Redistricting Commission Must Account For Its Spending

By Gabrielle Giffords,
Arizona Daily Star Op-Ed

According to the Constitution of the state of Arizona, it is the duty and responsibility of the Legislature to oversee the state’s budget, and the taxpayer dollars we allocate to government agencies.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I take that responsibility seriously. At a time when the state lacks appropriate funding for schools, public safety and protection of our children, we have to make sure every dollar is allocated wisely and properly.

That is why I continue to be dismayed by the refusal of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission to account for the money it has already received, especially when there is clear evidence that it failed to meet all its mandated objectives.

There are questions about how the Commission spent the $6 million it was given by voters, and there is substantial evidence that the Commission ran up enormous legal bills through wasteful spending and its use of duplicative legal services. For example, the Commission paid $275,000 for inaccurate election data that it could have received free of charge from the Secretary of State. The Commission could also have used the legal services of the Attorney General, rather than spending $3 million (half its allotment) on 3 private attorneys.

The Commission was established by an initiative that voters approved in 2000. It was approved because people were tired of back-room deals that favored one political special interest over another. Arizona doesn’t want to follow the example set in Texas, where a partisan crowd of extreme ideologues recently rewrote the political maps in hopes of protecting Republican incumbents, punishing minority Democrats, and tipping the national balance of power in the U.S. House.

Arizona voters gave the Commission some clear instructions. It was supposed to draw up legislative and congressional districts that did not split communities, respected the ethnic balance of the state, and created districts in which both parties could compete as fairly as possible, giving voters a choice at the polls. And they were supposed to do that job for $6 million.

While the Commission appears to have done a respectable job of not splitting communities, it failed to create competitive districts, which has resulted in multiple lawsuits filed by various groups of Arizona voters. Indeed, according to the Commission’s own analysis of competitiveness, the Commission created less competitive legislative districts in 2002, than were used before the Commission’s creation.

It’s even worse in Arizona’s eight Congressional Districts. In seven of those districts, one party has a clear competitive advantage, and in most cases, of course, the advantage went to the Republicans. Only in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, covering Northern and Eastern Arizona, is there any semblance of competitive balance.

Now, having spent $6 million, before the trial has even occurred, the Commission has requested an additional $4.2 million of taxpayer’s money. The Commission makes this request at a time when we are struggling to provide adequate funding for education and public services designed to protect our most precious resources-our children.

At a minimum, as a member of the Appropriations Committee, before I even consider providing this Commission with one penny more of taxpayer dollars, I need to see a clear accounting of the $6 million that was already spent, and its justifications for why it needs $4 million more.

This is nothing more than we demand from any other state agency receiving state funding. It is curious indeed that some of my colleagues are demanding that Child Protective Services account for its budget, but are not setting similar expectations for the redistricting commission.

Until I see that accounting, I will be reluctant to vote to allocate them any more tax dollars.

Sen. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Tucson, represents Arizona’s District 28 in the State Senate