Groups still seek political districts

The once-in-a-decade task of redrawing districts for Clark County commissioners has proved nettlesome as minority groups push for changes that conflict with some commissioners' political goals.

Local Hispanic and African-American caucuses want to insert large concentrations of minority voters into certain districts to give them more say about who's elected, including minority candidates.

They seek to avoid drawing lines that split a racial community into two or more districts and dilute its voting power.

Hispanics now make up more than 27 percent of the county's population, so they should be able to elect either a Hispanic commissioner or someone they feel represents their interests, said Jose Solorio, a community activist and former Clark County School Board member.

"That would give a strong political voice to the community," Solorio said.

Yvette Williams, head of the Democratic Black Caucus, said the same holds true for African-Americans.

"We want to have a representative that will hear us honestly and fairly," Williams said. "It doesn't need to be an African-American, but we want to elect someone who will."

In the past decade, the county's Hispanic population grew to about 569,000 from 302,000, and the African-American population increased to 204,000 from 125,000, according to U.S. census data.

Commissioners, all Democrats, say they would like to accommodate the groups but don't want the districts revamped in such a way that they jeopardize future political races. They want to keep as many of the voters as possible who elected them.

The clash comes as the county is pressed for time in submitting a final redrawn map to its elections office by mid-November, as required by state law.

Commissioners will decide Tuesday whether to choose a map that several of them initially favor or to allow a recently drafted map that addresses black and Hispanic leaders' concerns to be discussed in public forums.

The county has had weeks of workshops already.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak said that you can only redraw the map so much to weave in various communities and that some compromise is needed.

"Sooner or later we have to pick a map," Sisolak said.

TRYING TO SHAPE THE FUTURE

Boundaries are adjusted every 10 years after a census count to spread population changes as evenly as possible through congressional, state and local voting districts.

Some commissioners must pick up 50,000 to 80,000 residents while others must shed a similar amount because of differences in district growth over the past decade.

Federal voting laws discourage slicing a line through a racial core to weaken voting power, as was commonly done in the South before civil rights laws were passed in the mid-1960s.

Hispanics' push for better county representation mirrors a similar effort for Nevada's four congressional districts, which are being redrawn and wrangled over in court.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties recognize Hispanics as an important voting segment for candidates, though their local voting turnout often has been low. Hispanics played a strong role in President Barack Obama winning Nevada three years ago.

Solorio contends that more Hispanics would participate in elections if there were more Hispanic candidates on the ballot. Similarly, strong Hispanic contenders would be more likely to jump into races if they had blocs of voters behind them, he added.

The jockeying for new boundaries shows how crucial redistricting can be for an elected leader or political group in gaining or losing an edge.

Latino leaders want a sprawling area that stretches from Desert Inn Road to Craig Road to be placed within Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani's District E.

The Democratic Black Caucus wants a northern area between Craig and the Las Vegas Beltway to be in Commissioner Lawrence Weekly's District D.

At Giunchigliani's request, the county's consultant, David Heller, crafted a map called "D" that accommodates the two groups and meets the population goals.

Giunchigliani said she thought this effort should be made but added that it must be reasonable and not throw the demographics out of whack in other districts.

The D version is a radical change from Map C, which several commissioners are leaning toward.

Both Williams and Solorio said they have nothing against Weekly or Giunchigliani, whom they describe as solid Democrats who serve their constituents.

They're trying to put Hispanics in one district and African-Americans in the other so the two segments aren't competing with each other in electing a commissioner, they said.

"We don't want a black and brown fight: We want black and brown cooperation," Solorio said.

If Giunchigliani's district is redrawn as he suggests, there will be several good Hispanic candidates who will come forward when Giunchigliani leaves office, he said.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES?

Weekly praised the minority leaders for becoming so involved in redistricting this time around. But he said it will be impossible to please everyone.

He questioned whether integrating a large minority area into a single district was practical.

"I don't' have a problem with what goal they're trying to accomplish," Weekly said. "That's just a lot of shifting and a lot of maneuvering around."

Commissioner Tom Collins, who represents District B, called the latest map unrealistic, and said he would have to give up too much area.

Collins said he has been "very, very, very generous" in what he has been willing to relinquish to his colleagues in redistricting.

The map now being proposed by the consultant would have unintended ripple effects, Collins said.

It would push a lot of Republican voters into Commissioner Larry Brown's District C, he said. Also, Giunchigliani and Weekly would wind up with tens of thousands of residents who have never voted for them.

African-Americans have migrated heavily to the northern valley in the past decade, Williams said. It makes sense for them to be in a district where they would be represented best, she said, arguing that it would be Weekly's district.

Williams said her caucus is pleased with Map D, except that it chops off the historic black district to the west.

"It's a huge thing," Williams said.

The minority groups' objectives are putting commissioners in a tough spot because they want to protect their seats while not alienating black and Hispanic voters, said David Damore, political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"And they don't want to get sued," he said.

Democrats have a 60,000-voter advantage in the county, so it should be possible to give the minority groups what they request without turning any districts Republican, Damore said.

A Hispanic advocate said commissioners want more than a voting edge -- they want to be near shoo-ins in an election.

"They don't want to give up that rich Democratic demographic," said Vicenta Montoya, chairwoman of Si Se Pueda Latino Democratic Caucus. "That's the bottom line."

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@review journal.com or 702-455-4519.