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IRC split on cooperating with AG investigation
The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission could stumble into another partisan divide, but this time it involves whether members will cooperate with Attorney General Tom Horne’s investigation into whether the commission violated open meeting and procurement laws when it hired a mapping consultant in June.
Western Arizonans push for ‘river district’ in Congress
Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission has shifted gears, now collecting public input from elected officials and everyday residents about what they want to see when the state’s political maps get wiped clean and recast.
While the commissioners have heard a variety of suggestions, one recommendation has so far come across more coherently than any other: The perceived need for[...]
Learning how to redraw districts
A couple weeks ago Arizona’s redistricting commission shifted gears in a significant way. They’ve begun the part of the process where they are asking members of the public to come to meetings and tell the commission what sort of districts they want.
Attorney General Tom Horne announces redistricting commission investigation
Attorney General Tom Horne has announced his office has opened an investigation into the Independent Redistricting Commission in response to an investigation by Arizona Capitol Times and its sister publication, Yellow Sheet Report, that uncovered possible violations of the state’s open meeting and procurement laws.
There were legal ways to skin that cat
One Republican observer found recent IRC procurement contract revelations and Dem Commissioner José Herrera's statements to be signs of highly suspect commission dealings.
Initial Arizona redistricting hearings scheduled
Arizona's redistricting commission has released a 2 A?-week schedule of hearings for public comment on how the panel should draw new legislative and congressional districts.
How to buy the benefit of the doubt, for nothing
Several years ago I attended a government commission meeting where an appointed chairman openly rejected an assistant attorney general’s recommendation to convene an executive session.
“No, I don’t think we need an executive session to talk about this,” the chairman said, to the best of my recollection.
It’s not that every — or even most — public bodies are eage[...]
What we’re not IRC-ing: Map-drawing panel spends half its time meeting behind closed doors
Prior to voting to award a lucrative contract to a mapping consultant on June 29, the Independent Redistricting Commission had spent as much time in closed door executive meetings as it had before the public.
And public records held by the commission itself, as well as statements made by commissioners, indicate the IRC may have violated Arizona’s open meeting laws designed to maintain[...]
Horne asked to probe IRC, Mathis
Brewer's office isn't the only one to receive a landslide of complaints of the IRC's recent hiring of Strategic Telemetry or Mathis, whose vote was critical in securing the services of the firm.
IRC critics giving Brewer an earful
Brewer hasn't committed to helping legislative Republicans oust Mathis, but it isn't for a lack of public input.
Redistricting chairwoman admits to inaccuracies in her application for the role
At today’s meeting of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, Chairwoman Colleen Mathis admitted that her initial application omitted information about work her husband had done for a former Democratic lawmaker’s campaign.
AZ Supreme Court opinion explains IRC decision on Bender
The Arizona Supreme Court on Friday justified its reasoning in allowing ASU law professor Paul Bender to remain as a candidate for the Independent Redistricting Commission by saying no use of the terms “public office” or “public officers” in Arizona law includes tribal officers.
