Will there ever be an end to the attack on the Redistricting Commission? The people of the State of Arizona empowered an independent redistricting commission several years ago. They have been meeting and working on a new districting plan, and finally, when they present a plan that, while it has some flaws, does represent a solution.

What happened next was almost predictable. The republicans in the legislature and the Governor wasted little time in launching an all out attack, even before the final plan was presented for review and public comment. First, it was their perception of the chairman of the commission not being the independent voice as was intended. And their reason was what? Her husband did work for democrats. Forget that he also did work for republicans as well. Then they didn’t like the shape of the districts and that communities of the same political ilk were not positioned to their liking. Did they look at the gerrymandering of districts when they did the redistricting? Evidently they did not. When none of this ran the chairman off, they ignored the will of the people and fired her.

Did they have the right to take this action? It depends on whether or not there was a lack of correctness in the actions of the commission and the legal interpretation of the law. It’s obvious, however, that the chair and the democratic members of the commission are the targets of this “Return to Salem” witch hunt.

Sheesh!

Needless to say, this won’t go away. The attorney for the commission is pursuing this matter in court, and while the Governor backed off to the extent that she said the chairman should remain as such, she emphasized that the commission should not proceed with a final decision.

So, sit around and let’s wait…for what?

The real issue here is the total disregard for the will of the people by legislators who obviously want to control what was taken away from them because of their design efforts which lacked objectivity. The commission’s preliminary plan called for 4 districts primarily leaning republican, 2 leaning democrat and 3 up for grabs. If anything, the democrats and the independents should be raising the roof. Registered voters in Arizona are almost equally split among these three camps. I believe the conservatives should take the deal and run.

With the defeat of Russell Pearce, conservatives need to listen to the few remaining moderate—and sane—voices left in the party. Arizonans are tiring of the bully approach; debate and arrive at decisions that involve all political voices.
If they don’t, they may not like the final decision by the very people they are ignoring—the people of Arizona.