Yumans: Changes needed on redistricting
Residents raise concerns about impact of proposed maps
More than two dozen Yuma County residents used the speaker’s podium in the Yuma City Council chambers Wednesday night to voice their disapproval to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Committee about the recently adopted draft maps of the state’s nine congressional and 30 legislative districts.
The first person to speak at the Yuma meeting was Mayor Douglas Nicholls, who urged the committee to accept modifications to the proposed draft maps, which were previously submitted.
He explained that in the first two redistricting meetings, the City of Yuma was included in grid maps with other communities in neighboring counties that had shared similar interests.
However, in the newly adopted proposed draft maps, that was no longer the case.
As for the legislative maps, Nicholls explained that the communities that had a shared interest with the City of Yuma in agriculture and defense were placed into a separate district.
Additionally, communities with shared interest in rural lifestyles, agriculture workers, business and centered on the southwest military complex were also divided up in the congressional maps.
“These are critical communities that need to stay together,” Nicholls said.
Yuma City Councilmember Gary Knight also spoke at the meeting and informed the committee members that the residents of Yuma would prefer that the congressional and legislative districts remain as they currently are, or not be included in any district with Tucson.
He said Yuma has more in common with La Paz and Mojave counties, which also border the Colorado River, and are also heavily involved in agriculture.
Furthermore, despite being the third largest metropolitan area in the state, being in any district with Tucson would make it difficult for Yuma-area residents to elect state and federal officials who understand the county’s agriculture needs and its military bases.
“When placed in a district with Tucson the outcome of any election will be whatever Tucson voters voted for,” Knight
said. “We have very little in common with that area of the state and we will no longer have a voice in our own district.”
Yuma County is currently separated into two legislative districts: District 13 represented by Sen. Sine Kerr (R), Rep. Tim Dunn (R) and Rep. Joanne Osbourne (R) and District 4, represented by Rep. Joel John (R), Rep. Charlene Fernandez (D) and Sen. Lisa Otondo (D).
Under the proposed changes, Yuma County will be split in half and reformed into Legislative Districts 23 and 30.
Southern Yuma County will be part of District 23 and incorporate a portion of southern Tucson and parts of Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties.
As for northern Yuma County, it will be part of proposed District 30, along with La Paz and Mojave counties.
Yuma is also represented in Washington by Congressional Districts 3 and 4, currently held by U.S. Congressmen Raul Grijalva (D) and Paul Gosar (R).
However, under the redistricting maps, Yuma County will be reformed into District 7, including the southern portion of Yuma County and parts of Maricopa and Pinal counties, as well as most of Pima County and all of Santa Cruz County, while northern Yuma County will be part of District 9. In addition to a portion of Maricopa County, District 9 also includes La Paz and Mojave counties.
A majority of the 17 speakers at the Yuma meeting all shared similar remarks, expressing their concerns over losing water rights, which are vital to the area’s agriculture, the loss of irrigation and educational taxing districts, expressing concerns that county voters will likely be irrelevant for the next 10 years when it comes to having any influence in statewide elections.
Speaker William Bowler-Root, a retired software engineer from Yuma, called on the commission members to end the practice of creating safe districts, meaning they are districts that are safe for one party or the other.
He said that prior to the passage of Proposition 106, which tasked the commission to create fair and balanced districts, it was the job of the state legislature.
When the state legislature would redraw district boundaries they would often create these types of safe districts that were either heavily Republican or Democrat.
This practice, he continued, was responsible for lack of government responsiveness, the lack of qualified candidates, voter apathy, and low participation in elections, all of which were problems voter were trying to fix when they passed the proposition.
“I know the commission feels like it has done a good job in creating these districts,” Bowler-Root said. “Although these maps are not final yet they raise a flag that you are heading in the wrong direction.”
Of the 30 legislative districts being proposed, Bowler-Root said two of the districts, in the commission’s own words, are highly competitive, four are competitive and the remaining 24 are either Republican or Democrat.
“That means 80 percent of the districts are dysfunctional,” Bowler-Root said. “That is exactly the opposite of what the voters want.”
Russ Jones, the head of the Yuma County Republican Party, also spoke saying that under the legislative and congressional maps currently being proposed, Yuma would have to elect new state and federal leaders.
Jones, who lost his legislative seat during redistricting 10 years ago, pointed out that based on the committee’s current maps, out of Yuma’s six current state legislators, only one will be left to run for office and that will be in a new district.
He too urged the committee to consider the modifications to the proposed draft maps which Nicholls had presented.
“I support those maps and I also support the entire delegation that has been serving Yuma County the last number of years,” Jones said.
Chandler psychologist Erika Neuberg, who was selected by the members to be an independent chair of the committee, presided over the meeting held in Yuma.
Wednesday night’s redistricting meeting was held virtually in conjunction with a meeting in Flagstaff in which more than 65 residents in the area also voiced their concerns over proposed draft maps for their area.
Two committee members presided over the meeting in Flagstaff and two others participated in both remotely.
To view the maps online, visit https://redistricting-irc-az.hub.arcgis.com/pages/draft-maps.
The process of redrawing the state’s congressional and legislative districts began in September with the creation of grid maps based on populations to use as starting points.
The next phase was to make adjustments to the grid maps based on goals mandated by the Arizona Constitution.
After a 30-day public comment period, the AIRC will meet again to establish final district boundaries. This fourth and final phase is expected to conclude in December 2021.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 5396854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.