By Jeremy Duda | Arizona Mirror
A longtime Flagstaff mayor, a former attorney for Arizona’s biggest utility and a former attorney for a conservative think tank are among the candidates to be the independent chair of Arizona’s next redistricting commission.
The Commission on Appellate Court Appointments on Thursday narrowed down the list of 138 applicants to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission to 51 candidates — 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans and 11 independents — that it will interview next month. The appellate commission will ultimately winnow the list down to 10 Democrats and Republicans apiece and 5 independents.
Democratic and Republican leaders of the state House of Representatives and Senate will each choose one redistricting commissioner from the final list of 25, and those 4 commissioners will choose an independent to serve as chair. If the Democrats and Republicans deadlock, the chair acts as the tiebreaking swing vote.
The 11 independents whom the appellate commission will interview are:
