The Democrats in charge of redistricting Anchorage Assembly boundaries are taking pains to protect themselves. The Anchorage Reapportionment Committee is comprised of an Assembly committee led by hard-partisan Chris Constant. The group has narrowed its focus to three draft maps, changing the boundaries for Assembly seats so that they are roughly equal in population.
Maps 6,7, and 11 are under consideration at this point. There’s a fourth map that may be considered, but it’s unlikely.
The maps will be introduced at the Tuesday, Feb. 15 meeting of the Anchorage Assembly, which begins at 5 pm. Public testimony occurs before 6 pm usually, and a public hearing on the maps will be held on Feb. 24. View schedule here.
Map 6 is offered by a hard-left group called Anchorage Action, which says it is nonpartisan. The group’s social media feeds tell a different story. In the Map 6, Version 2 map now being considered, Anchorage Assemblyman Forrest Dunbar’s home has a line drawn around it so that he will be in District 1. If he loses his current race to Stephanie Taylor, which seems likely, he can run for a District 1 seat. If he wins reelection, this would still be his last term, but he would be able to run again in the new district.
See entire Anchorage Action Map 6, version 2 at this link.
Submit a comment to the Anchorage Reapportionment Committee here.
Map 7 is offered by Robert Hockema, a Democrat affiliated with Assemblywoman Meg Zalatel’s reelection campaign. The Hockema map has maintains what is basically the existing boundary near Zaletel’s home address. She is, along with Dunbar, a member of the “Marxist Nine.” Both Zaletel and Dunbar are at the bright edges of their proposed districts, the result of careful planning by the mapmakers.
See the entire Hockema-Zaletel Map 7, version 2 at this link.
Submit a comment to the Anchorage Reapportionment Committee here.
Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel lives on boundary of her district in Map 7, designed by her surrogate.
Map 11 is offered by Assemblyman John Weddleton of South Anchorage. Of the three to be presented on Tuesday, it appears to be the least gerrymandered. It cuts up Spenard and downtown Anchorage in a messy way, and it keeps Dunbar and Zaletel in their districts.
See the entire Weddleton map at this link.
Submit a comment to the Anchorage Reapportionment Committee here.
Map 12 isn’t yet under consideration by the Assembly, because Assemblyman Constant refused to accept it at first, and later did accept it as a draft. It is being offered by Jamie Allard, Assemblywoman from Eagle River, and Mayor Bronson’s Administration. It follows natural boundaries better than any of the other maps, does not create special carve-outs, and also protects the conservative stronghold of Eagle River, while Maps 6 and 7 weaken Eagle River’s already marginal influence. It is also being labeled by the Assembly as Map 11b.
See the entire Map 12 at this link.
Submit a comment to the Anchorage Reapportionment Committee here.
