Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LV looks to redraw ward lines once again

Pamela Stancliffe lived in Las Vegas for about six years before she was able to cast a vote for her city representative.

That's because the 53-year-old real estate agent lived in an area that got bounced back and forth between Wards 1 and 2 as the city redistricted and added council seats.

"We have been shifted back and forth," said Stancliffe, who landed in Ward 1 and was able to vote in the 2003 election.

Almost six months after Councilman Michael Mack brought up the possibility of redistricting, the city of Las Vegas is at the first stage of developing new ward boundaries, two years after a contentious process produced the current municipal map.

Preliminary numbers developed by the Planning Department indicate that each representative district -- which now vary in population from a low of 79,630 in Janet Moncrief's Ward 1 to a high of 103,883 in Mack's Ward 6 -- should each have about 89,000 people.

"We got the numbers. Now we're looking, geographically, how we could do it," said Mack.

That will be the hardest part of the process. For most Las Vegans, the only change might be in which district they're voting, which in addition to giving them a different slate of representatives to vote for would change their election cycle.

Election years are staggered, with the contest for Wards 1, 3 and 5 taking place in 2003. Wards 2, 4, and 6 are up for election in 2005. By law, redistricting must take place in off years, which means if it's not done this year, the next opportunity would be in 2006.

The last redistricting, in 2002, was difficult for the city because of a group of residents -- like Stancliffe -- who live on the edges of Wards 1 and 2. Some of them had not voted since 1997, because they had been shifted back and forth through redistricting and council expansion in 2000.

Government watchdog Knight Allen, who lives in Charleston Heights near Torrey Pines and West Charleston, lives in Ward 1 now. He said that one plan during the 2002 redistricting would have put him in Ward 2, which would have "guaranteed eight years without a vote, and possibly 10 years."

He stayed in Ward 1, and voted in the last election. When told the city was considering another round of redistricting, he said, "Oh no, don't tell me that!"

Allen credited former council member Michael McDonald and Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald for pushing the district boundaries that allowed him to vote in 2003.

Boggs McDonald, who represents Ward 2, said her main goal in the current redistricting discussion was to make sure that those now in her district do not get moved, thus losing their chance to vote in 2005.

"If anyone is disenfranchised, there's no way I will support any type of redistricting," she said. "If there's a way to redistrict without disenfranchising voters I would be all in favor of that."

The process is complicated by the revision of precinct maps, said City Manager Doug Selby, who at Mack's request directed city planners to begin developing redistricting information.

"All the precincts changed in shape and numbering, so we have to try to find the voters who missed the chance to vote, identify them, and update all our maps, so when we redistrict again we make sure they're eligible to vote in the next election," Selby said.

The preliminary numbers, based on calculations from last year that could be updated slightly, indicate that each district ought to have about 89,000 people. Those numbers call for Ward 2 to give up 4,401 people, Ward 4 to give up 3,648 people, and Ward 6 to give up 14,651. Ward 1 would gain 9,602 people, Ward 3 would gain 7,366, and Ward 5 would gain 5,732.

Councilman Lawrence Weekly, who represents Ward 5, said he wants to see what information city staff develops.

Councilwoman Janet Moncrief, who represents Ward 1, said she is "not opposed to it, if everyone feels it's fair and would equal out the population."

Councilman Gary Reese, who represents Ward 3, said redistricting wasn't an issue for him either way.

"They're going to have to give me some voters, so I'll take them," Reese said. "Most of them I'll get I've represented at one time or another anyhow, so it doesn't make any difference."

Before the council was expanded in 2000, each representative had more than 100,000 people in their districts. The last redistricting, in 2002, was meant to bring each district to a population of about 79,000.

The city charter calls for redistricting to occur following every census, with each district to be within 5 percent of the population of the others. The charter allows, but does not require, redistricting in between the federal census counts, which take place every 10 years.

Allen said that the city should not redistrict until the changes are required by law.

"So few people go out and vote, so this is not something too many people pay attention to," he said. "Just leave it alone until the next census."

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