The Alaska Redistricting Board has pitted two local Republican representatives against each other, but denounced an Alaska Supreme Court ruling it said required that.
The newly drawn district would extend Juneau’s Mendenhall Valley House district north to include Haines and Skagway, as well as Gustavus.
That area is already represented both by Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau, and Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines. They now must decide by June 1 whether to file to run against each other in the August Republican primary.
The board met Monday morning in Anchorage and by teleconference to meet a Supreme Court deadline of Tuesday at noon for filing the latest plan.
The change puts one of the Legislature’s most powerful members, Thomas, co-chair of the House Finance Committee, into a district that has elected, and re-elected him by increasing margins.
Now, he’s in a district made up almost completely of Muñoz’ current district. Last year, no one even contested Muñoz’ re-election bid.
The board’s action was driven by an Alaska Supreme Court order that told it to consider the Alaska Constitution’s requirements for legislative district, and disregard the federal Voting Rights Act requirement to maximize Native voting influence to the extent possible.
Thomas is Native, and his current district, made up of several of Southeast and Interior Native communities stretches through Southeast.
Petersburg is now excluded from the Juneau-based district and would now get its wish to instead be paired up with neighbors Wrangell and Sitka.
Redistricting board member PeggyAnn McConnochie called the map the board adopted “abhorrent,” but said the board had no choice given the Supreme Court’s order to adopt it.
The Alaska Supreme Court has told us to do something which I don’t think is right or reasonable,” she said.
The Alaska Constitution required districts be drawn that are contiguous, compact and are similar socio-economically.
The new district meets all those criteria, but now faces increased risk of failing to get approval from the U.S. Department of Justice because its doesn’t meet the Voting Rights Act requirements for maximizing Native voting influence.
“I feel caught between a rock and a hard place,” McConnochie said.
Even though the plan may not meet the requirements of the Voting Rights Act, it will get past the Alaska Supreme Court, she said.
“I don’t believe this map will serve Southeast well,” she said.
The Supreme Court has set a deadline of May 18 for further appeals, which are likely, some board member said.
• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 523-2250 or patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.
Comments (17)
Add commentOh, what a pile of BS
Peggy Ann, bless her heart, is a Republican stalwart. She is just whining because they were forced to not gerrymander another Republican district.
Including Haines an Skagway in a Juneau district makes a lot more sense than plugging Petersburg in with us. Gustavus, Haines, and Skagway are tourist towns, just like Juneau.
"Tourist Towns"
Southeast communities make up so much more than the industry of tourism. The voting record of Rep. Thomas doesn't always jive with the tourism industry's legislative intent and he lives in Haines.
El_B - your rant seems to be driven by a negative opinion of one industry. The legislature is not all about tourism and therefore, our SE representation reflects this diversity.
Like It
Thomas would be a huge improvement of Munoz who is in Parnell's pocket
Munoz is far from parnells
Munoz is far from parnells pocket. Other then one vote last year which the majority of the house also messed up, she's always represented her district very well in my eyes.
I'm curious about the native vote thing. Do other minorities get special treatment like this? Before I get crucified for saying something that can be taken badly against natives, that's exactly what it seems like this is. Changing state law to make one groups voice louder then it is.
@30 Year...
Huh? Rant against tourism? Northern SE AK is all about the tourists. That is just plain fact. Yeah, we have fishing and mining, but they don’t have the same impact on Gustavus, Haines, and Skagway that tourism has. That is just facts…
Hardly a rant, but if you want a rant…
My comment is about Peggy Ann's apocalyptic comments on the situation. Anyone who has been paying attention over the last 20 years knows that the Republicans have been gerrymandering Alaska with gleeful, shameless, abandon. Now they are down to cutting bones when trying to keep Republicans safe and Democrats in jeopardy.
The bald faced, patently self-serving inclusion of Petersburg in a Juneau district was, to use Peggy’s words, abhorrent. Petersburg is a fishing town. Juneau is not. Anyone who could say Petersburg belongs in a Juneau district is either so stupidly divorced from reality that their opinion should not matter or so comfortable with partisan hackery that they should be disqualified from redistricting altogether. Peggy Ann, as we all should know, is a generous person of great intelligence and compassion, who also happens to be a Republican hack to the core.
Really when one thinks about it, maybe Juneau, with its 30,000 residents, should go back to two house seats. That would make way too much sense for the Republican thugs who so gleefully stick to anyone who does not fit their definition of a real Alaskan.
That's a flipping rant!
Oh and 30year? Lots of people have been here longer than 30, but we don't wear it like a badge.
Badge
My "badge" is my honor - to have been raised in Juneau and to now be raising my family in SE Alaska. How you decide, El-Boorba, to express yourself in your online ID, is your perogative and I will not pass judgement as it relates to this blog. Your inability to have a well thought out, rational discussion on the topic, is clearly defined by your self-proclaimed rant - and that I will judge.
edit
Edit* it posted twice, i'll blame it on the empire.
birds on a wire.
can you two (boob and badge) sound any more full of it ? Puff up some more. you two remind me of those little blue birds on the wire in the pixar short films.
Difficult call
Thomas has way more House clout for Juneau. Not so sure of the rest of his positions. Munoz has done some good things for Juneau, and hasn't been too partisan of a hack (I think). Both supported Parnell's giveaway.
Thomas is toast
Republican redistricting fratricide? Looks like the redistricting board just retired Bill Thomas. wonder who he ticked off?
Cathy Munoz has single handedly kept Capital Move bills killed in her committees and that is the only clout that matters. It is not a contest, Thomas is toast.
REP. MUNOZ IS A GREAT ALASKAN LEADER
This is great news for northern Southeast, and all of Alaska! Cathy is a third generation Alaskan legislator serving her friends and neighbors fighting for a better Alaska for our families and communities, just like her father and grandmother did in the legislature. Haines, Gustavis and the her other new consituants are very lucky to have such a dedicated Alaskan public servant, so well liked by her fellow legislators,their staffs, and the Governor about to go to bat for them. As Chairman of the important Community and Regional Affairs Commitee, and former Chair of the Juneau Assembly Finance Commitee she is incredibly qualified and experienced to represent these new areas with great skill and proven dedication. As a member of the Raven clan, it is also very impressive to me that she has been an active member of the Alaska Native Sisterhood for any years, as well as a member of the Salvation Army Board Advisory Board that helps so many of us most in need in our cities and region. She will be fighting for all of us for many years to come and I wouldn't be suprised to call her Madam Speaker or President some day......I hope! Good luck Cathy, my family looks foward to all you will do for our region and state. Thank you for your tireless efforts on our behalf.....RD
Oh No Mr. Bill...just got flushed.
down the political redistricting drain pipe. lol
Hmmmm
Looks like Cathy's little online posse received the call to flood the comments section with their worship.
Thomas is starting to look better.
It appears SE republicans have been hoisted on their own petard
It is sad to see southeast politically disintegrate, it has been done so masterfully by the Southcentral Alaska republican leadership, who can now argue, hey we tried to preserve two powerful legislators, but the courts said no! It also, however, had some good assistance from incredibly arrogant regional legislators, who a while ago decided that they will be powerful legislators forever - it is now obvious this power was ephemeral, notwithstanding their self-serving, but now dampened political delusions.
Now the truth is that political power is transferring to mainland Alaska, while our region fights like coyotes scavenging on the political carcass that was Southeast. Sadly, the leadership in this region has done it's best to maintain the status quo with the help of a narrowly focused and inbred business community. Rather than working on a new agenda to allow our region to grow in population at a level commensurate with Southcentral, we've instead chosen to fight over the region's economic remnants - somehow thinking this would keep us in good stead.
I'm hoping Senator Egan will somehow be in a position of power next time. Perhaps even the winner of the Kookesh/Stedman imbroglio will also occupy a leadership slot. Hope, however, isn't very reassuring, it is pretty sad to watch our region literally die on the vine.
Possibly something good will come out of this impending disaster. A recognition that this region is blessed with many resources that we have not yet begun to tap? I'm uncertain a political turn-around can take place in the next ten years, with some form of regional economic renewal. Twenty years perhaps, but only if we get started now.
Inequity prevails.
Why doesn't the court take into cosideration the black vote? The native vote consideration is racist, plain and simple. When will affirmative action politics cease?
Thomas had his sizable APOC fine last year
He is a Sealaska board member, along with Kookesh, both are ethically challenged. Munoz is a much better bet.
Good bye Thomas! Hello Munoz!
I guess it was a matter of time; while I hate to see Leadership changes that are involuntary (forced retirement etc.) the voice of the Supreme court has spoken.
I was disturbed by the earlier post " pay the piper"; this post suggests that he "Thomas" would be handed a job at Sealaska?
We are already too top heavy at Sealaska! Please no more jobs being created; there are no more stands of timber to support the ones we already have.
Otherwise, the best of luck to both of you!
Enough is enough.........
With Kookesh's ethics violation and Thomas's election irregularities the powers that be have had enough.
The boy's from Sealaska made the republican party look weak and indecisive in a power move over a Senate seat.
Now it's payback time.