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).

Mission: The Independent Redistricting Commission’s mission is to administer the fair and balanced redistricting of the Congressional and Legislative districts for the State of Arizona.

Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) website: www.azredistricting.org.

The five Commissioners on this AIRC are: Chair Colleen Coyle Mathis (I, Pima County), Vice Chair Scott Day Freeman (R, Maricopa County), Jose Herrera (D, Maricopa County), Linda McNulty (D, Pima County), Rick Stertz (R, Pima County). Click here for bios on these Commissioners (except for Stertz’s).

The next meeting will be on Wed. June 15, 9:30 a.m. at the Town of Oro Valley Council chambers, 11000 N. La Canada Dr., Oro Valley, 85737. To view the agenda, click here.

You can also watch these meetings via Live Stream, or show up to speak at the Call for Public Comments (agenda item #2). At the May 10, 2011 meeting at the Tucson Room in the U of A Memorial Student Union, several Tucsonans did speak about their concerns. The previous meeting agendas and some minutes are online at their website as well, in case you missed those meetings.

To read more about the AIRC, I refer you to Steve Muratore’s blogsite, The Arizona Eagletarian, as he is attending all of the meetings and closely monitoring this Commission and its work.