As many of you recall, there was an unsuccessful, foolhardy and costly-to-taxpayers attempt at mid-decade redistricting in Indiana.
In an Aug. 7 Politico article, it is stated that former Gov. Mitch Daniels Jr. (now chair of the board of the Purdue Research Foundation) shared his opinion on mid-decade redistricting: “It would just be wrong. … People there (in Indiana) have a right to pick the person they want.”
“It’s high season for hypocrisy,” he added.
Daniels said gerrymandering means that “you don’t get the balanced, competitive districts that many of us believe would make for a healthier political system.”
Six days later, Sen. Spencer Deery, who worked for former Gov. Daniels for more than a decade, followed his boss and expressed his opposition to the redistricting.
The recent failed redistricting is only a small manifestation of the problem with partisan redistricting. I have been informed by insider sources, both Republican and Democratic, that Indiana Senate District 23 was drawn in the redistricting process by Daniels’ allies specifically to include Deery’s residence, which is very close to its border, within the district.
The current District 23 Sen. Deery is not an opponent of gerrymandering but a prime beneficiary of it. As Daniels stated, “It’s high season for hypocrisy.”
In our current system, voters don’t choose their representatives; representatives choose their voters.
I support reforms that empower Indiana voters and restore confidence in the electoral process. I will sponsor legislation that creates a nonpartisan state redistricting commission that uses the principles of Equal Population, Compactness and Contiguity, and Respect for Existing Political Subdivisions and Communities of Common Interest. I advocate for a ban on mid-decade redistricting.
I have been expressing my concerns about partisan redistricting for decades. It doesn’t matter which political party is manipulating the process to its advantage. As we see with Senate District 23 and the appalling advertisements in which the Republican candidates engage in vicious false accusations against each other, gerrymandering leads to arrogance— the assumption that nothing more than the outcome of the Republican primary matters.
I also back the extension of Indiana voting-day election hours and the provision of more information about candidates to encourage voter participation. In addition, I urge the establishment of more public forums for the candidates.
I believe that empowering the public to express their concerns is democracy in action, and as a state senator, I will continue to encourage such mobilization of the community to promote its welfare.
David A. Sanders is a Democratic candidate for State Senate, District 23.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Indiana Senate candidate calls out redistricting ‘hypocrisy’ in letter
Reporting by David Sanders, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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