10 = 1: Board Gives New Numbers To The New Districts

I listened to the meeting online today.  The highlights are
1.  New numbering scheme for the House and Senate Districts.
2.  Postponed a scheme for randomizing truncation (I'll do a post on that soon) until they have the report on changes in the Senate districts.  They'll meet next on Monday June 13 to do this task. 

Map with Draft Plan Numbers - Click to enlarge

The map above has the numbers they used in their draft plan.  The lists below in my meeting notes have these draft plan numbers and the newly assigned numbers.  So far, I don't think there is a new map with the new numbers. 

[Below are my running notes of the meeting. As always, be warned.  These are rough notes.  I've cleaned them up a little, but remember:  They give you the gist, but not necessarily everything and not verbatim. ]

June 7 Alaska Redistricting Board Meeting


10:05 call to order.  [Listening online.]
All members are there.  [Holm by audio, it sounds like]

Motion from yesterday that they postponed.  Taylor has a numbering system.  He wanted 1 to be, putting words inot your mouth.
Brody:  I know later the Senate seats will be letters, but for now,
Torgerson:  Look at Taylor’s map - it wasn’t as easy as it seemed.  We had one board member request to keep the rural Native districts the same - 37, 38, 40 - and the Senate numbers the same. 

[10:08  Pictures coming up on the GoToMeeting]


Taylor Bickford (Board Executive Director):  I got the shape files from Eric this morning. You have maps.  It’s also available on line.

Marie requested the rural boards stay the same for continuity.  PeggyAnn said she didn’t care about SE as long as it works for the state.

Torgerson (Board Chair):  I started with 40, 39, 38 . .  [For the most part, the ‘old’ numbers are the numbers they had on their draft plan maps.  They ARE NOT necessarily the old district numbers which, for the most part are substantially changed. These are the numbers from the new district maps they approved, so you need them if you want to see where the new districts are until they put up the final maps with the final numbers.]

I started with Fairbanks. 
So, District 10 (Fairbanks/Wainright) = the new District 1 + 11(North Pole/Eilson) = New District  2  = Senate A

Map has 'old' numbers - Click to enlarge

Holm:  1 is North Pole Eilson - you reversed them.
Taylor Bickford:  I’ll leave it
7 (Farmers Loop/Two Rivers)= D3 +  9 (City of Fairbanks) =D4= Senate B
8 (Chena Ridge) = 5  + 12 (Richardson Highway) = 6    = Senate C
Worked my way down.
 





Matsu
17 (Rural Matsu)  = new 7  paired with 14 (Palmer) = 8   =  Senate D
13 (Greater Wasilla) = new 9   16 (Big Lake)  = 10  = Senate E
15 (Chugiak) = 11  plus 19 (ER/FT Rich) = 12  = Senate F   [Connects Matsu and Anchorage]
















Anchorage
20 (Elmendorf) =13  plus  23 = 14 (College Gate) =  Senate G
26 (University) = 15 plus   27 (Spenard)=16   = Senate H
24 (Mt View) =17  plus  25 (Downtown)  18 = Senate I
28 (Turnagain)  = 19   plus   29 (Sand Lake)  = 20 = Senate J
31 (Oceanview) = 21  plus  30 (Taku Campbell)  =22  =  Senate K
For listeners, the Senate pairings were adopted yesterday, were just numbering them.
32 (Huffman) = 23     plus  22 (Abbot) = 24  = Senate L
21 (Muldoon/Basher) =25  plus 18 (Eagle River Valley) = 26  = Senate M

Click to enlarge

That completes Anchorage except South Anchorage
33 (South Anchorage to Girdwood/Portage) -27    34(North Kenai/Seward)=28   = Senate N
5 (Kenai-Soldotna) - 29  plus 6 (Homer/South Kenai) =30  = Senate O

Kenai done.  to get rural to work 36 to 40, we jumped from Kenai to SE

Southeast



Juneau so we could wrap around
4 (Mendenhall) = 31  plus
3 (downtown Juneau, Skagway/Petersburg) =32  = Senate P
1 (Ketchikan) =33 plus  2 (Sitka) =34 =   Senate Q

(See state map on top for these)
Native rural districts keep their same numbers [though some have changed significantly]:
35(Kodiak/Cordova) =35  36(Bristol Bay/Aleutians) =36  = Senate R

37(Bethel/Seldovia) =37  38(Wade Hampton/Denali) =38 = Senate S

39(Bering Straits/Interior Villages)=39  40(Arctic) =40 = Senate T

Torgerson:  Bob suggests the first pairings  We have truncation to do, but we don’t have the population numbers yet.  In my mind we’ve changed everything around quite a bit.  But I don’t know.  I think we should amend the motion to take truncation out.
Brody:  Divide the motion
Torgerson:  I’m ready to vote on truncation, but I was advised by counsel to wait for the report.  In my mind, except for Juneau . . . truncation we can do on Monday 13th.  Anything on metes and bounds issues Taylor Bickford or Eric bring up. 

PeggyAnn McConnochie:  Amend motion to deal with truncation on Monday 13.
Greene:  Don’t we have an amendment on the floor - was there a second?
Torgerson:  motion is to wait on truncation til May 13.
White:  point of order, is this motion dealing with 2 and 4 year rotation.  I don’t think you can do that because you have to fit them into their rotation.  You’re saying odd gets 2 and even gets 4 years.
You can adopt the numbers and Senate pairings, but you need the report first.  If you aren’t truncating someone, the person may fall into the wrong category.
Taylor Bickford:  If you adopt it now and a person doesn’t fall into the category, then you can . . .
Torgerson:  When can you do it? 
Taylor Bickford: Eric sent the raw data can’t do it today.
Torgerson: I think any reasonable person can look at the districts and see it.
Taylor Bickford: I could do that today.
Torgerson:  If we inadvertantly assign someone. . .we can’t give anyone a six year seat.
Taylor Bickford:  Can we adopt the numbers and the odd even numbers and then if the report requires we can amend if there are exceptions.  Once we have the data, and we say, these two people need to be truncated, except for these two people. 
Torgerson:  We could also truncate everybody.  You don’t think everything hasn’t changed substantially?
Taylor Bickford:  I don’t know.
Torgerson:  Truncation is not a legal issue, a board issue.  Really no criteria.  It’s up to us to do that. 
White:  Only standard you have is the district has substantially changed. 
Taylor Bickford: If you’re going to use the data, you can’t do that today. If you’re going to use something else, whatever that is,  . .  but data is too raw.
Brody:  Every district has changed by 5000 people.  If some districts had 3000 less, means more than 2500 people.  The top ten years ago was   and now we’re at 17,755, so at a mininum every Senate district changed by 5000 people. 
Torgerson:  I see what you’re saying.  Every district changed by more than 25%.
Last board used 90% change.  Wide gap.  Going by historical standards, then it means 10% change.
Holm:  Every house district in Fairbanks changed by 3000, Senate changed by 6000.  I can wait until Monday. 
Torgerson:  Michael’s point is well taken.  The report might affect any truncation.  But I can almost tell you which districts.  We know 40 didn’t change.  39 is substantially different.  I don’t know of any in Anchorage that didn’t change.  Ketchikan, Haines.  Only downtown Juneau, but it has Skagway and Petersburg.  I don’t think I need a change.
White:  You could preliminarily truncate and then make changes when report comes out.  You could adopt due to potential information. 
Torgerson:  What didn’t change?
Taylor Bickford:  Juneau and I think some districts in the Valley.  Juneau for sure jumps out to me. 
Torgerson:  Michael, you think we could adopt this and start over on Monday?
White:
Taylor Bickford:  Independent of truncation, we’re getting a numbering system. 
White:  We know 10 people will run in 2012.
Taylor Bickford:  You could set ten Senators for 2012 and ten for 2014. 
Greene:  Couldn’t we just wait until Monday 13th?  It would be clearer.
PeggyAnn McConnochie:  I’m of the same mind.  Talk about numbering, two years and four years  . . .
Torgerson:  I apologize.  Now that Marie says this, I think it’s appropriate.  We have a motion to bring truncation until Monday.  If maker of the amendment to the amendment will withdraw your motion.
PeggyAnn McConnochie:  withdrawy
Torgerson:  Main motion 1,3, 5, = two years 2, 4, 6  be four year, we postpone that to June 13.  When numbering is done it’s a lot clearer.  Table to June 13.
5-0 yes  Five-Zero motion postponed to next meeting on June 13.
PAM: I’ll make a motion for numbering districts and A through whatever.
Torgerson: moved to adopt Taylor’s numbering system.
5-0  yes  Board has adopted the numbering.

We’ve rolled through my agenda.  Anything else?
Taylor Bickford:  No, the numbering was big, it let’s us do the maps.
White:  Board plan has been adopted and put onthe website and allowed - make sure there’s a disclaimer that the staff is cleaning it up.
Torgerson:  We’ve been putting everything on the web, so I don’t see why we should stop now. 
White:  Just some disclaimer about cleaning up and final adopted on June 14. 
Torgerson:  Discussion with legal before, I anticipate having the proclamation signed by all the members.  Last time only the chair, a board member asked that we all sign, and I think that’s a good idea.  No legal precedence that we all sign, but I think it’s appropriate.

We stand adjourned at 10:43am.