Senator Starr Proposes Redistricting Reform

From the Oregon Catalyst:

Press release from Senator Bruce Starr

Senator Starr proposes overhaul of redistricting
process. Broad support for a bi-partisan commission.

Salem, OR – State Senator Bruce Starr (R-Hillsboro) has proposed

a new plan to make the way Oregon draws new legislative districts bi-partisan,
objective and fair. Starr will introduce the plan before the 2009 Legislative
Assembly.

“This plan takes the politics out of the redistricting process
so neither party can play kingmaker with Oregon’s representatives,” said Starr.
“Past redistricting plans have been used by political parties to create grossly
gerrymandered districts that look more like Rorschach inkblots than legislative
districts. Our state has a great legacy of fairness, and our redistricting
process should eliminate any possibility for partisan games so that our elective
districts are drawn with the best interests of voters at heart.”

Starr’s plan calls for a commission of
five to draw new district boundaries every ten years. The commission will
consist of two appointees each from the minority and majority parties of the
legislature. The fifth member, a non-voting chairman, will be elected by a
majority vote of the commission members. No past or presently elected official
will serve on the commission.

The plan also stipulates fair and object criteria for drawing
the new districts. Each district will be nearly equal in population, compact,
and separated from other districts by logical boundaries such as geographical
features, artificial barriers or existing political lines. The map will be drawn
so as not to favor or discriminate against any political party or group.

The legislature is given power to amend the redistricting plan,
but only with a two-thirds vote.

“This plan puts voters first and politicians second when
it comes to redistricting,” said Starr. “That’s the type of politics that
represents the Oregon I know.”

The Public Commission on the Oregon Legislature, a bi-partisan group tasked with making suggestions for a more effective legislature, recommended the creation of a Redistricting Commission as a fundamental change needed in Oregon government. The Commission’s Blueprint for a21st Century Legislature recommended “a process that is staffed by skilled professionals, overseen by a state official with no political stake in the outcome, and may result in plans that are more fair and can be prepared more efficiently.”

Starr is submitting his redistrict plan for drafting and
introduction in the 2009 legislative session. Oregon is due to re-draw district
lines in 2011.

I think reform is a great idea, and something we really need to prevent partisanship in something like redistricting that should not be partisan. Commssions have been used in other states, and seems to have worked well. Lets hope that the Legislature will put the people of Oregon first and partisanship behind and vote on and pass this plan.

Starr also mentioned the possibility of putting it on the ballot saying:

“I hope that the Democrats in Salem see this as the public policy that's best
for Oregon. But if they don't, I can take it directly to the people. That's
happened a lot. And, if that's the direction we have to go, that's the direction
we'll go."