Assembly districts to change

PALMER — Add the lines separating Mat-Su Borough assembly districts to the many things changing now that the U.S. Census has quantified just how many people live in the Valley.

Though the process for redrawing lines around legislative districts has always wound up in court, Mat-Su Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss said that in his time here he doesn’t recall a similar fight over the assembly district process. The borough process is called reapportionment. The state process is called redistricting.

“I’ve never seen any real controversy over reapportionment,” DeVilbiss said. “Redistricting is where the problems come up because it’s a much more complicated formula.”

But in the 10 years that have elapsed between censuses, some pretty big population changes have occurred in the Valley. The state mandates a maximum 10 percent deviation between districts. Only two districts — Palmer and Houston/Talkeetna — meet that standard.

With 17,082 residents, the Big Lake/Knik district, currently represented by Cindy Bettine, has the biggest deviation. There are 34 percent more people there than the target population of 12,714.

Jim Colver represents the next most overpopulated district, which includes Hatcher Pass south to just north of Wasilla. The 14,327 people living there exceed the target by 12.69 percent.

On the eastern side of the Valley the picture is reversed. Sutton/Chickaloon, currently represented by Warren Keogh, has 18.26 percent fewer residents than that target number. The population there is 10,347.

What all this means is that the lines will change. Eastern districts like the Chickaloon/Sutton district will expand. Western districts like the Knik/Big Lake district will shrink. Keogh said his district is going to grow substantially; at least according to initial plans he’s seen.

“It’s going to include stuff right along the Palmer Wasilla Highway,” Keogh said.

Which means that core-area residents could end up sharing an assembly member with Butte, Chickaloon, areas of the Denali Highway and Lake Louise.

“That will have some people scratching their heads and probably not in favor of voting for these sorts of things,” Keogh said.

A majority of voters will have to approve the plan at the ballot box, according to a resolution set to go before the assembly tonight. That same resolution directs borough staff to come up with alternatives for possible apportionment changes, meaning permanent lines haven’t yet been drawn.

DeVilibiss said that in two meetings on the topic there was no controversy around the assembly table. That, he said, bodes well for when it comes time for the public to approve of the plan.

“We were in total agreement on the assembly level, and if it doesn’t start there I’ve never seen it come up later,” the mayor said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.