The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission composed of 2 Democrats (Jose Herrera, Linda McNulty), 2 Republicans (Scott Freeman, Rick Stertz), 1 Independent (Colleen Mathis) have been meeting & holding public hearings on proposed Congressional/legislative maps for Arizona since this Spring.

The Commission & their staff recently drew up 2 preliminary draft maps of 30 new legislative districts and 9 Congressional districts for the public to consider & comment on. (Arizona has an additional seat in Congress due to increase in population based on the 2010 Census).

These draft maps are now online at ther website: http://www.azredistricting.org/Maps/Draft-Maps.asp

And the 2nd round of public hearings have begun. The first round of public hearings in the summer were well attended and many individuals & groups provided feedback to the Commission on how the maps should be drawn. Factors to consider in drawing up districts are equal population, existing geographic & political lines, compactness & contiguousness, competitiveness, communities of interest.

Plan on attending these Southern Arizona hearings:

Monday, October 24, 2011
City of Tucson 6:00 p.m.
University of Arizona
Student Union Memorial Center
North Ballroom
1303 E. University Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85721

Friday, November 4, 2011
Town of Marana 6:00 p.m.
Town of Marana
Marana Municipal Complex
Auditorium
11555 W. Civic Center Drive
Marana, AZ 85653

Saturday, November 5, 2011
Town of Green Valley 10:00 a.m.
Desert Hills Social Center
Desert Hills Auditorium
2980 S. Camino del Sol
Green Valley, AZ 85622

Online comments are welcome at www.azredistricting.org or click here for the public input form.

My previous blog on this redistricting issue (click here). KUAT’s “Arizona Week” host Michael Chihak interviewed Democrat & Republican leaders on the draft maps on October 14 (click here).

REDISTRICTING FOCUS OF Saguaro Eastside Democrats MEETING

On Monday, September 19, political activist Bill Roe will help people understand both the significance and the process of redistricting in Arizona through a presentation and a question and answer period. Roe will be the guest of Saguaro Eastside Democrats (SED) at their meeting held at New Spirit Lutheran Church, 8701 E. Old Spanish Trail (northeast corner of Camino Seco).

Roe, who was a Democratic candidate for the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, was recently elected to the Democratic National Committee representing Pima County.

The SED meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with light refreshments and time for socializing. Roe’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m. All SED meetings are open to the public. You do not have to be a member to attend. For further information, call 520-850-6755.

For info on the AZ Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC): http://www.azredistricting.org/

AIRC had a first round of statewide public hearings this summer. In South Tucson on August 2, 86 people signed in, 62 requested to speak; on August 6 in Tucson, 140 signed in, 76 requested to speak. So there’s been a lot of interest in this Commission’s work and the process of drawing up new Congressional & state legislative maps. And there have been accusations of violations of the AZ Open Meetings laws and other issues of non-disclosure by Commissioners. Stay tuned as the Commission continues their work and draws up a proposed redistricting map for Arizona.

The AIRC’s Executive Director Ray Bladine explained the current situation on KUAT Channel 6 on September 13 (click here).

And to read in-depth analysis of the Commissions’ meetings, see Steve Muratore’s blogsite, The Arizona Eagletarian (www.stevemuratore.blogspot.com).

The Pima County Board of Supervisors created the Redistricting Advisory Committee at its April 19, 2011 Board meeting. The Committee is made up of five members. Each was appointed by a supervisor.

After several meetings and public hearings, the committee adopted a map on July 14, 2011, to recommend to the Board. On September 6th the Board is tentatively scheduled to hold a public hearing and tentatively approve a map. Final approval by the Board would then be scheduled a week later – September 13th.

Pima County Board of Supervisors meets at 130 W. Congress St., at 9 a.m. in their first floor hearing room. There is a Call to the Public for certain agenda items and public hearings, as well as at the end of the meetings. This item is 7 B on the September 6 agenda (click here).

To view the proposed redistricting map of changes click here. Maps in hard copy are supposed to be available at all Pima County branch libraries for the public to view. I did ask to see the map at the Martha Cooper Branch Library last night and it was posted on the wall near the items on hold.

For questions/comments/information log onto the Pima County Redistricting Advisory Committee website: http://www.pima.gov/redistricting/committee.shtml. I wrote about this process when the public hearings were announced back in June (click here), and attended two of the public hearings, in Vail and in South Tucson.

There did not appear to be a lot of public interest in the proposed changes, which are still subject to U.S. Department of Justice approval for the 2012 elections.