BREAKING NEWS
The Ohio Redistricting Commission has announced its first schedule of public hearings.
The Ohio Redistricting Commission has announced its first schedule of public hearings.Ten hearings at college campuses are scheduled:
- Monday, August 23, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Cleveland
- Monday, August 23, 2:30 – 5:30 p.m.: Youngstown
- Tuesday, August 24, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Dayton
- Tuesday, August 24, 2:30 – 5:30 p.m.: Cincinnati
- Wednesday, August 25, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Zanesville
- Wednesday, August 25, 2:30 – 5:30 p.m.: Rio Grande
- Thursday, August 26, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Lima
- Thursday, August 26, 2:30 – 5:30 p.m.: Toledo
- Friday, August 27, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Akron
- Friday, August 27, 2:30 – 5:30 p.m.: Mansfield
(Information about locations and parking, etc, at this link.)Participation in public hearings is our most important opportunity to influence the redistricting process.
We are calling on everyone who cares about fair maps to give testimony, submit testimony, or simply show up! Here are some links to help you get prepared:
- Recording and slides from our 8/3 training on how to prep for giving testimony
- LWVNYS Easy Testimony Fill
- LWVNYS Story Telling Guide
- In-District Meeting with Your Legislator Toolkit – Google Docs
- Fair Districts Legislative Advocacy Website Page
Let’s pack each of these ten meetings with citizens who care about fair maps and fair districts!You can sign up here if you intend to present testimony at one of these public hearings. We are also happy to review your testimony beforehand. Simply email us a copy at [email protected].Thanks for all you do,Mia Lewis for Common Cause Ohio and Fair Districts
Come on, Ohio peeps! If there is any way you can attend one or more of these, please do it.
If you’re not in Ohio, but you know someone who is, please call them and ask them to attend.
Do it for Ohio, do it for the entire country.
Chime in below if you can attend a meeting or you know someone who could.
Otherwise, totally open thread.
WaterGirl
This is probably a good time to mention the red Alert button (top right on computer).
If there’s a time-sensitive political action item, I have been putting it up with the Alert button. So for everyone here who is up for taking action when possible, look for the alert button and jump in to help when you can.
Kathleen
@WaterGirl: Thank you WG!
Ohio Mom
Thanks for this! I will clear my calendar for the Cincinnati meeting and dust off my snuggest masks (metaphorically speaking).
Here is how gerrymandering has affected me:
A long time ago, the city of Cincinnati and its county, Hamilton, were one congressional district that reliably sent a Democrat to Washington.
Then Republicans in Columbus split the county in two: a western half and an eastern half. Each half was attached to a BIG chunk of rural, Red areas.
As a result we now send TWO Republicans to D.C. (remember Mean Jean Schmidt, that is my district. Her replacement is quieter but just as bad).
Similar shenanigans for the districts that send state Reps and Senators to Columbus.
Every now and again (right now!) my area manages to send a Democrat to the Ohio House but it really shouldn’t be as fraught as it is. My suburb gets more and more blue because those soccer moms are catching on to the Republicans they grew up identifying with.
Ohio Mom
I will add, that if you look at a map of Ohio’s Congressional districts, without knowing anything about my state, you can tell immediately where the cities are.
They are little knots of district borders, doubling over on themselves in order to dilute the Blue vote.
google.com/search?q=ohio+congressional+districts+map&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&…
JR
Odd. Very odd. No Columbus? No OSU, the largest Ohio University? Anyone knows why?
debbie
@JR:
It’s a Dem bastion.
Gary K
@JR: There is a hearing at Ohio State in Mansfield.
Cheryl from Maryland
Remember, be strategic. Having all of your city/suburb in a single district isn’t necessarily the best outcome. I live in Montgomery County, MD, which is the most populous area in the State with 20% of the State population. In 2010, with Democrats in charge, the County was divided into three congressional districts out of eight total. All are currently represented by Democrats. Now, some of the districts in the state aren’t pretty, and they should be better (some of the ugliness is due to Representative “preference,” which should go away), but MoCo deserves to be represented by at least 20% of the MD House members, which means the County cannot be a single Congressional district. So think carefully about how to represent.
Ohio Mom
@JR:
Maybe that’s a question every speaker should add to their prepared statements?
Good catch!
Gary K
This is called the first schedule of hearings. It seems there will be more, and I’d be very surprised if there’s not a later hearing in Franklin County (Columbus). I’m in Mansfield and plan to speak. The right tack, I think, is to remind them that there’s a scholarly literature on this subject, pointing out that there are objective ways to assess districts for fairness and other criteria, and ways to create districts that optimize those criteria.
Mary G
Be safe among the unvaccinated.
Raoul Paste
I’ve seen yard signs in my area about the fair district movement. I’m putting this on my calendar
WaterGirl
I’m glad to see that there’s interest in this and that some of you are planning to attend. Spread the word. You’ll have easy access to the information through the link that’s just under the red Alert button up top.
And of course… if you know of an action campaign for an important issue that might be appropriate and of interest to BJ peeps, let me know so we can help get the word out with the alert button.
sab
Akron is the fifth biggest city in Ohio, behind Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo. We used to have our own comgressman. Now the district is so gerrymandered that we have two comgressmen. One lives in Warrensville Heights, 40 miles away near Lake Erie. The other lives in Warren, just outside of Youngstown on the Pennsylvania border.
My little subdivision ( 400 houses) is in both of these congressional districts.
feebog
The California Redistricting Commission has been holding hearings for several weeks. Question about Ohio, is this an independent commission with the authority to draw the lines, or just advisory?
sab
@feebog: Don’t even ask. It’s very complicated. Sort of a mixture.
Kathleen
@feebog: The Redistricting Commission in Ohio is “Independent” in that it is not controlled by one party. There’s a Democrat and Republican State Senator and State Rep. The issue for this was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in a statewide election. Commission also includes Gov Dewine, Sec of State LaRose and the State Auditor Keith Faber. There are rules that govern the process of obtaining feedback as well as how maps/districts are actually drawn. This commission is drawing districts for the Congressional Districts. CORRECTION: This commission (DeWine et al) are drawing maps for state legislature. There’s a bipartisan committee of state legislators who will draw maps for Congressional districts.
Gary K
@feebog: @Kathleen: It’s independent, but there’s a provision for overriding its conclusions.
I’m a bit amused by the fact that the building in which the Mansfield hearing is being held is misspelled, and the misspelling is being dutifully reported. I happen to know the guy for which the building is named.
Kathleen
@Gary K: Oh no! What is his position? That’s pretty cool having a building named in your honor.
Gary K
@Kathleen: For 17 years he was the Dean & Director of the Mansfield campus of Ohio State — he was a great boss.
sab
@Kathleen: Interesting. I am okay with current state legislature districts. Moot point anyway since term limits. So has anything changed at all with congressional.
WaterGirl
@Gary K:
I am confused.
Gary K
@WaterGirl: It’s simply amusing because I know the person for whom the building is named.
WaterGirl
@Gary K: So they named it for him, but they got the actual name WRONG? On the building itself? And no one fixed that????
dnfree
@WaterGirl: I think he means the name is spelled incorrectly on the list of hearing locations.
WaterGirl
@dnfree: Oh. i just copied what was sent to me.
Kathleen
@sab: Super late to thread but there were radical changes in my House and Senate districts. I was ably served by Dems in both the House and Senate but due to radical district apportionment I’m now served by 2 Republicans and the district maps are ridiculous.