Most readers already know that I was a plaintiff in the lawsuit mentioned below in Daniel Suddeath’s excerpted news account. Through no fault of Messer’s, two previous council configurations have botched this imperative. Here’s to the hope that in 2012, history won’t repeat itself.
... Former Councilman Jack Messer, who lost his seat after an unsuccessful run for mayor last year, addressed the body on a very familiar topic.
He reminded the council they must redistrict voting boundaries, which the body hasn’t done since the 2010 U.S. Census was released. Cities are constitutionally mandated to redistrict following a census, and the issue led to a lawsuit in New Albany in 2006 as plaintiffs were upset with how the council handled the process.
The plaintiffs eventually agreed to settle, though some were angered by the 2007 council ordinance that was eventually accepted as the redistricting guideline.
The boundaries were set in 2009, nearly a decade after the latest Census at the time which was calculated in 2000.
Speaking during the public comment portion of the meeting, Messer urged the council to make redistricting a priority. Messer was an at-large councilman when he was selected in 2008 to serve on a redistricting committee that included some of the lawsuit plaintiffs.
The redistricting plan that was hatched and approved by the committee was spurned by the council also in 2008.
“I’m just bringing it to your attention that this needs to be looked at and put in committee,” Messer told the council Thursday.
14 comments:
I'll be interested to see if the council does their work out in the open or behind closed doors. The combined council/citizen committee co-chaired by Jack Messer and Randy Smith did all their work in announced public meetings. That plan was rejected and the council accepted a plan where the work was done completely away from public view.
Jack was the only candidate, including council candidates, that really highlighted the importance of redistricting during the campaign and I was glad to see him raise the issue at the Thursday's meeting.
During the campaing it was very apparent how out of balance some of the districts are even with the changes made.
It's sad that it even should have to be a campaign issue. It's the law. Black and white. How it's carried out is open to some interpretation but it's crystal clear about when it needs to be done.
Not when you're Larry Kochert.
Or, for that matter, Jeff Gahan.
Trust me, I have not forgotten Jeff's obstinacy. I've grown some in 4 years. Hope that he has too.
based on most of his initial mayoral actions, I wouldnt hold my breath
Well, he has done at least two things correctly. He didn't appoint either one of us to anything!
how could he appoint me to anything idiot I live in Florida?
Please don't call someone an idiot, EW.
ok how about confused or ignorant?
It was a joke, EW. I almost added in parenthesis that I knew that you lived in Florida but thought it wasn't necessary. My mistake.
oh ok hoosier, sorry to have called you an idiot, it was uncalled for and I apologize
Accepted. I haven't always been at my best either. My apologies, also.
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