Photo by Jim Small | Arizona Mirror
By Jeremy Duda | Arizona Mirror
Legislative Democrats are suing to remove two applicants from the list of independent finalists for the next redistricting commission, arguing that one is disqualified because he’s registered as a lobbyist while the other should be removed because he’s not a true independent.
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House Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez, D-Yuma, and Senate Minority Leader David Bradley, D-Tucson, who filed the suit Friday morning in Maricopa County Superior Court, are also asking that the court temporarily block the appointment of new redistricting commissioners on the grounds that the nominating panel that vets them hasn’t complied with the requirement in the Arizona Constitution that it send the legislature a list of 25 qualified finalists.
House Speaker Rusty Bowers made the first appointment to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission on Thursday, selecting Tucson developer David Mehl as a Republican member. Barring a court order, Fernandez has just seven days to make her first selection.
