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Redistricting splits up Monroe
Thousands of northeastern and western Ouachita Parish residents will have a new face representing them in the state House of Representatives.
The same can be said for residents of north Monroe if the Legislature approves a redistricting plan backed by Speaker of the House Jim Tucker. Tucker's redistricting plan has the blessing of the Jindal administration.
Tucker's plan would abolish House District 16 as it exists today and move almost a third of Ouachita Parish into House District 14. District 16 currently is represented by state Rep. Kay Katz, R-Monroe, who cannot seek re-election this fall because she is term-limited. District 14 currently is represented by state Rep. Sam Little, R-Bastrop.
Meanwhile, Tucker's redistricting plan would create a second minority district for Ouachita Parish. Ouachita Parish currently has one minority district, District 17, which is represented by state Rep. Rosalind Jones, D-Monroe.
Under Tucker's plan, Jones' district would run from southern Ouachita Parish through north Monroe, including the Garden District.
A second minority district would stretch from Lamy Lane in Monroe through ULM and Cypress Point to the Lakeshore/Swartz area. From there, the district would travel north to Morehouse Parish where it would pick up all of Bastrop.
District 14 currently is compromised of Morehouse, West Carroll and East Carroll parishes and part of northern Ouachita Parish.
Under Tucker's redistricting plan as well as one backed by Rep. Rick Gallot, D-Grambling, District 14, or Little's district, would lose roughly 60 percent of his existing residents in exchange for a significant portion of Ouachita.
Little's district would give up East and West Carroll parishes and much of Morehouse Parish. Little would pick up northern Ouachita from and including River Oaks subdivision. It would run northward to include Frenchman's Bend subdivision and the Sterlington area. District 14 also would extend across the Ouachita River into western Ouachita Parish for a number of miles to include areas south of Arkansas Road and northward to the Union Parish line.
Little described Tucker's redistricting proposal for District 14 as "a great district," but said he would have to work harder in his bid for re-election this fall. Under Tucker's proposal, District 14 would be roughly 82 percent white while minorities would comprise 18 percent of the district.
"I know the people," said Little, referring Ouachita Parish voters who would become part of District 14.
"They don't know me, but they know of me," Little said.
State Rep. Frank Hoffmann said the plan advocated by Tucker would result in him giving up a portion of the district he represents, District 15, and turn it over to Jones in District 17.
The area Hoffmann would turn over to Jones includes the southside of West Monroe, including downtown. Hoffmann would gain significant portions of southwestern Ouachita Parish to make up the population difference.
"I'm pretty comfortable with the plan," said Hoffmann, R-West Monroe. "I hate to lose any of my district, but we can live with it."
Adding a new minority district in Monroe will mean significant changes in the political landscape for the parish, according to Hoffmann.
"Obviously this change is likely to cost the House one conservative legislator," said Hoffmann. "It's going to happen in Kay's district."
Wednesday morning, Katz unsuccessfully offered an amendment to Tucker's redistricting proposal that would have placed much of her existing district in District 14. Jones supported Katz's amendment, which affected north Monroe.
Little and state Rep. Bubba Chaney, R-Rayville, opposed Katz's amendment. Tucker opposed it, too.
"I'm still fighting for the residents of Monroe," Katz said.
Jones unsuccessfully offered an amendment as well that would have combined much Chaney's and Little's districts, pitting them again one another in the fall elections. Chaney, Little and Tucker opposed Jones' amendment, too.
The Legislature convened a special session over the weekend to tackle redistricting. Redistricting of legislative and congressional districts must be dealt with every 10 years following the Census. The special session that convened Sunday at the capitol in Baton Rouge must conclude by April 13.
The 2010 Census showed Louisiana experienced modest population growth over the past decade, though the city of New Orleans as well as most of northeastern Louisiana lost population over the past 10 years. In northeastern Louisiana, only Concordia and Ouachita parishes experienced population growth from 2000-2010.
Since New Orleans lost population following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, at least one state Senate district and roughly six House districts will be abolished in the New Orleans area under Tucker's redistricting proposal.
The Legislature, though, must draw minority districts elsewhere in Louisiana to make up for the loss of minority districts in the New Orleans area to comply with federal law.
Louisiana is one of a host of southern states that must get approval from the Department of Justice on any redistricting plan approved by the Legislature. Justice must sign off on redistricting to ensure that minority voters are not disenfranchised in redistricting.
In addition to redrawing state House and Senate districts, the Legislature must redraw congressional districts, too.
Since Louisiana's population did not grow as significantly as other states such as Texas, Florida and Georgia, Louisiana must give up one of its seven congressional districts, dropping the state's presence in the U.S. House of Representatives to six seats. That must occur to make room for more congressional districts in states that showed significant population growth over the past 10 years.
Sam Hanna Jr., publisher of The Ouachita Citizen, contributed to this report. |
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