1012 Corridor

Every 10 years, the feds sweep into Louisiana to study the possibility of yanking the rug from under a few select members of Congress and the state Legislature. Such reshufflings have ended careers, given birth to new ones and confused voters to no end. It’s a political headache sometimes and otherwise known as the U.S. Census, which resurfaces again next year.

While it chiefly will be the responsibility of the Legislature to draw the updated congressional lines in 2011, which will in turn impact their seats, special interests and constituencies from every nook of cranny of the democratic process are already jockeying for input in the high-stakes process.

Since population estimates fuel the fire, you probably won’t be surprised to discover that south Louisiana — the region ravaged by practically back-to-back hurricane seasons during the past decade — has been targeted for the most substantive changes. And few politicos can relay that story better than Congressman Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville.

On the federal level, Melancon, more so than any other member of Louisiana’s congressional delegation, came under fire and appeared vulnerable due to his district’s predicament. Many of his constituents from St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes moved away in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, while the rest of the district suffered from the usual patterns of outmigration that have plagued the state for more than generation.

A remapping by the Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative advocacy group that bases most of its political outreach on Christian principles, is one driving force behind Melancon’s woes. The plan calls for combining the 3rd Congressional District, which is anchored by Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes, with New Orleans’ 2nd Congressional District.

As proposed, the resulting district would become Louisiana’s required majority-minority district, stretching as far as the northwestern corner of East Baton Rouge Parish. Critics contend the LFF proposal is a successful model only for conservative candidates, which could ensure that Republicans maintain control of Louisiana’s congressional delegation. Nonetheless, most involved with the process agree that Melancon’s district will be the hub of any changes made.

Moreover, should the 2010 U.S. Census figures track the most recent 2007 federal estimates — a loss of one district, with six remaining districts representing roughly 717,000 people each — LFF President Gene Mills says his group’s plan would remain viable. “The remaining five districts remain basically unchanged and give continuity to Louisiana's historical districts, while maintaining a majority 'minority district',” he says.

Melancon now apparently plans to oppose U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie.

According to LFF's plan, the proposed and combined district would:

:: Assure the Justice Department’s request that Louisiana maintain a minority-based district by incorporating African-Americans from Orleans Parish, the river parishes and East Baton Rouge Parish.

:: Remove St. Mary, Iberia and the lower portion of St. Martin.

:: Include all of St. Bernard, 20,000 residents; Plaquemines, 22,000; Lafourche, 93,000; Terrebonne, 108,000; Assumption, 23,000; Iberville, 33,000; and West Baton Rouge, 23,000.

:: Include all of Orleans Parish except uptown, which constitutes 193,000 residents, and only the west banks of St. John, St. James and Ascension parishes, with is another 57,000 people.

:: Include part of the West Bank of Jefferson, with is 29,000 residents; 60,000 people from a portion of East Baton Rouge; and 5,000 residents from the lower portion of St. Martin Parish.

Of course, the LFF map is only one proposal floating around and doesn’t hold any real weight yet. There’s also a theory that Melancon’s district could be swallowed up by the Republican-heavy 7th Congressional District, which is presently occupied by U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette. Another line of logic is that north Louisiana could be divided into two large districts, but recent surveys show population spikes in Shreveport.

If Melancon’s district is one definite piece of the puzzle, then the 6th Congressional District has to be another due to the growth in some areas of the Baton Rouge region. When asked if that occupies his thoughts much, Congressman Bill Cassidy, responded with a laugh. He’s new on the Hill and is still trying to figure out the ropes, meaning redistricting represents unchartered waters for him. As such, he’s just sitting back and waiting — like everyone else. “It is what it is,” Cassidy says. “I cannot control that process, which is something you just have to admit to.”

On the legislative level, the Orleans Delegation is sweating an expected loss of four seats in the House and two in the Senate. According to legislators and demographers, some of those seats will likely go to the Baton Rouge region, where populations have grown steadily.

State Rep. Erich Ponti, R-Baton Rouge, says many of his colleagues are becoming more curious about the process and the jockeying is starting to surface. Ponti sits on the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, where the redrafting process begins. He’s also of the mindset that Baton Rouge metro will be the big winner following the process. “We all assume that,” he says of the Red Stick delegation.

Rep. Fred Mills, D-Parks, says a special committee is being formed in the House to tour the state before any of the heavy lifting begins. Some Acadiana lawmakers are getting anxious, he says, because smaller changes also take place all over the state. For instance, a Senate or House district may lose something as small as a neighborhood or as large as a parish.

When Elliott Stonecipher spoke to the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce earlier this year, he said Acadiana needs to make sure it gets its fair share from the redistricting process. Lafayette Parish, specifically, has beat national growth levels for more than 20 years. Ultimately, he advised, the trick will be watching the kind of maps that legislators draw up for inclusion in the overall plan, which must pass muster with the U.S. Justice Department.

Also adding drama to an already-heated process is the fact that lawmakers like Ponti and Mills are part of the largest freshman class the Legislature has seen in recent history. In short, all of them are eager to start a process with which they have no experience. “We’re just being told to hold tight and be prepared for an interesting process,” Mills says.

As for shenanigans, which pop up each legislative gathering with the tenacity of a rising sun, a good government group recently recommended a number of ways the Legislature can minimize the politics of drawing up new district boundaries.

Given the state's past treatment of minorities, current population shifts and recent battles over ethics reform, the stakes will be high as district boundaries are redrawn, says Jim Brandt, president of the Public Affairs Research Council. "Entrusting redistricting to an independent body with rules firmly established in law and work fully open to the public is clearly a better option in terms of enhancing citizen confidence and building a legacy of public trust," he says.

Louisiana's constitution makes the Legislature responsible for redistricting, but does not specify any type of process. Instead, the method that’s traditionally used is based loosely on internal House and Senate rules.

PAR’s report on the issue recommends that the state define the new commission’s duties through legislation and require that all meetings and communications be open to the public. The report also suggests that lawmakers begin the new process immediately to ensure a ready and able commission for the next redistricting cycle.

"Redistricting 2010: Reforming the Process of Distributing Political Power," found that 28 states, including Louisiana, rely solely on their legislatures for redistricting. Since 2005, 18 of the 28 have attempted to create redistricting commissions. Moreover, in an effort to depoliticize redistricting, 21 states currently utilize independent commissions instead of, or in conjunction with, their legislatures.

The PAR report also outlines a specific commission model for Louisiana, which was developed by drawing upon the lessons learned from other states that have functioned with election commissions, Brandt says. This model calls for a nine-member commission (three Democrats, three Republicans and three of neither party), appointed by the same committee of private higher education officials who are responsible for nominating members for appointment to the Louisiana Board of Ethics.

Under PAR’s plan, the commission would conduct outreach to solicit citizen input and prepare the new district maps over an 18-month period beginning January 2010. The final map would be submitted to the Legislature in June 2011 to be accepted or rejected with no opportunity for amendment.

There is a clear chain of command in the proposal. For starters, the governor would have no veto power over the new map and the Louisiana Supreme Court would continue to be the final authority should the proposed commission and Legislature fail to agree.

Lawmakers, however, aren’t entirely sold on the pitch. Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard of Thibodaux, who has no party affiliation, says the proposal is worth looking into, but the idea of creating a new body to handle redistricting is counter-intuitive since voters elected lawmakers to handle such matters. Richard is also a member of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Richard echoes the sentiment of most his colleagues and reveals the naked truth that, no matter what the Legislature does or good government groups recommend, the every-decade process of redrawing districts in Louisiana will always be peppered with politics. “Sometimes you have to fight for your area. The people elected us to be involved in this,” Richard says. “I think the reality is that you have to have some politics in this process."