State Braces for Redistricting
By: Phil Drake | 2010-03-05
Helena - State officials are launching a series of public hearings next month in what could be the opening volley in a political tug of war over the boundaries of Montana's legislative and congressional districts.
Starting in April, Montana's five-member bipartisan Districting and Apportionment Committee will have hearings around the state to get public comment on the criteria used to draw new district lines.
Historically, districting has been used as a tool to give a party a political advantage.
"It can be very political because we're dealing with the very foundation of how people are going to be elected," state analyst Rachel Weiss said about the redistricting process. "In most states it's very political."
"It can be very political because we're dealing with the very foundation of how people are going to be elected," state analyst Rachel Weiss said about the redistricting process. "In most states it's very political."
Senate President Robert Story Jr., R-Park City, said Republicans felt cheated the last time the commission redrew district lines.
"The positive note is that they are going around and having hearings on the criteria they are going to use," he said. "They didn't do that last time.
"We believe the system was not particularly fair to Montana voters," Story said. "They took patently GOP districts and created swing districts where they thought they had a chance to win in."
In 2007, a Montana State University-Billings professor released a report stating Democrats gave themselves an advantage last time when they set districts after the 2000 Census.
"Undoubtedly in the past there has been gerrymandering that has occurred," political scientist Craig Wilson told the Helena Independent Record in 2007. "I just don't know if there have been results on this scale, when you look at the numbers."
But Senate Minority Leader Carol Williams, D-Missoula, disagrees.
"The numbers don't bear that out," she said. "Just look at the makeup of the Legislature in the last 10 years. It's been nip and tuck and not swayed either way." She said in many cases it's just one or two seats to make a majority.
Wilson could not be reached for comment for this story.
The Montana state Constitution mandates the legislative districts be updated to reflect population shifts and maintain minority voting rights, officials said. The process also is to stick to the principle of "one person, one vote."
Officials are waiting for the tally in the 2010 Census before determining what changes, if any, will be made. Once they get the numbers, commissioners will map new districts in 2011 and 2012.
The commission is expected to establish mandatory and discretionary criteria to establish state legislative district lines. Mandatory criteria are set by federal and state constitutions. Discretionary criteria includes following boundaries of cities
The changes to the state's 100 House and 50 Senate districts are to be brought before the state Legislature in 2013 and will not be in place until the 2014 elections, said Weiss, who works for the state's Legislative Services division.
Officials said Montana is not expected to regain a second U.S. House of Representatives seat after the census.
In April 2009, Joe Lamson and Pat Smith were named by Democratic legislative leaders to the Districting and Apportionment Commission and Linda Vaughey and Jon Bennion were appointed by Republicans. The four commissioners could not settle on a chairman. The state Supreme Court selected James Regnier, a former Supreme Court justice, to fill the spot. He has run as a nonpartisan candidate, but reportedly endorsed Barack Obama for president, according to a May story in the Helena Independent Record.
Williams said the committee was made up of "fair and talented" people.
"We have a really, really good committee with a lot of expertise," she said.
Gladys Hardin, president of the Montana League of Women Voters, said her 225 members statewide will be monitoring the commission's actions.
"We have had at least a couple of pretty controversial commissions in the past," she said. "I hope this one is not so much so."
She said the league has followed the national branch's position that the districts be portioned substantially on population.
"We have a history of supporting districts in such a way that minority rights are protected," she said, using an example that the league would not want to see an American Indian reservation divided into several districts.
Hardin said she was no longer an optimist when it comes to the sport of politics.
"I'm sort of down on politics in general," she said. "I am afraid we have reached a point where our partisanship is taking over our citizenship," she said "I'm afraid that whatever the redistricting commission does, no one will be happy with it."
There will be more public meetings in 2011 and 2012, when the commission proposes legislative maps, Weiss said. State lawmakers will review the plan and send it back to the commission. The commission has the final say and after adjustments are made, the plan is filed with the Secretary of State's office. Weiss said the plan should be finalized by late 2012.
She said the public hearings will not have maps and no lines will be drawn until information from the 2010 Census is received.
But she said the public is welcomed to submit ideas for district maps or any other information for commissioners to review.
Public hearings
April 8 - 6:30 p.m. Public hearing in Helena with videoconference links to Great Falls and Havre. In Helena, the meeting will be in state Capitol, Room 152, 1301 E. Sixth Ave. In Great Falls, there will be a videoconference link at Great Falls College of Technology, Room B-133; 2100 16th Ave. South. In Havre, the public can participate via videoconference at MSU-Northern, Room 202, 300 11th Street West
April 12 - 6:30 p.m. in Missoula, at the University of Montana Gallagher Business Building, Room 104, corner of Arthur and Eddy avenues. In Kalispell, thepublic can participate via videoconference at Flathead Valley Community College, Room LC-120, 777 Grandview Drive
April 19 - There will be a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. in Billings, in the first floor conference room, 214 N. Broadway. In Miles City, thepublic can participate via videoconference link at Miles Community College, Room 313, 2715 Dickenson St.
April 27 - Executive action will be discussed in Helena, 10:30 a.m. state Capitol, Room 102, 1301 E. Sixth Ave.
For more information on the meeting schedule, go to: leg.mt.gov/districting or contact Rachel Weiss at (406) 444-5367 or rweiss@mt.gov
Read All
Roundup RSS