Denver November 2004 Election
Here's an article from the Denver Post about the fallout from Monday's decision by the Colorado Supreme Court on redistricting [December 3, 2003, "Cries of bias greet remapping ruling"].
Two state Democrats are proposing a constitutional amendment to create a non-partisan remap panel, according to the Denver Post [December 3, 2003, "Democrats seek to lift task from legislature"]. From the article, "Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, and Rep. Michael Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs, are recommending that the state pass an amendment to the state constitution that would form a redistricting commission. The commission would be made up of approximately seven members - two Republicans, two Democrats, two unaffiliated and one wild card chosen by the other six. The hope is that a more neutral commission would avert future redistricting debacles."
In general I support the idea but I'm always worried about tweaking the constitution since it's very hard to change or remove language that has unforseen consequences.
Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [December 3, 2003, "Dems aim to let panel set districts"].
Peter Blake looks at the idea of a redistricting commission in his column in today's Rocky [December 3, 2003, "Blake: Redistricting by panel?"]. He thinks the idea will be accepted, "It was fun while it lasted, but we'll never see another Great Congressional Redistricting War in Colorado."
Al Knight offers up his opinion of the redistricting ruling in his column today in the Denver Post [December 3, 2003, "Ruling all about politics"]. Mr. Knight focuses on the legal aspects of the ruling, "The pernicious thing about the court's decision is that if it is allowed to stand, it provides a sure- fire formula for further mischief. In the future, a political minority will have a positive incentive to pull out all the stops to resist a legislative redistricting plan so as to throw the matter into the courts. This incentive is made all the stronger by the court's recent ruling that once the courts take over redistricting, the elected representatives are put out of business. That cannot be what the plain language of either the state or federal constitutions requires, and that is why this case should be appealed to the federal courts."
6:24:12 AM 
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