First redistricting maps appear headed for approval

DES MOINES, Iowa – The only question mark remaining in this year's redistricting process may be Gov. Terry Branstad.

The House and Senate on Thursday are expected to debate the new proposed congressional and legislative district boundaries that will govern Iowa for the next 10 years based on the latest census data. There has been little opposition to indicate the reapportionment plan drafted by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency won't be approved, lawmakers say.

“My gut tells me it will pass,” said Rep. Stewart Iverson, R-Clarion, a veteran of previous redistricting votes that come before the Legislature every 10 years.

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, chairman of the Senate State Government Committee, which approved the redistricting legislation 14-0 Wednesday, said he thought this year's process might be problematic due to the split-control Legislature but he said the opposite has been the case.

“I think there's broad support for the plan,” Danielson said. “We haven't had a single legislator at this point tell us that they were going to vote no on it. So, I think there's broad bipartisan and bicameral support for the plan. Let's let Iowa know this is going to be the plan for the next 10 years. Let's pass it and let folks get to work on what those districts look like.”

Earlier this week, the special five-member Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission unanimously recommended that the Legislature and Branstad approve the proposed maps charting new congressional and legislative boundaries for the next decade. Panel members issued their favorable opinion of the LSA plan after holding public hearings in Council Bluffs, Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines last week.

Slow population growth the past decade resulted in Iowa losing one congressional seat. The LSA's redistricting plan reshapes Iowa's current five congressional districts into four for the 2012 election and reconfigures legislative districts in a way that would throw about a third of the current House and Senate incumbents together under the new proposed boundaries.

So far, Branstad has been noncommittal, saying he's been too preoccupied with other matters to dwell on the redistricting issue.

“I just want to make a very thoughtful, careful analysis of the situation and get as much input as possible,” said Branstad, who noted his first run for the Iowa House was made possible by the 1971 redistricting plan that was written by the Iowa Supreme Court. He said Wednesday he has discussed the map with Iowa's five current members of Congress to get their views.

“I don't want to be in any big hurry. I take this responsibility very seriously,” he added. “I've heard concerns but I don't know that I've received anything that would tell me there's a compelling reason to reject it. Generally there hasn't been a great outcry of people that were really concerned, which we've had in some of the past ones.”

Legislative leaders from both political parties in the House and Senate said they believe the redistricting plan is fair because it creates opportunities and challenges for Republicans and Democrats.

“We've still not heard any good reasons that we shouldn't do this particular map. I'm not saying that we couldn't still, but we haven't heard any yet,” said House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner.

Senate President Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg, said he expects passage Thursday, adding “I hope the governor agrees.”

“I think it's got a very good chance of passing,” said Sen. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, who conceded to having some reservations about the first plan. “At the end of the day, I think everybody's scared of going to a second map, so the first map becomes a default map and I think that's probably where it will end up.”

Sen. Merlin Bartz, R-Grafton, who would reside in a new Senate district with Sen. Mary Jo Wilhelm, D-Cresco, said he was undecided about the first map, citing concern that the effort to keep cities together was creating multi-county Senate districts that were getting increasingly difficult for one legislator to serve.

“I think it kind of discriminates against rural Iowa,” Bartz said. “These rural districts are getting gigantic. From the ability to access your legislator, you're really going to have to drive a lot of miles to be familiar with some of these communities, where there are city legislators that virtually only have to go blocks in their districts. I don't know if I have a solution to that problem.”

Sen. Shawn Hamerlinck, R-Dixon, said he supports the plan and applauded the nonpartisan way it was drafted without political considerations.

“I'm not hearing a lot of consternation between the two chambers against the plan so I predict that it will be moving forward,” he said.

Hamerlinck said he planned to cast his vote without consideration for his personal situation, which would locate him in a newly created Senate district with Sen. Jim Hahn, R-Muscatine, if approved.

“We have two years before that even pops up,” he said. “I hope politicians don't vote for or against plans with the intention of maintaining titles. They weren't sent here for political titles and they weren't sent here to maintain seats. They were sent here to represent a population and I hope that's the first and most immediate goal any time they make votes on these plans.”

The new congressional configuration would throw current GOP incumbent Congressmen Steve King of Kiron and Tom Latham of Ames together in a new 4th congressional district in northwest and north-central Iowa, and Democratic incumbent Congressmen Bruce Braley of Waterloo and Dave Loebsack of Mount Vernon both reside in the newly proposed 1st District in northeast and east-central Iowa. U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Des Moines, would be the incumbent in the new 3rd district stretching more Des Moines to Council Bluffs, while the newly proposed 2nd District is an open seat for now in southeast and southern Iowa.

Either the House, which currently is controlled by Republicans 60-40, or the Senate, where Democrats hold a 26-24 majority, or Branstad can reject the initial LSA proposal.

So far, Branstad has been noncommittal, saying he's been too preoccupied with other matters to dwell on the redistricting issue.

If it's rejected, the agency has 35 days to produce a second map, which, like the first, cannot be altered. If that's rejected, LSA has 35 days to prepare a third map. That can be amended.

If the Legislature does not approve a map by Sept. 1, the Iowa Supreme Court will step in.

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