UPCOMING IRC MEETING COULD BE HELD IN TUCSON

posted by Melanie Huonker

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission may add a public meeting in Tucson on Oct. 10, time and location to be announced, on its congressional draft map.

The meeting is a part of 30 days of public comment following the approval of the map on Monday, according to Stuart Robinson, public information officer for the commission.

The approval came days after some groups were urging the commission to rethink district lines in Southern Arizona. One group was the Hispanic Coalition for Good Government. It denounced the map, claiming it would dilute minority representation in Pima County and shift it to Maricopa County. This, they argue, will cause Tucson’s interests to not be fairly represented.

Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias spoke on behalf of the advocacy group in a letter to the IRC. He addressed their primary concern that the redrawing of Southern Arizona district lines “would ultimately impermissibly frustrate the ability of Hispanics to elect a candidate of their choice.”

But if you watched our program two weeks ago on the IRC topic, Richard Gilman, leading contributor to thinkingArizona.com, said his research shows that majority-minority districts don’t always elect a minority candidate as their person of choice. It ultimately comes down to their ability to represent a district, rather than their status as a minority, Gilman said.

The draft map proposes that three of Arizona's nine congressional districts will be competitive, thus equally pitting Republicans and Democrats against each other for a win. Democrats Ed Pastor and Raul Grijalva will likely keep their seats in Democratic-leaning districts that are also the state's two majority-minority districts. The remaining four are Republican-leaning.

Tell us what you think of the congressional draft map. Arizona Week wants your feedback for coverage of the IRC in a coming program.