AK Redistricting Board - Fixing Technical Glitches And Senate Pairings Parts #1, #2, #3, and #4

 I'll add to this post as the meeting progresses.  

Summary

[At this point they agreed on  1&2 and 3&4 in SE  39&40  37&38 Voting Rights Act districts and 33&34  in Fairbanks.  These are more or less certain, but eventually they will approve the whole state together.  Now they are in work session (still online) to individually and in pairs work on the other districts that are not such obvious pairings.]

Added Fairbanks:  33&34 downtown (noted already above)   32&36  and 31&25  

Kenai:  5&6 and 7&8  

Matsu:   25&30   37&28 and by default 29&36

More summary at the bottom.  They went into Executive Session at 5pm and never reconvened, apparently, and will open in Executive Session tomorrow morning.  It seems everything is settled except Anchorage.

Rough Notes of meeting Part 1:

ARB pm Nov. 8, 2021

1:02pm

Torkelson: Going over changes board staff had to make to based on checking details of the map. First one lowered the deviation of D39/38   by 2 people.  Move to change technical correction passed. 

Next is  more complicated.  In Wasilla.  The map got Zoom bombed and so he took down the map.  

Torkelson Explainging Matsu glitches

See the red circle- had 10 people and so the ended up changing three parts.  716 to 748.  Changed 4 blocks.  Contacted everyone by email - couldn’t wait. 

Next Cantwell - 2 or 3 people change - voted to change

Next a strip of Glen Highway - no population - voted to change

Glenn Highway Glitch

   That’s it.  Done

Binkley - appreciation for the staff all along, and particularly this weekend, and Eric, and the contractor who went over the Metes and Bounds.

Now Board set the Senate pairings.  In a work session.  On the record.  Work individually or separately, based on testimony we’ve had

Borromeo - South East suggestions?  

Simpson - Only district contiguous to D1 is D2, so suggest that and regional connections.

Binkley:  Need to go off line briefly in order to share screen.  

Simpson:  Then 3 and 4 have to be paired.  Mostly served by same Senators.  With that, motion, consensus?

recommend 1&2 and 3&4 for SE districts 

Binkley - use the #s on our final map, but that may change as we look at the pairings.

Borromeo - 

Bahnke - to the 4 VRA districts.  Matter of contiguity 39&40  37&38  seems the obvious and right thing to do.  

That was accepted by all.

1:32   Borromeo - one more - FBNS  not other options there  33&34. 

.......................................

Meeting Part 2  During the work session, Added some photos above and below the Board members working on pairings.

Melanie Bahnke

Nicole Borromeo & John Binkley

Bethany Marcum and Budd Simpson

2:24 pm

Part #3

[Here we have a battle over whether the two ER districts should be paired together, or one with JBER and the Other with north Muldoon.  As we go on break it looks like the Board is 3-2 for splitting ER house districts. That also means splitting Muldoon districts.]

3:11 Back in session

Bahnke - 6&7 5&8 reflected in testimony -  This Kenai

Binkley - 

Simpson - Hard for me to hear his low voice.  

Binkley - not seeing on this map - Cordova, etc.

Bahnke - testimony Cordova lower Kenai Peninsula, testimony about shared fishing industry, 

Borrome:  7&8 share oil and gas, 

Binkley - also Marine Highway connection between 5&6

Marcum:  Overwhelming testimony - we have nothing in common with Kodiak, that being said, I've been involved with fishing world and understand the connections between 7&8 and 5&6  - I could be comfortable either way 

Consensus:  5&6 and 7&8  Kenai

Matsu next.

Bahnke:  Little testimony here, so not bound with this

Marcum:  Let someone else

Borromeo:  

Bahnke:  Written testimony not consistent.  What are current pairings?  

Marcum:  Changed significantly.

Binkley:  29&30?  

Bahnke AFFR 26&29, 28&27 25&30 Glenn and Parks Highway

Marcum:  Testimony about fastest growing part of state and over populated plus we have Valdez:  Propose 27&28, Palmer 

Binkley:  AFFR, AFFER, and you Bethany all agree.  

Marcum:  Palmer big city and Wasilla 29&30  all places west and south of Wasilla come to Wasilla. You go through Palmer to get to Wasilla.  District with Wasilla as city center.  Other city is Valdez in 25.  Logic giving 26&25 allowing Valdez a center of the district.  

Borromeo:  Houston is also there so 29& 26  ????? Pairing Palmer and that population

Marcum:  Counter that - Houston half the population of Valdez.  Valdez hasn't had much weight in this project.  Give them some voice in the Senate.  Wasilla and Big Lake logical reasons.  

Borromeo:  AFFR 26&29  greater Wasilla in same area as Wasilla.  27&28  Fairview and Palmer - lots of testimony that Fairview is part of greater Palmer area.  25&36   Only break Borough once.  

Binkley - I like rationale that your in Big Lake you have to go to D29, where people shop.  West side of Wasilla.  Don't know what Valdez folks would think.  

Simpson:  A tough one.  Find compelling that two orgs clashed from beginning are in agreement on the pairings here.  27&28 29&30 25&36

Bahnke:  Peter what are the current pairings?  Currently 30 & 25  

Borromeo:  Quite telling that AFFR and AFFER agree.  I'm comfortable with it.

Bahnke:  I am too.  

25&30   all agree 37 and 28 and by default 29&36

Muldoon 23 and 18      21 with 20  13 and     12 and 11    17&19  ER -22&24

Borromeo - consistently heard that ER should be together and that Muldoon not be paired with Hillside.  Mt View and U-Med.  Base comes down to downtown and Govt Hill.  

Banke - 12 & 13 share school district.  People from Turnagain       20&21 Base people shop downtown

Simpson:  9&16  10&11   12&13 14&17  18&23  20&21  22&24  

Binkley:  Further questions for Nicole or Melanie   Other pairings?  

Marcum:  Most important premise we ignored the natural physical and SEI between JBER and ER.  Repeatedly throughout the process.  ER is bedroom community for many people on JBER.  I made the natural connection to allow the physical neighbors.  That's the one thing that is common.  21&22.  

Borromeo:  What about the connection between ER and Eagle River?

Marcum:  Two separate house districts.  Gives ER change to have two Senate Districts.  ER has most direct ties with military base.  

Historic parts of Anchorage - Downtown, parts of area have different lifestyles and housing 

[No one has given us actual data.]  Pairs downtown with Mt View - historic areas.  Two ways downtown could go.  Mt. View or Spenard.  

Bahnke:  Every one of your maps splits ER?  

Borromeo:  Help me understand splitting ER.  ER has more tie with base than other parts of ER?   We disagree strongly.  I don't think ER has a special claim to the base.  Including Fairview where I spent time.  Troubled by the premise that ER has superior claim to the base.  

Marcum:  I've lived in ER, on Base and East Anchorage.  This is a way.  Something I feel very strongly about.  

Bud:  Possibility of Anchorage downtown district.  20&19 MtView  20&13 Spenard

Marcum:  Sandlake divided so important thing we can do is pair 11 and 12 - I think the case on all four versions.    

Bahnke  ?? what pairings 21&22, 20&13, (ok with 20&19),  if we go with 20&13, then 14&10.  very few with N/S orientation.  Glenn Highway boundaries almost perfectly between 10 and 14.  

Another commonality of all my maps - restore that part of 15 to Hillside.  What's left 3 contiguous to 24,  16, 18, 23.  

Bahnke - any concern about combining one of the most diverse parts of Anchorage 23 with ER.  I think strong ties with ER.  I don't see people by race, but as people closely tied.  ER people come to town go through Muldoon.  

[I'm sorry, this argument is all a cover to politically benefit GOP candidates by splitting up Muldoon  and matching them with more affluent and much more Republican and much whiter ER.  This form of gerrymandering is called cracking if I'm remember right.  You take lower income diverse neighborhood that tends to vote more Democratically with wealthier White neighborhoods that are more Republican and tend to have a higher percent of people voting.  This is also the tactic they used last time to get rid of the only black state Senator Bettye Davis.  

Much of this is based on her opinion and personal patterns.  She doesn't see race.  does she recognize that Bahnke and Borromeo are Alaska Natives or does she just see them as two more white folks?  If that's the case, she dismisses their cultural heritage.]

Binkley:  All justifiable in my opinion.  

Borromeo:  The word reasonable.  Hard time with 'reasonableness'.  One comment Bethany said was ???   ER has potentially two Senate seats.  Asked to share house seats in ER with ER.  This is not any lack of ignoring data analysis of ER.  We've heard loud and clear from ER and east Anchorage that they didn't want to be mixed.  And we gave them separate House districts.  Highly populated part of diverse Anchorage in East Anchorage.  They are on top of each other.  Majority of Muldoon together.  95% of public testimony supported this.  Open to entertain other things around Anchorage.  Very opposed to splitting ER and Muldoon.  

Marcum:  Idea that ER is so different from North East Anchorage.  In fact they have a long relationship.  Question of whether ER is part of Anchorage  resolved 40 years ago.  

Skipping back to Fairbanks.  

Binkley:  I think we have a majority for Bethany's map.  We don't have all five members, I have heard from three members agree with Bethany's map. 

Borromeo:  I'd like to hear legal advice.  We can get advice on both maps.  

Simpson:  We went over this - hard for me to hear.  

Five minute Break  4:24,  back at 4:30.

Part 4   4:49pm

Back too Fairbanks.

Binkley:  five FB seats plus one connected with .  Testimony people from Ft Greely and Gulkana talked about military bases that pair 31 and 36 for military connection.  However, equally compelling reasons to combine 32 with 36.  Left side of FB together near the University.  Difficult for people of Goldstream not being in same house district.  But puts them in the same Senate district.  I propose 33&34 downtown   32&36  and 31&25  would keep NP integrated with Eilson AFB.  

Borromeo:  very happy to support your recommendations. Goldtream people very unhappy and while they got put in a separate house district from University, they can no be reunited in a Senate district .  [But doesn't address the majority of people in the very large district 36 district.)  

Part 4:  7:28 pm

So basically they agreed to all the pairings except Anchorage.  Marcum was making a specious argument about the SEI of having military from ER,JBER, and East Anchorage kept together in a Senate seat.  But the obvious underlying objective was to go for two ER Senate seats and get rid of an East Anchorage senate seat.  

I got home and onto Zoom but they were still in Executive Session.  And when I looked again, it had shut down.  

Just read an email from the Board:

Hello Subscribers,

 

The Alaska Redistricting Board has recessed for the night and will come back in to Executive Session tomorrow am at 9am.

 

Public session will begin at 10:30am to continue the discussion of agenda item #6: Assignment of House District Senate Pairs.

 

The public is welcome to attend in person at our office (3901 Old Seward Highway Ste. 141) or via zoom: 
Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/9074062894?pwd=VWxjem42YUloTnBFcTlpVWZVS0wwZz09
Meeting ID: 907 406 2894/Passcode: MoreMaps

One tap mobile: +16699006833,,9074062894#,,,,*56615375# US (San Jose); +12532158782,,9074062894#,,,,*56615375# US (Tacoma)

The rest of the agenda:

6. Assignment of House District Senate Pairs
7. Recess - Pending Dept. of Labor production of Senate Constituency Crosstabs 
8. Adoption of Senate Truncation Cutoff
9. Adoption Senate Election Cycle Table
10. Recess – Pending Final Proclamation Drafting, Proofing & Metes and Bounds Error Checking
11. Adopt Final Proclamation of Redistricting
12. Signing of Final Proclamation 
13. Adjournment