-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Driscoll [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2001 3:30 PM
To: Minneapolis Issues
Subject: Re: [Mpls] New wards
[AD] Actually, I don't know enough about the Minneapolis charter to refute
my friend, Terrell's submission that Minneapolis has to wait for the state,
but the St. Paul Charter Commission has been at the business of
redistricting, including the drawing of three alternative maps for ward
redistricting for several months.
[BRM] That Minneapolis must wait for statewide legislative
redistricting is a requirement of state statute, not the City charter.
State law (Minn. Statutes sec. 204B.135) provides that "a city that elects
its council members by wards may not redistrict those wards before the
legislature has been redistricted in a year ending in one or two. The wards
must be redistricted within 60 days after the legislature has been
redistricted or at least 19 weeks before the state primary election in the
year ending in two, whichever is first." The Legislature has set 19 March
2002 as its target date for reapportioning the state's legislative
districts. The proposed timeline and other information regarding that
process are available online at the web page of Geographic Information
Systems Office at
http://www.commissions.leg.state.mn.us/gis/html/redis-list.html.
[AD] Also, Terrell say the new wards last decade were drawn in 1990. Hardly
possible since that's the year of the census. Possible it was in 1991, but
likely even later, but perhaps in time for the 1991 elections. If that was
the case, the city redrawing took place well in advance of the state even
then.
[BRM] Andy is correct. After the 1990 Census, the City Council
adopted new ward boundaries in April 1992. The map resulting from that
process (as revised in 1996) is available online at
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/about/maps/wards.pdf.
[AD] My sense is that, unless the charter specifies otherwise, redistricting
should be under way right now. Otherwise, little time will be left prior to
the 2002 elections.
[BRM] The City Charter (ch. 1, sec. 3) provides that "in each year
ending in the number two, or whenever the number of Wards is changed, or
when required by court order, [a] Redistricting Commission shall be
established to draw Ward boundaries." The Commission's members are
nominated "not later than February 1 in years ending in two." Information
about the Minneapolis redistricting process is available on the City Clerk's
web page at
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/citywork/clerk/elections/redistrict.html.
[AD] Yes, I know the next city election is in 2003, but the lines should be
set before 2002 in case a death or other departure creates a vacancy and the
ensuing special election would straddle two maps.
[BRM] The next Council elections are not scheduled under the City
Charter until 2005, so that election is the first regularly scheduled
election to which the redistricting will apply. To call a new election in
2003 because of redistricting would require legislation, a charter
amendment, or a court order, none of which is currently in the works as far
as I know.
As for vacancies and special elections, David Brauer raised that
issue last month when he asked, "after the city redistricts in '02, do
council members serve their '01 election districts or the new
post-redistricting boundaries. (My guess is they serve the current '01
districts until '05.). In other words, could I be voting for a 10th ward
council member this year but be in the 11th ward next year?" I would ask
the same question a little differently: would the redistricting apply to a
special election held before the next regularly scheduled election? If the
answer is yes, then some voters may be represented by two Council members:
one elected from their old ward in the general election in 2001, and another
elected from their new ward in the special election. If the answer is no,
then a special election in early 2005 would use ward boundaries drawn almost
thirteen years earlier, based on a census taken almost fifteen years
earlier, while ignoring the less-than-three-year-old redistricting. I have
never looked at that issue before, but my quick look at the charter suggests
that David's guess (that the answer is no) is correct.
[AD] The criteria is essentially the extent to which redistricting should
adhere to state parameters over the deviation from populations and the
changes wrought by another decade of shifts in each ward. St. Paul settled
on an extremely low deviation - �2.5%. The state and other jurisdictions
usually run between 4% and 5%, minimizing the need to drastically re-draw
current ward lines.
[BRM] A deviation of 2.5 percent is very low compared to legislative
redistricting other states, which can run as high as ten percent, but
actually high for Minnesota. The statewide legislative redistricting after
the 1970, 1980, and 1990 Censuses all provided for a maximum population
deviation of plus or minus two percent. The redistricting criteria that the
Minnesota Senate adopted in April 2001 also provided for a maximum deviation
of plus or minus two percent. The Parties in the pending litigation before
the Special Redistricting Panel are all arguing for a maximum deviation of
plus or minus two percent or less, in one case as low as plus or minus 0.75
percent.
[AD] Briefly, then: Legislative districts don't have to honor neighborhood
contiguity, but city wards should. That makes it almost impossible to make
state and city districts contiguous.
[BRM] I think that you mean congruent, rather than contiguous.
Congruency refers to how closely one area, such as a ward, matches up with a
corresponding area, such as a legislative district. Contiguity refers to
the extent to which two adjoining districts share a boundary, or the extent
to which territory within a single district is connected to other territory
within that same district.
BRM
Brian Melendez
St. Anthony West (Ward 3)
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