District process must be open, unbiased

Paper: Gazette, The ( Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA)

Date: July 25, 2007

Although the ink is still wet on the vote totals in Tuesday's special election in Linn County, the public's attention should now be on the process to carry out the will of the majority of voters.

For the first time in more than four decades, Linn County's Board of Supervisors will be required to live in designated districts.

Voters overwhelmingly approved Plan 3, which calls for the creation of five districts of equal population - roughly 40,000 each. (Election results are unofficial until canvassed by county officials.) These districts will come into play when voters will elect a five-member board in 2008.

Creating five districts of equal population seems at first to be an easy task: Divide the county's population by five, and then connect an appropriate number of census blocks or precincts on a map to create districts with equal population.

But in reality, it's not so easy. Setting up elective districts can be so politicized as to cause gerrymandering and incumbancy advantage that the public loses confidence in government.

State laws set the stage for political overtones. The party that holds the majority of the seats on the board gets to appoint the majority of the members of the districting commission.

In Linn County, all three supervisor seats are held by Democrats, so they will have the upper hand in seating the commission. The chairman of the Linn County Republican Party will appoint the minority to the commission.

As difficult as it may be to set aside political biases, the Linn County Board of Supervisors and the Republican chair should try. The board, and subsequently the commission, should go the extra mile to keep the districting process open to the public and to eliminate the biases that would create a plan that serves the board's incumbents or favors one party over another.

Here's how that can be accomplished:

- Establish a seven-member redistricting commission. State law also allows a three-person or five-person panel, but the largest commission possible ensures more public participation.

- Political party affiliations aside, commission members should represent diversity in where they live, gender, race, occupation, age and so forth.

- Avoid temptations to appoint a supervisor to the commission. Yes, state law allows a supervisor to serve, but that person's presence will only create an appearance of bias, and undermine the public's confidence.

- Ask the state's non-partisan Legislative Services Bureau to create at least three proposed districting plans. A disinterested party, the bureau drafts redistricting plans for legislative and congressional districts.

- The commission should hold at least three public hearings on the proposed plans before making a recommendation to the county supervisors. State law requires one hearing.

These steps will ensure a fair and appropriate creation of five supervisor districts in Linn County if the entire process is transparent. --

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Column: THE GAZETTE'S EDITORIAL