IN REDISTRICTING, COMPETITIVENESS IS AN EQUAL

posted by Michael Chihak

Republicans say the Arizona Constitution relegates competitiveness to a subordinate position as a factor in how congressional and legislative district boundaries are drawn.

Democrats say the constitution makes competitiveness equal to other requirements in redistricting.

A 2009 Arizona Supreme Court ruling supports the Democratic position.

In a case called Arizona Minority Coalition for Fair Redistricting v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the court ruled that competitiveness in redistricting is not "less mandatory than the other goals" nor can it "be relegated to a secondary role."

The court said it is equal to three other goals -- that districts be geographically compact and contiguous, that they respect communities of interest and that district lines use visible geographic features, city, town and county boundaries and undivided census tracts.

In all four instances, the court said, those goals are both mandatory and conditional, dependent upon one another and the judgments of the five members of the redistricting commission.

What is required is that they all be considered and applied in the drawing of district boundaries.

The commission's draft maps for nine congressional and 30 legislative districts are now in the public comment phase, which runs through Nov. 5.

Officials of both major political parties are having their say on the maps, mostly criticizing the commission's work as missing the mark on one point or another. Watch Arizona Week Episode 40 here for the gist of each party's argument.

REDISTRICTING: SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE TO HATE

posted by Michael Chihak

The draft legislative and congressional maps approved by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission and now up for public scrutiny are drawing fire from nearly all quarters.

Republicans and Latinos, most of the latter being Democrats, were critical of the congressional draft map produced a week ago, as detailed in this blog on Monday.

Democrats are complaining this week -- oddly enough, on behalf of independent voters -- about the legislative draft map approved Monday on 4-1 vote of the commission.

State Democratic Party Executive Director Luis Heredia released a statement, quoted in the Arizona Capitol Times, saying :“The legislative draft map ... lacks competitive districts and is a giant step backward, as drawn. Without more competition, extremists will continue to get elected and will discourage independent voters from having any say in Arizona’s future."

The Democratic complaint could have at its source the fact that without more competitive districts, the party stands little chance of making headway in a state that has a plurality of Republicans. Next in line are independents, and as the 2011 election results showed, they are leaning Republican these days.

The draft maps now are subject to 30 days of public comment at a series of commission hearings starting today. Then, final adjustments will be made before the maps are shipped off to the U.S. Justice Department for pre-clearance under the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

AZ REDISTRICTING: LEGISLATIVE MAP COMING SOON

posted by Michael Chihak

Few people seemed happy with the results of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission's first major effort, the congressional district draft map.

Now comes the opportunity for more unhappiness, in reaction to its efforts at a legislative district draft map, due any day now.

The commission voted 3-1, with one abstention, last week on the draft congressional map. Independent commission Chair Colleen Mathis and Democrats Jose Herrera and Linda McNulty voted in favor; Republican Richard Stertz voted against; Republican Scott Freeman abstained.

Republicans seemed the most furious over the draft map. Gov. Jan Brewer led the way, issuing a statement that called the map "gerrymandering at its worst" and accusing the commission of "neglect of duty and gross misconduct.” She threatened to go to the Legislature to seek removal of commission chair Mathis.

Latino leaders in Tucson also expressed dismay at the splitting of Tucson's community. A group called the Hispanic Coalition for Good Government wrote a letter to the commission, saying the draft congressional map means "Pima County's Hispanic community will have virtually no opportunity to elect a candidate of their (sic) choice."

Based strictly on voter registration, the new map would estasblish four strong Republican districts, two strong Democratic districts and three competitive districts.

The 2010 election gave Republicans five of Arizona's eight congressional seats and Democrats three. That's a reversal from the 2008 election in which Democrats had five and Republicans three.

THE FACE OF POVERTY: WE DON'T SEE IT

posted by Michael Chihak

A decade ago, a Tucson politician set out to do something about poverty.

The politician took aim at the poor people who populated traffic medians at city intersections, where they stationed themselves each day trying to cadge spare change from motorists.

They were a raggedy bunch in worn clothing, with sunbaked skin and unkempt hair. They were the very visible face of poverty in Tucson, and not a pretty face at that.

So this politician, on the pretext of concern for their safety, began a drive to get them off the medians. In a few months time, six of the seven City Council members voted to ban solicitation of motorists from medians.

The panhandlers quickly disappeared from the medians. They weren’t gone, though. They were simply out of sight, out of mind, at least in the city of Tucson.

They were too messy to deal with, perhaps because they reminded us that we’re a society less egalitarian than we care to admit.

That was a decade ago. Today, we likely have more poor people among us. But where are they?

Not on city medians. Rather, in line at food banks, which are overwhelmed with requests. At homeless shelters that don’t have enough room. Waiting for meals at soup kitchens where resources are stretched thin.

Governmental help is minimal. Arizona’s Department of Economic Security has closed 10 offices around the state, cut cash assistance to poor families by 20 percent and reduced the amount of time families are eligible for assistance, knocking 14,000 households off the list.

These statistics are not enough for us to know the pain, to recognize that we’re a society in which people who need help aren't getting it, although they ought to. For that, we need to see the face of poverty.

Ten years ago, we in Tucson chose to let our politicians hide that face. And now, many of us have forgotten what it looks like.

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.

POVERTY IN ARIZONA; NOT A PRETTY PICTURE

posted by Michael Chihak

The effects of the economic downturn and resultant governmental and nonprofit budget reductions on poverty will be the topic of Friday's Arizona Week.

Arizona's poverty rate went down slightly from 2009 to 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but it is still fourth worst in the country. The Cronkite News Service detailed the statistics in a report last month.

For Friday, we will interview Penelope Jacks, director of the Children's Action Alliance Southern Arizona office. The alliance tracks information about child and family welfare and advocates on their behalf.

We also are seeking interviews with the director of the Community Action Human Resources Agency in Eloy to get a picture of the issues in rural Arizona, an official with the Arizona Department of Economic Security and officials of food banks and homeless shelters around the state.