Tonight at 7 p.m., there will be a public hearing in the Senate chamber of Legislative Hall regarding the abomination that passes as the Senate Redistricting Plan. Paul Baumbach, of the Progressive Democrats for Delaware, is expected to speak at the meeting tonight on behalf of the PDD, and what follows are his prepared remarks:
“I am Paul Baumbach, a resident of and a business owner in Newark. I serve as a commissioner on the Newark Housing Authority, and I serve as the President of PDD, the Progressive Democrats for Delaware.
I would like to start with a question. Is this hearing just for show, or are you committed to incorporating what the public says tonight to make changes to the map? I would hope that we have not wasted our time coming down here to Dover, merely to give the illusion of public involvement in this ‘process.’
I am disappointed with the redistricting map currently under consideration.
It is immediately clear visually that gerrymandering was behind the drawing of many of the lines here. The redistricting process has the potential to strengthen our communities, and to strengthen the political party or parties who lead this process, IF they take the opportunity to use the process to strengthen our communities.
Researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso have a paper on ‘How to Avoid Gerrymandering.’ In it, they note that one goal is to eliminate ‘weirdness.’ It is clear from the proposed map that this was not the goal of our state senate leaders.
A neighborhood southeast of Route 95 is included in the 1st district, which clearly should be included in the 5th. A neighborhood east of Concord Pike is included in the 4th which clearly should be in the 5th district. The far west arm of the 1st SD is insane, but consistent with the proposed 1st SD’s insane snake-shape.
The northern ‘panhandle’ of the current 6th SD made no sense ten years ago, and you have perpetuated it in the proposed 8th SD. Why?The proposed 12th SD is a cluster-screw up. Its V shape is a travesty, and should be criminal. The narrow north-south slice through Brookside severs that community’s backbone. There is no excuse to have Battery Park in the same SD as Roger Martin Lane. You are destroying communities with this map. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Senators, this isn’t a game, and this shouldn’t be an exercise in serving you. Being public servants is supposed to mean you serving the public, not the public serving you. Redistricting should be an exercise in serving Delaware’s communities. This proposed map fails, badly. You have failed us, badly.
I fear that this public meeting is a farce, and that you have no intention of incorporating these points into any revisions. Prove me wrong. Please.”