Courtesy of list member Bert Black...
In the absence of any media attending the redistricting meeting, here is a
nutshell of what happened at the first meeting of the Mpls Redistricting
Commission:
Call to Order sometime between 7 and 7:30 PM, Logan Park, 2/20/02.
a) There is no chair as of yet. The chair, who will be the ninth
member of the commission and will be elected by the other eight, will be
selected in the next eight to thirteen days. Those who are interested should
get their resumes to Suzanne Griffin, Elections Director for Minneapolis
(first floor, City Hall) ASAP. The Redistricting Commission will review
resumes and perhaps reach a decision next Wednesday (2/27) at 6 PM in Room
220 , City Hall, and failing that, will reach a decision the following
Monday, March 4th.
b) The Redistricting Commission heard summaries of basic
redistricting principles from the Office of the Secretary of State as well
as further information on Minneapolis-specific issues from the City
attorney's office.
c) The meeting was run by Jay Heffern, City Attorney, in the
absence of a permanent chair.
d) The discussion of a permanent chair suggested that retired
judges or clergy would be good choices because of ability to foster
negotiation and consensus in an atmosphere of trust. (With four parties at
the table, trust is essential IMHO). It is acknowledged to be a tough job.
This writer thinks a good chair would need to have:
i) Good skills in fostering trust
ii) Good skills in running meetings
iii) Good knowledge of redistricting process
iv) Understanding of political ramifications of
redistricting choices.
Again, just my opinion.
e) The fact that EVERYTHING you send to a Redistricting
Commissioner, everything they send to you and among themselves, -- and
everything citizens send to the Commissioners!!! - is public data, and
approaches to viewing data without having hundreds of 'discoverable' trial
maps were discussed as were items on the open meeting law (broadcast e-mail
among commissioners may be a meeting, perhaps in violation of the open
meeting law, as may serial meetings among commissioners)
(NOTE: as a person not connected with the redistricting
commission, I am not under such restrictions and will report what I see if
anyone cares to view it here on this list
f) The deadline for redistricting is April 30, but the commission
could get it done earlier than that under the charter.
g) The software being used is Maptitude 4.52. The city has only
four licenses and so it is not available to the general public, although it
is possible that proposals could be put on the web site just as the
Legislature has done.
h) There is a small budget for this process, including staff time
of city staff and for other expenses.
i) The Commission did not set a fixed set of dates for future
meetings other than the ones mentioned above, but Wednesday's seem to have
the inside track..
Meeting adjourned at about 9:20 PM
I am sure I have left something important out, but can't recall.
Happy Redistricting.
Bert Black
King Field.
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