Mary Jane Garcia
Many constituents that I represent have raised their concern that nothing was done during the recent redistricting session, and I believe they deserve a response.
This years’ redistricting legislative session was expensive, contentious and has caused much disappointment to many New Mexicans – there is no denying that. My Senate colleagues and I understand the frustration that the public has with the outcome of the session, especially when our constituents wonder why it took 19 days to develop redistricting legislation that was ultimately vetoed by Governor Martinez.
The true story of the redistricting session is anything but 19 wasted days of “golfing” and time spent not doing anything. The story of the redistricting session was one of preserving the sacred rights of equal representation and voting rights granted to us through the N.M. Constitution and U.S. Constitution. It was a continuation of the fight that African Americans faced when they willfully met the gnashing of canine teeth, blasting of water cannons, burning of tear gas and pounding of police batons in Selma, Alabama – all to guarantee the right to vote.
It was the fight of the Native American, which for nearly 172 years, from the inception of our country, did not have the right to vote. It was the persistence of Hispanics fighting to not have their political voice diluted by clever gerrymandering of district lines. This story was the great modern day reminder of the sacrifice leading to the approval of women’s suffrage.
42 senators making changes to 1,483 precincts
Along with the tremendous responsibility of the session went enormous effort. Preparations for the session actually began in 2010 as the federal government conducted the decennial census. As the 2010 census was being completed, the Legislative Council Interim Committee met in January of this year to determine guidelines for the redistricting session.
Subsequently, Senator Linda Lopez and Representative Mary Helen Garcia were chosen to serve as co-chairs of the Redistricting Interim Committee, which was made up of 40 members of the Legislature. In order to gain community input, the co-chairs convened five meetings throughout the state from June to August of this year.
The interim committee’s work developed into eight concepts for the House, nine concepts for the Senate, seven concepts for Congress, five concepts for the PRC, and one concept for the Public Education Commission.
We were able to take the interim concepts into the session, and that’s when much more technical and time-consuming work began.
In the context of an individual Senate redistricting concept, we were tasked with assigning 2,059,179 people in New Mexico to 1,483 precincts that make up 42 Senate districts.
Enormous challenges were found at the precinct level. As I worked on my Senate district, I found that simply adding one precinct could require a neighboring senator to pull one or more precincts from their neighbor and a similar occurrence happening thereafter. One precinct change in Southern N.M. would often result in a “domino effect,” eventually requiring changes to districts in Northern N.M.
Imagine all the different combinations possible when 42 senators were simultaneously making changes to 1,483 individual precincts! Now, this is all in reference to only one Senate concept.
The great struggle
The previous complexities do not even point out the central rules that were to be followed, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, preservation of minority voting rights, one-man-one-vote, and sustaining communities of interest.
Measuring the success of the redistricting session requires looking beyond clever slogans and glitzy sound bites. An accurate view shows that the work done during the special session was significant, heartfelt and meaningful.
Redistricting allowed many of us to stand on the shoulders of those who came before us to persist in the great struggle of assuring equal voting rights for all people in New Mexico.
Garcia, a Democrat, represents District 36 in the N.M. Senate and is majority whip. She was also a member of the 2011 Interim Redistricting Committee.