Redistricting reform, round 2 - House speaker foresees more-balanced districts; Democrats unimpressed

Paper: Columbus Dispatch, The (OH)

Date: May 5, 2006

House Republicans unveiled a plan yesterday to take gerrymandering out of a district-drawing process that can strongly affect how many Democrats or Republicans are elected to Ohio offices.

A bipartisan, seven-member committee would be put in charge of drawing legislative and congressional district boundaries under the plan, which needs a three-fifths majority to pass both legislative chambers, and then voter approval in November.

Approving a map would require votes from five of the seven members, four of whom would be appointed by GOP and Democratic legislative leaders. Those four must unanimously select the other three members.

"You don't want the map to create partisan advantage," said Speaker Jon A. Husted, R-Kettering. "If you have a bipartisan group of people, and they need a supermajority, you have a map that should represent balance and fairness."

The plan is getting good reviews from the League of Women Voters of Ohio. But Democrats, many of whom supported a similar redistricting proposal that voters overwhelmingly defeated six months ago, are giving it a chilly reception.

In this statewide election year, they are questioning Husted's motives and timing of the issue.

"We should be more concerned with what people in Ohio are concerned about," said House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, who last year backed state Issue 4, which also called for the creation of a separate panel to draw district lines.

Voters defeated the issue 70 percent to 30 percent in November.

Republicans strongly opposed Issue 4 because, they said, it would have created several unworkable, contorted districts under a formula that rewarded competitiveness.

The House Republican proposal says districts should be competitive, as long as they also remain compact and keep similar communities together.

Asked about the specifics of the GOP plan, Beatty said, "I'm just focusing on the fact that this is something Ohioans don't want, and we're rushing it."

House Democrats would have to provide at least one vote to pass the resolution.

Currently, congressional districts are drawn by the legislature, while legislative districts are mapped by a five-member Apportionment Board made up of the governor, secretary of state, auditor and two lawmakers, one from each party.

Republicans in 2001 controlled the entire process. While the state has voted only slightly Republican in the past two presidential elections, the GOP holds a nearly 2-1 advantage in the legislature, and controls 12 of 18 congressional seats.

Husted said today's district maps would look much different if the plan had been in place in 2000. For example, Franklin County would be turned into a single competitive congressional district, instead of being broken into three Republican-leaning districts.

While a few details remain to be worked out, Peg Rosenfield, elections specialist for the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said the redistricting plan is "basically on the right track."

"It's certainly a big improvement over the extremely partisan way we do things now."

Ed Jerse, a former Democratic lawmaker and official with Reform Ohio Now, the coalition that created Issue 4 last year, also said the plan is a good starting point.

"I hope people can get behind it. I know it's a political year," he said.

Jerse said he agrees with Husted, who has argued that the best time to pass a redistricting plan is now -- when no one is certain which party will control the Apportionment Board.

But Rep. Steven L. Driehaus, D-Cincinnati, said he doubts the sincerity of the plan, saying of Husted, "I think he's looking for some nice editorials.

"Our biggest concern is the Republicans are trying to take a short-term significant advantage they now hold in legislative and congressional districts and parlay that into a long-term, smaller advantage written into the constitution," he said.

Husted hopes to pass the bill through the House quickly, but Senate Republicans are not yet on board with the idea.

Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, remains noncommittal. The No. 2 Senate leader, Jeff Jacobson, said he is skeptical.

"I'm not one who believes the current process is broken," the Vandalia Republican said. "I think the burden is on them to prove why this would be better."

Dispatch reporter Alan Johnson contributed to this story.

jsiegel@dispatch.com

Author: Jim Siegel THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Section: News

Page: 01E