Redistricting exploits sometimes fail to achieve intended goals
Memories of the redistricting process at the end of the 2001 Legislature are not pretty but worth recalling now that Nevada is guaranteed a fourth congressional district.
A special session, considered rare then but commonplace now, had to be called before the redistricting plan was approved. Moments after the special session ended shortly after midnight June 15, 2001, Gov. Kenny Guinn brutally blasted legislators for wasting time, passing meaningless bills, letting good bills die, holding bills hostage and relying too much on lobbyists.
Even Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins called the session "embarrassing."
State Sen. Jon Porter and his redistricting strategist Mike Slanker were blamed for forcing the Legislature into a special session because they held up how the new 3rd Congressional District would be drawn. That was the most contentious redistricting issue, the one that had national consequences because of the swinging balance of power in Congress.
Even before it was drawn, Porter knew he would be running for it. So did Democratic Clark County Commissioner Dario Herrera.
Slanker was charged with making sure the lines were as favorable for Porter as possible. On the Democratic side, Jim Mulhall did the same for Herrera and the Democratic Assembly Caucus.
Recognizing Herrera would draw Hispanic voters, Porter made sure the district wasn't heavily Hispanic.
When it was over, Slanker believed he had helped design a district that would start off evenly split between Democrats and Republicans but would end up growing Republican, creating a safe district for Porter.
That didn't happen.
The district went for Porter in 2002 and 2004 and 2006, but in 2008 it went to Democrat Dina Titus and in 2010 moved back into GOP hands with Dr. Joe Heck's slim victory.
What was supposed to evolve into a safe GOP seat has become a competitive district.
Barbara Buckley, then the Assembly majority leader, said her most vivid memory was negotiating with state Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas. They shook hands on the final deal at 3:30 a.m.
"I remember coming home after negotiating all night with Ann O'Connell, and the newspaper was already there," Buckley said. But that agreement also fell apart, forcing the special session.
Would Buckley be interested in a congressional seat? "Right now, I'll say no, but who knows?"
Some prospective Democratic contenders, including state Sen. Steven Horsford, Assembly Speaker John Oceguera and Assemblyman Marcus Conklin, might not agree on which lines will create the best congressional districts for themselves.
Redistricting tends to be one of the baser activities of lawmakers because everyone is trying to protect their own self-interest first, then their party's interest.
The lines are drawn for every political office in the state where someone is elected from a district, so incumbents in county commissions, city councils, school boards and others also have a keen interest in the process.
Richard Urey, chief of staff for Rep. Shelley Berkley, spent some time in Carson City in 2001 to make sure her District 1 seat remained comfortably Democratic.
His most vivid memory is watching Porter "attempting to negotiate the best deal he would get with whoever would talk to him." Porter sought Berkley's support for his prospective district believing his one-time political foe might be willing to support him: He and Berkley had the same common interests, to create safe seats for themselves.
Why didn't District 3 go solid Republican? Well-off Republicans and working stiffs balanced each other out.
"What they failed to calculate was that the area was not only attractive for the wealthy, but it was attractive for people trying to get a job," Urey said.
The partisan fight that held up the session in 2001 ended up being a political miscalculation. That's worth remembering a decade later.
Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.
