Redistricting maps released

Proposed local district changes have a Mat-Su lawmaker crying foul

MAT-SU — The initial statewide redistricting maps were recently released, and have some people making claims of foul play.

"I call it gerrymandering," Rep. Scott Ogan, R-Palmer, said Friday. "It appears to me to be an arbitrary and capricious campaign to try to take one incumbent out of the Valley."

Ogan, upon looking at the maps posted on the board's Web site — http://www.alaskaredistricting.org — realized his home had been placed into what's now Rep. Beverly Masek's district. Masek is a Willow Republican who represents Alaska House District 28.

The new enlarged District 28 would extend all the way across the northern portion of the Mat-Su Borough, encompassing both the upper Susitna Valley — Talkeetna and Trapper Creek — and the upper Matanuska Valley — Chickaloon and Sutton. It borders the Palmer district along the Clark-Wolverine Road, splitting the road in half from Wolverine Creek to the Glenn Highway, splits the Old Glenn Highway to Smith Road, and splits the length of Smith Road between the two districts.

Ogan said he feels directly targeted by the way the lines were drawn.

"I was quite amused when I saw this because I fully anticipated this happening," Ogan said.

The tip-off came, Ogan said, when staff from the redistricting board contacted his office to find out exactly where he lived.

"It's obvious to me that there's culpability on their part," Ogan said.

Gordon Harrison, the redistricting board's executive director, denied the allegations that Ogan was singled out.

"We have all that information for every incumbent," Harrison said.

Harrison explained that every incumbent's office was contacted to obtain information about where they live. Those locations were added to the overall map of Alaska that was used as the base map. When the various plans were laid over the map, a toggle switch could be turned on to display where incumbents lived, but Harrison said the staff who drew up the two proposals adopted by the board did not take that information into account.

"The truth of the matter is, the staff never looked at this," Harrison said.

Harrison added that, due to time constraints, the board did not have much time to adjust the adopted proposals to take into account the current residences of incumbents.

"They did not do it, in part, because there wasn't any time," Harrison said. "I think at this draft stage, the board just couldn't deal with it."

As for the two districts that straddle a single community, Harrison said there is a lot of room for improvement in the plans that were adopted by the board.

"That's why these are draft maps," Harrison said. "They are there for discussion only."

And a lot of discussing is ahead for the board. A statewide teleconference is planned for Saturday, from 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3 p.m. Those interested in commenting at the teleconference can take part at the Mat-Su Legislative Information Office (LIO). People may contact the office at 376-3704 for more information about attending the teleconference.

A second statewide teleconference will be held from 1:30 to 4 p.m., Thursday, May 17.

The board also plans to be in the Valley to hold a hearing in Wasilla on May 15 at the LIO. The time for that meeting has not yet been set, but will be announced closer to the meeting date.

Mat-Su Borough Planning Director Sandra Garley said her staff plans to review the proposals and submit their comments and suggestions by the Saturday teleconference. Garley explained that the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) office recently received a copy of the maps that is compatible with their ArcView software and were, Friday, in the process of integrating the data.

Garley said the planning and GIS staff will be working quickly to offer the board suggestions as to how to resolve some of the issues the redrawn districts create.

The catch is that the board wants the population numbers within the districts to remain the same. This is especially crucial in the Peters Creek/Chugiak district, Garley said, because changing that population would have ripple effects on the nearby Anchorage communities.

The populations of the districts, as they are proposed by the board, range between 15,937 and 16,191 people.

All districts come in above the target population of 15,673, but that's not likely to change, Garley said.

"[We can move the lines to] preserve communities, while not changing population ratios," Garley said.

Four proposals were adopted for review by the board last month. Two were prepared by the board and its staff, and both have identical districts for Mat-Su.

One came from Alaskans for Fair Redistricting (AFFR), a coalition of Native organizations, individuals and public interest groups, and the other came from Calista Corp., an Alaska Native regional corporation for Southwest Alaska.

More information about all of the proposals is available at the board's Web site.

Harrison said the board would also appreciate comments about the proposals — noting likes and dislikes as well as suggestions for fixing problem areas.

"The board is still very much wanting to discuss these things," Harrison said. "People should not regard this as final by any means."

* The Mat-Su Borough, under the Alaska Redistricting Board's adopted draft plans, would be divided into four districts, one of which is shared with Peters Creek/Chugiak.