Ugly - Rethink redistricting

Paper: Wichita Eagle, The (KS)

Date: June 23, 2007

Before another round of redistricting invites another fight, state leaders should find a better way. The last thing Kansas needs is a sequel to 2002, when the congressional map landed in federal court and threatened to postpone the August primary.

As it is, too few legislative districts see contested races, let alone competitive ones. Too few fit the criteria that districts be "easily identifi able and understandable" to voters.

And with its fracture of Lawrence and separation of Junction City and Fort Riley, the current congressional map defies the idea of "communities of interest," as well as the commonsense guideline that districts be compact and contiguous.

Plus, some GOP legislative leaders can be expected to use their redistri cting power to fight the Kansas Democratic Party's recent resurgence, especial ly in the 2nd Congressional District. Things could get ugly.

"I think the process we use is not a good one," Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, recently told The Eagle editorial board.

He rightly argues that lawmakers essentially now pick their own constitu ents, which breeds voter distrust and mostly cements incumbency. "You get Tom DeLay-type politics where you have people in inherently safe districts," Schmidt said.

The bald partisanship exhibited in Texas by DeLay, the former U.S. House majority leader, has renewed talk of redistricting reform around the nation. It remains key to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's new "postpartisanship" goals in California. And national reformers this month launched "The Redistricting Game" - at the Web site redistrictinggame.org - to raise awareness about what ails the states' decennial redrawing of districts.

Schmidt's proposed 2002 reform still looks like a good place for leaders to start rethinking redistricting in Kansas: It would assign the mapping to an independent bipartisan commission, with its recommendations informed by public hearings and subject to legislators' up-or-down approval.

If another constitutional amendment is too much for Kansas, lawmakers should commit to wielding their remapping pen with care and fairness, and a minimum of self-serving strokes.

- For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman

Section: OPINION

Page: 7A