The Clark County Council should adopt a plan supported by a majority of the county’s redistricting committee. Any alternative would reek of political gamesmanship that poorly serves constituents and is an attempt to hijack county government.
Already, two Republicans on the redistricting committee have turned the process into a partisan battle while presenting falsehoods and specious arguments to support their positions. It is an unseemly effort that demonstrates disdain for democracy and ignores the will of voters.
In November, those voters overwhelmingly approved increasing the council from four districts to five. More than 70 percent voted in favor of Charter Amendment No. 3, which also results in the county chair being selected by council members. Previously, the chair was elected in a countywide vote.
Proposed boundaries that were presented by a county charter commission and approved by voters require some adjustment following the release of U.S. Census data late this year. As The Columbian explained editorially: “This is not unusual; if voters had approved five districts in, say, 2018, redistricting would have taken place in 2019 and again in 2021, following population changes identified by the census. Complaints that proposed maps might not be identical to those approved by voters ignore the reality of the situation.”
The redistricting committee — which includes two Democrats, two Republicans and County Auditor Greg Kimsey — identified two options for drawing district maps. Option B2, it was discovered, would place three current councilors, including County Chair Eileen Quiring O’Brien, in District 4 based upon their residences.
Two appointed Republicans on the committee supported a map known as A2, which would leave one of those councilors in District 3; Kimsey, also a Republican, supported map B2 for more closely meeting the will of voters.
Adjusting the map out of concerns for one sitting councilor is an egregious abuse of power and violates the duties of commission members. It also comes across as an effort to manipulate the political process for partisan gain.
During that process, Republican committee member Cemal Richards unleashed a flurry of inaccuracies, including the false claim that the charter review board consisted of all Democrats (the positions are nonpartisan and were elected). Richards said: “There should have been something put on the ballot asking voters if they even want a fifth district. We feel it was orchestrated to basically gerrymander.”
The level of projection in that statement is absurd. But Richards and fellow Republican Juan Gamboa used the canard as an excuse to commandeer the process.
The Clark County Charter calls for a two-thirds majority of the redistricting committee — four members — to approve the boundaries. The 3-2 vote apparently sends the task to the five-person county council, where members who have a vested interest in the outcome will be tasked with drawing the map. Four of the five council members are Republicans.
Failing to support the B2 map would be excusable if the reasoning were based on facts. Instead, appointed Republicans on the committee have embraced obstructionism that thwarts voters in a vain attempt to cling to power.
Notably, Kimsey supports option B2. So does the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Clark County. So do 18 of the 20 citizens who provided comments for a recent commission meeting.
The Clark County Council should follow that lead, placing democracy ahead of partisanship.
