Redistricting is All Over. Except for the Vote. And the Lawsuits.

The Arizona voters approved a promise made by Prop. 106. The 2000 Prop. 106 promised fair and competitive districts to be drawn by members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC). There are serious flaws in the construction of the Commission and the appointment process. That will have to be an article for another day. Today, it is all about the blatant hijacking and corruption of the legitimate process by Republican Commissioners David Mehl and Doug York and the “cloaked Republican partisan,” Chairwoman Erika Neuberg.

I recall a college professor stating that democracy is hard. It requires the public to care about things like where sewer and water lines go. Not sexy, exciting, bright, and sparkly things. Really boring and mundane, sometimes mind-numbing, things. Like sewer lines. And where and how political boundaries lines are drawn.

Tomorrow the AIRC will vote on really, really bad maps for Congress and the state legislature that will serve for the next decade. They might be slightly less bad than what we woke up to this morning. But less bad is still bad. And saying “at least we aren’t Texas” is inadequate solace. We were promised better. We promised ourselves more. And we deserve to have that promise honored. It has been stolen. This article is one part of that story.

On Competitiveness

Let’s begin with the issue of competitiveness. It is one of six criteria. Much is made of it being named sixth. Named and lettered, not numbered, last. Lawyers refer to this as “constitutional construction.” If it was intended that competitiveness would be considered last – Prop. 106 could have been written that way. It was not. Yet throughout this entire process the Chairwoman made it clear it was her least priority. That served the interests of the Republicans and in particular Commissioner Mehl just fine. He had three goals.

Republican David Mehl Had Three Goals: He Met Them All

First to create a solid, not competitive, Republican district in Tucson at the behest of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council (SALC). Seemingly the political needs of the SALC require a hometown Republican. This is not conjecture. It is stated explicitly by staff and board members of the SALC in public hearings. And the supposed Independent Chair deemed it reasonable that her “right of center” friends in Tucson might indeed really need their own district so as not to be politically marginalized.  Check. Done, the Tucson Gerrymander is on the books. Or will be when they approve it tomorrow.

The second goal of Commisisoner Mehl was to make sure the current configuration of Congressional District 1 did not stand. CD 1 is the district that includes many of the Native American Indian tribes and communities in Northern Arizona and along the eastern border of the state. As currently configured, it has allowed the Native Indian voters to have a large voice in electing the member of Congress in that district. It does not rise to a voting rights district, but it was an accommodation of this special and very real community of interest. It did not sit well with Commissioner Mehl. Apparently, it caused many sleepless nights of the SALC that the district ran the entire length of the state. So, it too is gone. Check. The 75,000 “non-native” (as they referred to themselves in public hearings) people of the White Mountains are safe from the political dominance of the Native Indian voter.

Commissioner Mehl is equally dedicated to protecting the “non-native” White Mountain Community in the legislative districts as well. However, in the legislative plan it does rise to a voting rights district threshold and so he must find what he calls a “compromise.” His effort belies any impartiality.

During discussion yesterday on this issue, Chairwoman Neuberg in putting her thumb on the scale of a proposed “compromise” put forth by Commissioner Mehl, said essentially that even if the Native Indian voters were unable to elect their own representative in THIS district, there would be other, sympathetic representatives in the state who could address their issues. Really. This is what she said. I do not know how to reconcile this statement with her support of the Tucson Gerrymander in support of the business interests of the SALC. I am sure the lawyers will suss it out.

The third Republican goal for Commissioner Mehl and Commisisoner York was to get as much as they could for “their” side. As many safe districts, as few competitive districts, as many packed Democrats in as few districts as they could configure. And they have succeeded beyond their wildest imagination with the assistance, intentional or otherwise, from the Chairwoman.

Made for the Courts, Not Arizona Voters

Make no mistake. These will be really bad maps. And most concerning is they are intentionally bad maps. They drew a partisan gerrymander in broad daylight. They are pulling at the seams of the voting rights act. The Republicans wanted a politically advantageous map for the next decade. What they created is made for the Supreme Court, not the voters of Arizona.

It’s all over. Except for the vote. And the lawsuits to come.

Authored by Deborah Howard, Arizona Indivisible Statewide Redistricting Team Leader and advocate for civic engagement, voter access and fair and competitive districts.