County Commissioner Jane Raybould doesn't think the new election districts are fair. Her proposal had five districts each including a chunk of Lincoln, along with a sizable rural area. The new districts -- just approved today -- eliminate Jane Raybould's rural constituents. Instead, her district falls entirely within Lincoln. The other four districts all include chunks of Lincoln along with rural areas.
Ms. Raybould's complaint is that the districts are now all but a lock for particular parties. Raybould's district leans heavily Democrat; the others lean heavily Republican. It's one of the rare times you'll ever hear a politician complain that redistricting makes her more likely to get re-elected.
Does Ms. Raybould's complaint have merit? As she's phrasing it, no. She seems to be arguing that like-minded people are more accurately being grouped with other like-minded* people. How could that possibly be construed as a bad thing? Since when is it bad that Democrats will be more likely to be represented by a Democrat, and Republicans by a Republican? By Raybould's own admission she is not a good representative for rural Lancaster County residents' wants. Why would she want folks in her district that, based on party affiliation, she's likely to vote against?
Ms. Raybould raised some really fun and interesting topics for discussion. I credit her for that. But I haven't yet been able to wrap my head around her argument here. She raised questions that involve fundamental issues of democracy -- and which should, therefore, concern all of us -- but the message folks heard was her complaint that she's too likely to keep her job.
*For the purposes of this discussion we're of course making huge generalizations here about the "like-mindedness" of the affected populations; the propensity of an individual to always "vote with her party"; and so forth.
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
No comments yet! Be the first.
Share your thoughts with the community.
Commenting is no longer permitted on this post.