Gould keeping close eye on redistricting
 State senator's plans hinge on where Franks lands on new maps
 
By NEIL YOUNG
Mohave Daily News
 
BULLHEAD CITY — District 3 State Sen. Ron Gould has mixed feelings regarding draft congressional and state legislative redistricting maps approved by the Independent Redistricting Commission. Gould serves as chairman of the Mohave County Republican Central Committee.

Monday, the committee voted 4-1 for a state legislative redistricting plan, which removes the far-flung Mohave County precincts of Colorado City and the remainder of the Arizona Strip from the current district, the bulk of which includes all of Mohave County. The new district would include La Paz County. Gould noted that the new district would "be more compact" than the current one.

Gould, who is term-limited and must give up his senate seat next year, is interested in running for Congress. He said he would only run if District 2 U.S. Rep. Trent Franks (R-Glendale) is placed in another district. The draft map for a Fourth Congressional District, which includes Mohave County, does not include an incumbent. As for his prospects of winning a GOP primary and a general election in 2012, Gould said, "Looks good. We'll just have to wait and see if those lines hold." There's been "push back" from Gov. Jan Brewer and most of the other leading elected Republicans, accusing the IRC of bias in favor of Democrats, who accuse the GOP of bullying tactics.

The good news for Gould is that 30 percent of the new congressional district is in his current state legislative district. That would give Gould an automatic leg up in a primary, due to voter familiarity with his eight-year legislative record.

"I think that came out pretty well for Mohave County, other than the fact that it's not particularly compact," Gould said. The sprawling Fourth District would include Mohave and La Paz counties, and significant populations in parts of Yavapai and Pinal counties. Pinal lies between Maricopa (Phoenix) and Pima (Tucson) counties. Here's a breakdown provided by Gould to show percentages of population contributed by each county in the proposed district:
  • Mohave County: 28.15 percent

  • Yavapai County: 27.17 percent

  • Pinal County: 23.54 percent

  • Yuma County: 9.6 percent (excludes the city of Yuma)

  • Maricopa County: 4.5 percent

  • Gila County: 4.05 percent

  • La Paz County 3.0 percent (includes Parker)
Public hearings to discuss the congressional and legislative redistricting proposals will be held over the next 31?2 weeks. Commissioners will be returning to Mohave County, with a public hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 19 in the Bullhead City council chamber.

Voter approval of a constitutional amendment in 2000 took redistricting out of hands of the Legislature.

The amendment requires the committee to draw maps that have equal population, respect communities of interest, protect minorities' voting rights and take heed of geographical features and local government boundaries. The commission is also supposed to try to create districts that are competitive between the parties.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
 
MohaveDailyNews.com
Originally published Tuesday, October 11, 2011
 
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