Alaska Redistricting Board Rushing to Completion

[2:35pmI’ve been busy and didn’t have time to put this up, but they are still on break so I will.  I have not proofed this at all.  So, be warned.  There are gaps, but it will give you a sense of what was covered.  They approved most things and are now preparing to do the truncations and and some other details.  They just went back on line to say they hadn't forgotten us but are still getting things done]


It’s 11:13 and now we’re online and you missed my speech

Eric:  Of the 17,735, 7.787?  were in Matsu or about 43%
In District 10 - of 17, 671 9932 were in Matsu Borough

Torgerson:  Mr. White
White:  There are four districts 100% in Matsu.  a 5th where they are in a majority and one more with 45%.  Deviations in the area all under ½%.  Total deviation in Matsu districts about .97%
Holm:  Eastern boundary is, ?????
Torgerson? Eric?:  Highway and pipeline, then ???
White:  Highway for population reasons?
Eric:  yes
PeggyAnn McConnochie:  This is under the divided Borough plan?
Yeah.
Torgerson:  Want to take a look at Glenallen/North Anchorage population?  How many people come out of Anchorage.  Non-split option. 
Same people, 7,739 are in Anchorage out of that.  17,755 is the total. No 17,940
43% of that is Anchorage.
White:  In this plan you put the Knik river back in.  Yesterday, if you move back to Matsu it creates 3-4% deviation?
Eric:  Of D10?  yea. 
PeggyAnn McConnochie:  I’ll go back to say the two split is more powerful than just one splitting of the Borough. 
Torgerson: Questions
White:  What if we end up on border of ten?
Eric:  Used Calista 4 - Ft. Greely.  We’ll have to fiddle with that piece.
White:  Greely to Valdez to Knik?  Current interim plan has Ft. Greely to Valdez
Brodie:  I have a slight question.  If that lower appendage that runs into Anchorage.  If we just move it up to Matsu.  Why can’t we just do that?  thinking of Eastern Alaska going so far if all we’re going to do is trade 7,000 out of Anchorage or Matsu.  If leave like this and back out of Anchorage like we talked about?
Eric:  splitting Matsu twice.
Brodie:  Why making 6 so large again. 
Eric:  You’re going to have an extra half district in the Matsu.
White:  See where 26, assume that’s the line going to District 10 - to be 7,000+ short.  Would have to pick out into 6 and find 7,000 to put into ten.  Have to go to 6 or 8 which is what they do now.
Brodie:  This 7 go here and ????
White:  Instead of taking it out of the East of Fairbanks, take it out of the West.  West going to rural.  The major players would be Eilson, that would be recreating a lot of the rural.  Is Eilson in 6?
Eric:  Yes.  7 is completely outside the NS Borough.
Brodie:  I guess I’m looking from behind the trees?
Torgerson:  Any other discussion?
White:  Some tradeoffs and some tough discretionary decisions the Board needs to make.  Calista - Valdez Anchorage doesn’t split Matsu Borough twice, but pushes up to Frot Greely.  Whehter SEI integrated, arguments could be made.
Seven split twice.  District 6, old district 5 in past, doesn’t have to go down as far.  Split Matsu twice, according to numbers they control five districts and entitled to do that.  Not sure if consideration can take, fastest growing districting in the state.  No one in that district raised a problem.  Mayor supports it.  If we go into interior districts?  Wasilla/Palmer ones, we like follow major roads.
Eric:  From his - Mayor’s - maps.
White:  Liked them because follow major arteries.
I think there will be pressure points wherever you go.  Mr. Holm used the balloon metaphor.  Splitting Borough twice problem, but supportable.  I’d be concerned about SEI and compact.  Balancing one consttutional factor overe another.  We understand proporitonality but not strict, accommodating excess Anchorage population which you canpush to Cordova.  More to current - SEI of pipeline, Highway Corridor.  Or for this map the better choice would be Matsu split twice. 
Torgerson:  Other discussion.
Motion to adopt Matsu split twice into our conceptual plan.
Vote:  5-0  adopted Matsu split twice for all the reasons we debated last three days.
Let’s do Western Alaska and maybe Kenai too. 

39, 40, 38, 37, 32, 31 and 29.  Twenty eight. 

32 Kodiak - All of K borough, Yakutat, Cordova, ??, and Chenega,  that block side of city of Seward through Kenai Fjiords National Park and non-road side of Halibut Cove, Seldovia etc.  and Westrn Cook Inlet - Tyonek  - Divide onece.

Grayling, Holy Cross, Takotna, McGrath, Sleetmute, all of Bristol Bay and Aleutions 37

38 Lower Kuskokwim, Newtok ….. Russian Mission

39  Bering Striats and Yukon Delta to St. Mary’s, Yukon Koyukuk regions

40 is North Slope borough, Arctic Slope, Wiseman

6 ARctic Village Venetai.  Denali Borough, Eastern Sid of Fairbanks North Star, Slana, Chitna, McCarthy, Eastern half of Copper River

NW - split o
NSBorough once - East side - Eilson

Brodie:  I move to adopt districts as numbered on this map 28-40 and 6
Green:  Second
White:  Make sure, Kenai split once, but three districts wholly in the Borough. 
Eric;  13% excess stayed outside the road system in Kenai to put into Kodiak. 
White:  No objections for Kodiak or Cordova as I understand.
Roll Call:  5-0 adopted districts outlined 6 and 28-40

That Bring us to South east.

Eric:
Southern D - all of Ketchikan B and City and B or Wrangell, Hydaburg and S half of Pof Wales

Rest with Sitka, Petersburg B, Kake, Angoon.

Haines and Skagway, Gustavus, and Downtown Juneau, Douglas

Other completely in City and Borough of Juneau, Auke Bay and down the road.  Fred Meyer is the break. 

Motions for adoption.
PeggyAnn McConnochie:  Move to adopt
Torgerson:  second by Holm.  Picked up Hydaburg, mainly for deviation purposes.  Had option to split boroughs prior to Hydaburg.  All deviations under one.  .70
Juneau has substantial testimony from Skagway, Haines that they wanted to be paired with downtown Juneau.

White:  Hydaburg more culturally tied with that area.

36 and 35 - Haines and Skagway and them SEI with downtown Juneau, better fit.  36 very discrete that has mining claims, reasonable to go to downtown area.

Vote:  5-0  adopted Southeast 4 districts into our conceptual plan.

Leaves us with Valdez and Anchorage.  I want to take a break to understand some of the reasoning for that.  time is 11:43 and we’ll come back on at noon.


Torgerson:  Back on Record.  Time is 11:57  Anchorage
Eric:  Anchorage bowl, from base south, Girdwood. The same districts from the proclamation plan, so same in Anchorage. 
Torgerson:  Proclamation Plan - overlay the Calista 4 with this?
Eric:  Fairly similar, had done a few things differently, here and here, probably for deviation.  basically have the same boundaries [sorry had an important phone call].

12:01
Green:  Mr. Chair, deviations are similar?
Eric:  Yes.
Torgerson: We had a request from the Mt. View Community Council to move in Mt. View Elementary and park in District 13, no one lives in them so it wouldn’t matter.  It’s military and elections said not to take little pieces of military land.  It’s part of a block of the larger Military base, so you’d be grabbing 8 people in the military base.  Can’t just grab the elementary school and the park. 
Torgerson:  Do you have interaction with people to look at the blocks.
Eric:  We can ask them but they won’t pay any attention. 
Torgerson; Letter from lt. Gov asking us to back away for precinct purposes.  So, a request we can’t fulfill.
White;  Deviations in Anchorage?
Eric:  about - same districts, boundaries as proclamation plan.  runs from 13-26 all within 1% either way.  22 is actually perfect. 
Torgerson:  Motion to adopt Anchorage districts - 13-28.
PeggyAnn McConnochie:  I move to accept in concept 28-13 Anchorage districts.
Torgerson  moved and seconded.  Discussion?
Roll call vote:  5-0  has adopted in concept to our conceptual plan, the Anchorage districts.  That leaves us with the Fairbanks districts.  One question.  Right where the number 3 is, Zero in to that one.  What we’re calling the Anvil.  About 600 people. 
Jim, I know you tried moving that around.  Can you tell us how you tried to do that?

Holm:  Folks there wanted to be together.  Didn’t want to take population out of 4 and put in 5.  Tried moving from west to east as much as possible.  Wanted to keep integrity of the city as muchas I could.  500 over.  Only way to do it easily was move it to 5.  If I move it into 5 it skews things the other way.  The limits of these borders are veery good and I saw no reason to make that change.  cross the river for parts of 5 any way.  Keep west side.  Think there is a ?? needs to be done.  6 at North pole could be cleaned up.  Deviation is good now.  All these are west side of Borough, all inclusive of borough line.  Bounded by East Highway, I believe in the north, all the way up to ???? Deviations are small.  ???%
Torgerson:  ...right below NPole to find population. 
Holm:  That’s the whole city of NPole.  Lots of population to south and east.  6 we took Moose Creek and Eilson for population of 6.  Made sense to keep them.  Chena River is the Northern Border of 3. 
White:  All one big block or two little ones? 
Holm:  Two, take those out, looks really weird.
White:  People live in there?
Holm:  Yes
Eric:  67, 240, 42
White:  Most people in the Anvil live in those.  Those are separate blocks?  The outlines? 
Eric:  200 ..
White:  What about oness at the top?
Eric:  50, huncred some people. 
White:  ½ %  If you put those in three wouldn’t that keep those people with their neighbors?  Go up to 1.2 wouldn’t it? 
Torgerson:  Talking about the three squares? 
White:  Just see what happens, put that one into 2 maybe and that one into 3?
Torgerson:  click on rest of that block what do you get?
Eric:  242
White:  no idea where they live, no roads in there
……
12:16
Torgerson:  I hear Mr. Holm saying, not dividing Ester Goldstream, some anomalies up there, this is the better choice
White:  Just dealing with compactness, doesn’t matter SEI cause all in borough, move around, doesn’t affect deviation.  If you just turned it, wouldn’t have that anvil, but could debate.  Taking hard look and reasonable choice is this is the method you prefer.
Torgerson:  otion to adopt?
PeggyAnn McConnochie: Move to conceptually adopt Fairbanks
Green:  Second
Torgerson:  Further discussion?
Vote:  5-0 approve conceptually, Fairbanks 1-5 and 6
Matsu left. 
Eric:  7-12
Torgerson:  Matsu district primarily what the Mayor gave and some Calista and AFFER
Eric:  AFFER Option 2 revised.  Change over in Dry Creek.  Otherwise looks the same.  We have it in 6. 
Brodie:  Move we approve in concept districts 7-12.
City of Houston entirely in
Holm:  Dry Creek - reason why in 6 and not 7?
Eric:  Followed Matsu Borough
Holm:  Calista had Dry Creek in 7. 
Torgerson:  Look at deviations.  Under .50 in all districts.  Discussion?
Vote:  5-0  Adopted 7-12.  Take about 5 minute break.  Tasked PeggyAnn MoConnchie to do numbering, then senate pairings and truncation. 
How long do you need.  Now 12:25, come back promptly at 12: 35. 

(McConnochee)

1:39  - finishing up. Need truncation and finish map.  Take break to 2:30.