Take bias, agenda out of anti-gerrymandering effort
Re. recent articles on the state amendment to remove politicians from the redistricting process and use an independent group. This letter is not to argue against ending gerrymandering but to introduce a way to avoid group bias.
The criteria for acceptable districts seems to be that the parts are equal to the whole; that the ratio of districts that are “red” and “blue” is equal to the ratio of “red” to “blue” voters statewide. Unfortunately, “red” and “blue” voters are not homogeneously spread across the state (if they were, “red” would win every district).
“Red” voters are mostly urban around the six main Ohio cities. Is it as simple as drawing a circle around those six areas? Or the opposite: Imagine that every “blue” voter lived in one corner of Ohio. Would it be gerrymandering if seven districts encompassed that corner and eight for the rest of the state? All (would) be noncompetitive districts, but would meet the required number of representatives for each side, reflecting the ratio of voters on both sides. Is noncompetitive what we want?
The unnecessary restriction is the need for districts to be laid out geographically. Remove the geographic element by selecting 15 representatives that campaign in every city and county. Every voter gets 15 votes to cast for one representative or 15 representatives or any number in between. Take the human group element out of the process; it will always be suspect of bias and agenda.
WILLIAM DELANEY,
BEAVERCREEK
Public Health Week is April 1-7. Public health and the professionals who work or teach in it are the vanguards of disease detection and prevention. They play an important but often silent role as protectors of populations and individuals from diseases that might otherwise erode the health and security of our communities.
Public health’s dedicated professionals range from biostatisticians, sanitarians and environmental health specialists to nurses and educators. Community health workers and patient navigators help people navigate red tape and insurance barriers.
Public health is here for each one of us. Make what they do work for all of us by complying with vaccinations and other proactive health measures. JERRY A. O’RYAN,
ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR, PUBLIC HEALTH AT SINCLAIR COLLEGE
We all know that marijuana use, even though legal, has been shunned by businesses when it comes to their customers. I’d like to know, since we’ve deemed marijuana legal, why has it not been placed in the same category as cigarettes or alcohol? How can anyone deem it “a dangerous controlled substance” but still allow their patrons to be around cigarettes? It appears that there are no causes of death from secondhand pot smoke.
We have voted and deemed marijuana to be legal and usable, just like nicotine, aspirin and alcohol. We should not be “pot shamed.”
JAMES MAXIMUS, NORTH
AKRON