Redistricting commission headed to Kalispell

Montana’s Districting and Apportionment Commission visits Kalispell on Wednesday for the fourth of 14 public hearings being held around the state this spring.

The five-member commission is gathering public input to redraw the state’s legislative district lines for the next 10 years based on the 2010 census.

The census showed Montana growing from 902,195 people in 2000 to 989,415 in 2010, with some of the state’s fastest growth in Kalispell.

“We view these public hearings in the various locations as a very important part of the process,” said Lakeside resident Jim Regnier, a retired Montana Supreme Court justice and the commission’s presiding officer.

“There are mandatory criteria we have to comply with, but once we comply with those then there are discretionary criteria that we want to take into consideration with local people and how they feel.”

Regnier was appointed to the commission by the Montana Supreme Court because the other commission members — two appointed by Republicans and two appointed by Democrats — could not agree on a presiding officer.

The commission will redraw Montana’s 100 House and 50 Senate districts based on the census.

The ideal House district will have 9,894 people, one-hundredth of the census count. The ideal Senate district, made up of two adjoining House districts, will have 19,788 people.

Mandatory criteria for the commission to follow include:

• Deviation from ideal population may not exceed 3 percent, and any deviation must come with an explanation. That’s a smaller deviation than the 5 percent allowed in the past.

• Each district must consist of a compact and contiguous territory.

• No district may afford members of a racial or language minority less opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice.

Discretionary criteria for the commission to consider include geographic boundaries and the boundaries of counties, cities, towns, school districts and other political units.

They also include keeping intact “communities of interest,” which include Indian reservations; urban, suburban and rural interests; neighborhoods; trade areas; communication and transportation networks; media markets; social, cultural and economic interests; and occupations and lifestyles.

THE NONPARTISAN Montana Legislative Services Division has drawn up four draft district maps.

An “urban-rural” map tries to emphasize differences between urban population centers and rural areas.

An “existing district” map tries to bring each of the existing House and Senate district boundaries into compliance with the new population targets and allowed deviation.

A “deviation” map tries to reduce the population differences between districts to the smallest amounts possible and a “subdivision” map tries to keep related political subdivisions in the same districts as much as possible.

Commissioners Joe Lamson and Pat Smith, both appointed by Democrats, have created a fifth draft map, which they are calling the “communities map.”

“The other maps were plans that looked at one specific criteria and emphasized that one criteria,” Lamson said. “The community map takes all the criteria and attempts to take the best aspects of all four plans and put them into one.”

In an opinion column, Montana Republican Party Chairman Will Deschamps called the map created by Lamson and Smith an attempt at gerrymandering and said the commission’s two Republican appointees, Jon Bennion and Linda Vaughey, have not created a draft map.

At Wednesday’s hearing, people can weigh in on all five draft maps, telling the commission what they like or don’t like about them. They also can submit their own draft maps, as some counties, cities and chambers of commerce have done for their parts of the state.

“These are starting points, templates,” Regnier said about the draft maps prepared. “I suspect the final product will be a combination of some or all of the above, but they are good starting points to talk about.”

Joe Unterreiner, president of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, said he plans to attend Wednesday’s hearing to advocate that the city of Kalispell get the most representation possible.

“With Kalispell coming in at almost 20,000 people, it seems appropriate for the city be represented by two House seats and a Senate seat,” Unterreiner said. “We’ll see how that goes. We’re glad they’re coming up here to get public input. It’s a great step for that group to take.”

The Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission will hold public hearings in various cities through May. In August it will discuss, review and adopt a final plan for the 100 House districts, and then lay out Senate districts.

Proposed districts must be submitted to the 2013 Legislature by the 10th legislative day, giving the Legislature some time to review the plan and make suggestions the commission can either accept or reject.

“One unique thing about Montana’s process is that we’re independent of the Legislature. So the commission will have the last say,” Regnier said.

More information about the redistricting process and the draft maps is available online at www.leg.mt.gov/redistricting.

Wednesday’s meeting will be held at the Red Lion Hotel Kalispell, 20 N. Main St. It starts at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.

Draft maps and public comments also can be sent to the commission by email to districting@mt.gov; by fax to 406-444-3036; and by mail to Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission, PO Box 201706, Helena, MT 59620-1706.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.