Redistricting Board Decision Day (Wed April 13, 2022) Video

The Board has posted the video of the April 13 Board meeting (embedded below) when the three Republican appointed majority members voted to approve the map Option 3B, submitted by long time Republican strategist (and past Republican Party Chair) Randy Ruedrich.  

They did these explanations because the Court found the previous map unconstitutional and had said that the Board needed to justify its decisions on the record, especially if they are contrary to public opinion.

As you listen, I remind you that Judge Matthews concluded  that contiguity simply means the two districts have touching boundaries in his order in the court cases - see pages 40-42.  He repeats it again on page 74-75, rejecting the concept of 'transportation contiguity.'

But he also notes that Marcum started the November approved Senate maps in Anchorage with the firm belief that JBER and Eagle River could not be pulled apart.  I'd note that D23 which includes most of JBER is also 1/3 off base areas left over from cutting downtown apart along 4th Avenue.  I mention that here because Simpson strongly defended the 23/24 pairing and he saw any attempt to split them as an attack on "our soldiers' and proof of partisan gerrymandering.  (Note how often Republicans these days are quick to accuse anyone who opposes of doing the exact same illegal or immoral thing they are doing.) He noted that protecting this pairing is what prevented the Board from pairing the two Eagle River districts which were shown to be communities of interest by the East Anchorage plaintiffs' expert witness, Dr. Chase Hensel.  

Enough preface.  I'm working the next post which will look at how their decision was based on unsupported assertions, anecdotes, and attacks on alternatives.  Not on any kind of professional decision making process.  

This is the video of that meeting.  My previous post reviewed member Budd Simpson's reasons.  That begins right about 20 minutes into the video and goes to about 45 minutes in.  This is followed by member Nicole Borromeo's critical response (beginning about 46) which includes asking the Court not to remand this back to the Board but to just finish the map because the Board will just continue with partisan gerrymandering.  

We also have much shorter (than Simpson) reasons from Marcum and Binkley.   Then there's the vote.  I like John Binkley as a person - he cheerful, has a ready smile, and genuinely seems to like people - all kinds.  And he has this amazing ability to keep that cordiality going even facing diversity.  Listen to him right after Borromeo blasts the majority decision. He couldn't be sweeter if she had praised the majority decision highly.  But also not how he tends to keep talking much longer than necessary - wanting to keep every possible option open as long as possible.  The procedural decisions that should have taken 15 seconds or more just go on and on.  

Joint Redistricting Board - 4/13/2022 - 1:00pm from AlaskaLegislature.tv on Vimeo.