Redrawn legislative map adds 'swing' areas
Wednesday, March 3, 2004
Tucson Citizen
The Tucson area has a new map of proposed legislative districts - but won't for long if the people who drew the map have anything to say about it.
The Arizona 's Independent Redistricting Commission approved the map Monday, but only because a judge had ordered it to create more "swing" districts that do not heavily favor either party.
The commission plans to appeal the order by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fields.
The new state map doubles the number of swing districts to eight, including two in Tucson .
"I don't like the maps at all," said the chairman of the commission, Tucsonan Steve Lynn. "They do significant harm to the things we should be taking into account, primarily the communities of interest. Our hope is that this map and this methodology will be overturned."
The redrawn maps, if they survive the court appeal and U.S. Department of Justice scrutiny, would make swing districts out of one formerly Republican-strong Tucson district and one that was strongly Democratic.
The Tucson area would still have five districts, with two strongly Democratic and one heavily Republican.
State Sen. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat who would find herself in a new-look district with less than a 2 percent edge in Democratic voter registration, said she favors the new maps.
"I strongly support the changes," she said. "It's going to affect some very good lawmakers, but the overall effect is that there will be more competitive districts and that's good for all of Arizona . When you have competitive districts, you get really good primaries and general election. When you don't have competitiveness, it's essentially over in the primary, and people don't have the incentive to get involved in the process. We're going to see some really good competition, and the person who gets elected is going to have to listen to both sides."
Under the redrawn district boundaries, Giffords could face fellow Sen. Keith Bee, a Republican, in the general election.
Sen. Toni Hellon, a Tucson Republican whose district would feature a strong GOP advantage, said she's unhappy with the new-look districts.
"I support what the commission did before. The bill that was passed (creating the commission) outlined exactly what they were supposed to do, and they did that," Hellon said.
Lingering uncertainty over the shape of districts creates a distraction for lawmakers, all of whom run for election every two years, she said.
"It's really weighing on everybody's mind at a time when we should be thinking about making laws. You can't help but be distracted by this," she said.
Lynn predicts the new maps will not be in use for the elections this fall.
"If the court accepts this map, it will order us to submit it to the Department of Justice for approval. That's going to take 30 days under the best of circumstances and as long as 120 days.
The deadline for filing petitions for this year's elections is June 9 and the candidates have been out there gathering signatures already," he said.
Four of the so-called competitive districts, characterized by no more than a 7 percent registration edge for either party, are in the Phoenix area.
The swing districts are evenly split with each party holding a slight edge in four.
Despite having only a 6 percent edge in registration statewide, Republicans hold a 39-20-1 majority in the state House of Representatives and a 17-13 advantage in the Senate.
Tucson Democrat David Bradley, who also would be running in a more competitive district under the new alignment, said redrawing the maps to increase the number of swing districts can help Democrats close the gap.
"I think we can make some headway in the House and get up to 25 or so and be able to operate more effectively up here," he said.
Michael Mandell, the attorney for the Arizona Minority Coalition, which backed the court challenge of the earlier maps, applauded the court order.
"The fact that the commission was able to increase the number of competitive districts by 100 percent shows the judge was right in ruling the commission failed to favor competitiveness," Mandell told The Arizona Republic.
PROPOSED LEGISLATION:
Proposed new legislative districts in Tucson and their voter registration breakdown. Proposed districts are given letter designations and would be renumbered if approved.
District T - Extends from downtown to the city's near East Side. 52 percent Democrat, 27 percent Republican, 21 percent other
District U - Extends from Catalina Foothills to far East Side and south to Vail. 41 percent Democrat, 39 percent Republican, 19 percent other
District V - Oro Valley , Northwest Side, Marana, Avra Valley , Picture Rocks and Catalina. 41 percent Republican, 37 percent Democrat, 21 percent other
District W - Tucson 's West Side, Drexel Heights , Tucson Estates, Three Points. 54 percent Democrat, 24 percent Republican, 22 percent other.
District Y - Encompasses rural areas NE and E of Tucson and includes Green Valley , Amado, Sonoita, Patagonia and Sierra Vista . 49 percent Republican, 32 percent Democrat, 19 percent other
Source: Independent Redistricting Commission