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 a level of transparency in government affairs – that is, if the state Constitution doesn’t grant the agency unfettered contracting authority.

In regards to the article, “Commissioners eye free mapping software, say it could be used differently than creators intended” Arizona Capitol Times, May 8, we offer the following to address concerns noted by some of the members of Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission.

During a closed-door executive session last week, Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission selected the final two candidates vying to serve as the agency’s executive director.

The commission interviewed five candidates, selected from among several dozen more, for several hours during the private April 14 meeting, then chose two of the five for additional interviews April 20 – this time in public.

The four newly sworn-in members of the Independent Redistricting Commission met for the first time on Feb. 24, then stalled in choosing a chairman from a slate of five independents.

Senate President Russell Pearce has appointed Richard Stertz to serve on the Independent Redistricting Commission, leaving the fourth and final legislative appointment in the hands of Senate Minority Leader David Schapira.

Arizona's new redistricting commission has a third member.