The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission met in downtown Phoenix on Dec. 16, 2021./ Photo by Jeremy Duda | Arizona Mirror
By Jeremy Duda | Arizona Mirror
The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission met in downtown Phoenix on Dec. 16, 2021. Photo by Jeremy Duda | Arizona Mirror
Democrats at the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission notched a rare win as the independent chairwoman sided with them on a starting point for the congressional map, only to see the GOP make gains when the new districts were unveiled.
In one of those districts, Democratic Commissioner Shereen Lerner and Republican Commissioner Doug York forged an agreement that will bring it back into the Democratic column. Elsewhere on the map, there are still significant disagreements between the commission’s Democratic and Republican members.
When the AIRC ended its meeting on Thursday, the commissioners had little to say about the congressional map as they awaited revisions from their consultants. But Lerner made it clear she wasn’t happy.
“The first round, when we just got those back, were not good. They were a 7-2 split (favoring Republicans). But I’m hoping things move forward,” Lerner told the Arizona Mirror after the meeting ended at the Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix.
The day started off on a relatively high note for Lerner and fellow Democrat Derrick Watchman. Chairwoman Erika Neuberg announced on Monday that, after that day’s meeting, she would no longer entertain separate proposals from the AIRC’s Democrats and Republicans, and that the commission would instead choose one starting point apiece for the legislative and congressional maps.
York and Republican Commissioner David Mehl moved to adopt their congressional map, while Lerner and Watchman favored their map. Neuberg said she had problems with both, and said she preferred to go back to the congressional draft map the AIRC approved in late October. Lerner, Neuberg and Watchman voted 3-2 to use the draft map — a proposal with two safe Democratic districts, three safe Republican districts, and four competitive districts — marking only the second time that the chairwoman sided with her Democratic colleagues on a 3-2 vote.
