KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The Alaska Redistricting Board held its first meeting yesterday in Anchorage. Kodiak’s Bob Brodie is one of five members on the board, but had to attend telephonically due to the dense fog.
— (Brodie 1 24 sec "This is a process going … for the next 10 years.")
Former state senator John Torgerson of Kasilof was voted in as chair of the board at the meeting.
Brodie hopes that the five-member board can steer clear of the kind of legal problems redistricting has encountered in the past:
— (Brodie 2 19 sec "I’ve always heard about … try to sue us.")
In addition to Brodie and Torgerson, Jim Holm of Fairbanks, Albert Clough of Juneau and Marie Green of Kotzebue, are on the board. The panel is responsible for redrawing the boundaries for Alaska’s 40 State House seats, which will determine the State Senate Seats, as well. Migration between communities, causing some to shrink and others to grow, necessitate the redrawing so each area has the same number of residents.
However, there could be six more districts to add into the mix – four in the house and two in the senate – if voters in November approve Ballot Measure Number One, which would increase the size of the legislature.
— (Brodie 3 24 sec "And I think that’s … we’ll see what happens.")
The next step for the board is to hire an executive director to carry out research for the board, and legal counsel to defend its findings. The board did not discuss any boundaries specifically at Monday’s meeting, but are scheduled to meet again in mid October.
Brodie says that later this month, he and several other members of the board will attend training for state redistricting boards in Providence, Rhode Island.
