. "Are we going to risk

losing all those voices for Buffalo?"

Others wondered aloud if the outcry for downsizing is real or imagined.

"I don't hear this from my constituents," said Democrat Lynn M. Marinelli of the Town of

Tonawanda. "I simply don't, and I pride myself on my door-to-door [contact with district

residents]."

The debate over downsizing the County Legislature dates back years, even decades, and began

to resurface when Legislature Republicans pushed the notion of a nine-member Legislature three

years ago.

The effort failed, but county lawmakers responded by forming a citizens commission to look

at the size and makeup of the Legislature. The commission recommended an 11-member body with

members serving four-year terms.

The Legislature stopped well short of that suggestion last year and instead recommended a

13-member body with four-year terms.

Collins, unhappy with the longer terms, vetoed the measure, and the Legislature failed to

override him.

This year, Collins counts himself as a downsizing supporter, in large part because the new

initiative is no longer tied to longer terms.

"We're pleased that nine members passed this significant downsizing measure," Collins

spokesman Grant Loomis said Thursday.

Loomis said Collins will sign the legislation, paving the way for a countywide proposition

on the November general election ballot.

The downsizing movement has gained momentum over the past year with several Erie County

towns deciding smaller is better.

Amherst became the latest town to join the downsizing band wagon. In January, the Town

Board unanimously approved a local law that would eliminate two board seats over the next four

years. The measure now goes to Amherst's voters.

Downsizing advocates attribute their success to the growing belief that the large number of

elected leaders here is an impediment to reform and savings. They argue, for example, that

most elected officials tend to protect their turf and patronage.

"We're just going to have to work a little harder to represent our constituents,"

Republican John J. Mills of Orchard Park said of a smaller County Legislature.

Opponents are quick to note that the County Legislature has already downsized from as many

as 21 members.

They also claim a smaller Legislature will weaken minority representation because

legislative districts will hurt Buffalo and favor the more heavily populated suburbs.

Some even suggested the Legislature wait until after the 2010 Census count decides the

population of each municipality in Erie County.

"We're putting the cart before the horse," said Democrat Maria Whyte of Buffalo.

Whyte was one of six Democrats to vote against the downsizing measure. The others are

Grant, Marinelli, Barbara Miller-Williams of Buffalo, Daniel M. Kozub of Hamburg and Thomas J.

Mazur of Cheektowaga.