Lawmaker casts ‘no’ vote against splitting I-380 ‘Corridor’

DES MOINES - A concern about the “Corridor” brand led one Cedar Rapids legislators to vote against a redistricting plan that was approved overwhelmingly by the House and Senate April 14.

Other votes against the redistricting plan drawn by the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency, which was approved 91-7 by the House and 48-1, stemmed from concerns about the way the map was drawn and how rural and urban interests were mashed together in some districts.

The bill is on its way to Gov. Terry Branstad who has said has not heard a reason not sign it.

Cedar Rapids Republican Rep Renee Schulte was a “no” vote on the plan. She had heard from community members, including business leaders who have been working to create a “Corridor” brand, linking Iowa City, Coralville, Cedar Rapids and other communities along the Interstate 380 corridor. The brand has been used to promote the region for economic development and professional recruitment.

They told Schulte the congressional redistricting plan that put Linn County in the new 1

^st

District and Johnson in the 2

^nd

could weaken the region's ability to attract federal assistance – funding and otherwise.

Other lawmakers said that the region might benefit from having two members of the U.S. House representing the Corridor.

Schulte acknowledged “it could be a good thing if they work together, but if they don't, or if they are from different parties and can't work together, it's not.”

Her vote, she said, reflected the “angst” of people who spoke to her about the plan.

“Besides, I'm more of a ‘Deal or No Deal' kind of girl and I wanted to see what was behind Door No. 2,” Schulte said. A second plan, she said, “might have been better.”

Sen. Sandy Greiner, R-Keota, has drawn maps and she thinks the LSA could have done better.

She chaired a commission that drew supervisor districts in Washington County, “so I understand how hard it is.”

But it “bugs me a lot” that the LSA map follows the Iowa River, then carves out Hills before crossing the river, she said.

Based on party registration numbers, Greiner said, it's probably to her advantage not to have Hills in her district, but there had to be a better way to draw the map.”

She voted no on principle, Greiner said.

The Iowa Democratic Party said “no” votes by Greiner and Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton, “sent a clear message to the people of Johnson County, and the rest of their new districts, that they do not want to represent them.”

“Instead of supporting the fair redistricting proposal, which has received wide bipartisan support, they have voted against these maps and against the people of Johnson County,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky.

Kaufmann, who has represented parts of Johnson County for eight years, was outraged. He called comments of Dvorsky, whose husband is a Democratic state senator, “slanderous” and demanded an apology.

His vote was not a reflection of his situation, but his belief that Senate 37, where Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, is the incumbent, mixes rural and urban areas that do not share the same interests.

“I think we need to have that discussion,” Kaufmann said, “whether rural districts should be kept rural and urban districts urban” even if it results in rural Senate districts become geographically large to maintain a population balance.

And, Kaufmann said, it might be in Johnson County's interest to have him as a representative.

“If you live in a growing district, a district that is bursting at the seams, wouldn't you want representation from both parties?” he said.