7/25/2009 5:01:00 AM
Ohio redistricting could change VW representation
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Photo courtesy sos.state.oh.us
Here is the current Congressional District map. |
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BY KIRK DOUGAL
Times Bulletin Editor
kdougal@timesbulletin.com
Ohio is once again gearing up for redistricting after the census next year. The redrawn congressional lines are needed because of a key fact about the demographics of Ohio - the population is shrinking when compared to other states. Currently Ohio has 18 congressional districts and Van Wert County is represented by Rep. Bob Latta in the 5th District.
That will change because of the drop in population. Ohio is now likely to have only 16 congressional districts after 2010. The district lines are drawn up by the General Assembly and has usually resulted in a partisan fight in the past as the party in political power has tended to place lines in a way that would strengthen their party's power. That has resulted in oddly shaped districts that go all the way from northern Mercer County to Wood County and one that curls around the southern and eastern sides of Columbus so that it could include the Columbus airport.
To that end, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner agreed to host a contest, the Ohio Redistricting Competition, that would invite anyone who wanted to attempt to redraw the districts. These districts may also give people a chance to see how their congressmen are affected by the upcoming changes.
There were four key elements involved in the judging criteria. These included:
Compactness - This refers refers to how a district was physically laid out. The idea was to stop the amoeba-like districts that meandered across the state in order to provide more orderly areas that in theory would make it easier for congressmen to visit.
Communities of Interest - The contest asked that like-minded communities or counties be placed together so that a rural community like Van Wert was not placed in a district with a large city like Toledo with a wide disparity in community thought.
Competitiveness - Perhaps the most difficult of the four tenets to achieve, this idea was directed to encourage districts that could be won by either major political party with neither side having an advantage.
Representational Fairness - Another issue of balance, the idea of this criteria was to make sure that neither party had an advantage state-wide once all the districts were drawn. Brunner came under fire for both of the last two rules because of her announcement that she would be running for Senator George Voinovich's seat on the Democratic ticket.
A total of 14 plans were submitted by the public but three were disqualified immediately because they did not meet one of three current requirements - at least one district with a plurality of African-American voters as required by the Voting Rights Act, roughly the same number of voters or all parts of a district being connected. The current district plan was also included in the contest and was scored the worst of all the remaining 12 options.
Van Wert County would see significant changes under any of the three winning plans. In the top-ranked plan, Van Wert would be in a district that ran directly south down the state border and include Mercer, Darke, Preble, almost all of Butler, Miami and the western portion of Montgomery County.
The second plan would have Van Wert with counties as far north as Wood County and as far south as Darke, with Allen County and Hardin County on the east side.
The third plan, which was actually drawn up by a state representative in Illinois, showed the least amount of change for Van Wert County. The new district would form a U around Toledo with Shelby County forming the bottom and Hardin, Hancock and Wood counties the eastern border.
Though none of the plans were binding and the Assembly will still need to examine the whole issue, the contest plans do give an idea of what might lie ahead for Van Wert County's representation in Washington D.C. in the future.
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