Greetings from Sam King, LWVNV Grassroots Lobbyist.
The League of Women Voters of Nevada's mission is to promote political responsibility through information, education, active participation and advocacy. The League of Women Voters is nonpartisan and encourages collaboration of like-minded groups while actively reaching out to those who have a different perspective. The League of Women Voters of Nevada's voice was heard during the 2011 Nevada Legislative Session and we continue our advocacy long after the legislature adjourned as we promote issues related to our Four E's: Elections, Education, the Environment and the Economy. We are watching the national health care debate and following social service programs hit by budget cuts within Nevada. Election and campaign finance issues were addressed in the 2011 legislation aimed to foster transparency and voter access to information. Education reform continues to be debated as new regulations passed in 2011 impact instructors, students and how student achievement is measured. The Federal No Child Left Behind Act and role of the federal government in public education reform is a national work in progress. The environment and sustainable communities are linchpins to economic growth. The elephant in the room continues to be Nevada Tax policy. Interestingly tax policy is a national problem too. A disappointment this session was the failure of the Nevada Legislature to redistrict our representative districts for the United States Congress and the Nevada Assembly as mandated by the United States Constitution reflecting the results of the Census.
The League of Women Voters of Las Vegas Valley continues to follow Nevada redistricting as the process moves through the Court. The League of Women Voters of Las Vegas Valley has been invited by Judge Russell to participate in the judicial redistricting process as an intervener. We are represented by LWVLVV member, Denise A. Pifer, Esq. A summary of the action is outlined below.
In our motion to intervene, we urged the Court to review the two Congressional District plans proposed by the Public and posted on NELIS (now located at http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Division/Research/Districts/Reapp/2011/PubProposals.cfm after a recent restructuring of the legislative website). Redistricting must be constructed using geographic boundaries, major streets and highways, county and state borders, and other easily identifiable features as boundaries to avoid gerrymandering, and provide that proposed districts are contiguous and compact.
Plans will have partisan characteristics but should not be overtly partisan.
Plan 3 was developed by starting at the intersection of US Highway 95 and Las Vegas Boulevard, then proceeding to sweep around the county (using major streets and highways as boundaries) to include the correct population numbers in each segment. The ideal target population for a Nevada Congressional District based on the 2010 Census is 675,138. Clark County can contain two complete Districts, plus about 600,000 left over for another District. By considering only total population, ignoring demographics and party registration, population totals for the proposed Districts are 675,544 for CD-1, 675,806 for CD-3, and 675,034 for CD-4. The variances between these totals and the ideal target population are well within limits based on Supreme Court cases cited in our filings with the Court.
CD-4 in Plan 3 is heavily Democratic, and essentially balances the heavily Republican CD-2. Its population is 37.6% Hispanic, compared to a statewide value of 26.5%, and 13.4% African American, compared to a statewide value of 7.7%. One could consider this a majority-minority district, but only by lumping Hispanics and African Americans into a single “minority” group.
Bottom line of Plan 3: it produces one “safe” Republican District, one “safe” Democratic District, and two competitive Districts.
Plan 2 was developed by changing the boundaries between CD-1, CD-3, and CD-4 within Clark County. Without going into detail, these changes make all three of these Congressional Districts competitive, and do not pack minorities.
In keeping with the League’s general objective of maximizing fairness and competitiveness, we believe and urge the Special Masters to give careful consideration to precedent.
Education Reform
. The League of Women Voters of Las Vegas Valley has traditionally relied upon studies to develop our positions. The League of Women Voters of Las Vegas Valley is conducting a study on the role of the federal government and public education. Jane Newton is the Chair of this study. There is no simple solution which will fix the system of public education. Nevertheless there must be proactive, consistent forward thinking in all efforts to improve public education while respecting that fundamental basics are necessary to create a literate citizenry. The founding fathers, more than two hundred years ago, understood that a literate population is necessary for our democratic system to prevail In the 21st Century we are struggling to promote literacy and adequate equitable education for all students. In Clark County,Superintendent Jones has been fleshing out his reorganization of the district into performance zones and crafting his vision for improving student achievement into Clark County School District Operations. Clark County School District is facing a budget shortfall which reflects the Nevada economic landscape. How the Clark County Board of Trustees works with Central Office and employees on addressing budget cuts will be defining for the 2011-2012 school year and the future The concept of a growth model to measure achievement will be something that the state system of public education embraces as an alternative to the measures of the No Child Left Behind Act. The 2011 Legislature passed laws to restructure the State Board of Education. Governor Sandoval will have more oversight and input in the system of K-12 public education as will the legislature rather than an elected board. All in all, as a state and as a nation, too many students are at-risk of falling behind. This failure in public education began in twentieth century and unfortunately continues to escalate in the twenty first century. Improving education is critical to our quality of life,system of government and economic future. The jury is out as to how these reforms will be implemented and as to what lies ahead for K-12 education in Nevada and nationally.
Respectfully
Sam King
No comments:
Post a Comment