Montana legislative district divides discussed during public hearing

Nichole Girten

(Each day Montanan) “Don’t pressure a wildcat and a bulldog to share the identical cage, the outcomes will not be fairly,” mentioned Columbia Falls resident throughout a redistricting public listening to on Saturday.

Legislators and neighborhood members spoke in opposition to the proposal to incorporate Columbia Falls and Whitefish in the identical home district throughout a public listening to hosted by the Montana Districting and Apportionment Fee on Saturday.

The fee met in Helena to get suggestions in individual and over distant video on the tentative adopted legislative map voted on final week. Over 100 folks commented on the map, largely break up even amongst supporters and opposition, which was initially drawn by Democrats after 4 days of consensus constructing with Republicans.

One a part of the argument made by attendees to maintain Columbia Falls and Whitefish in separate legislative districts, versus how they’re each included in Home District 98, was citing the highschool sports activities rivalry between the Columbia Falls Wildcats and the Whitefish Bulldogs.

Commenters together with, Senator elect Mark Noland, R- Kalispell, cited this rivalry as a purpose for not being a “neighborhood of curiosity,” one of many objectives for drawing districts, however not a requirement. Others cited splintering cultural variations between the 2 districts for why they shouldn’t be drawn collectively.

“Columbia Falls is a conservative blue collar city, Whitefish is a hippie liberal ski city that resembles Bozeman and Missoula,” mentioned Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R- Columbia Falls. “Which is a transparent distinction in Columbia Falls and the remainder of Flathead County.”

Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, mentioned he felt like he was within the Twilight Zone, citing that Republicans fought to maintain Whitefish as a part of the Flathead Valley when the road dividing the state in two was being drawn final yr.

“If we break up districts by faculty rivalries, we’d have fairly a multitude on our palms all through this course of,” he mentioned.

Morigeau inspired the fee to proceed their work with out affect from legislators talking in self-interest and endorsed the proposed map as not good, however compliant with the standards.

“We will’t make each legislator glad, however we are able to make Montana truthful,” Morigeau mentioned.

Commissioner Kendra Miller, one among two Democrats on the fee, pointed to the similarity between the latest Democrat and Republican map proposals for the Whitefish and Columbia Falls district.

Republican Commissioner Dan Stusek attributed the similarity to the consensus constructing between events that occurred final week. The primary maps proposed by Republicans on the fee had the 2 municipalities in several districts.

When requested about commenters requesting the 2 communities be divided individually due to the college rivalry, Stusek mentioned he didn’t usually suppose it was the perfect argument, however that it added levity to an in any other case controversial course of.

“However I feel faculty districts and people political subdivisions are one thing to check out,” Stusek mentioned.

Belgrade being drawn right into a district with components of downtown Bozeman and the Montana State College campus additionally drew some opposition, saying the communities are usually not alike and critiquing the “spoke and wheel” design, for dividing the city space to additionally embrace surrounding rural communities. Others famous that individuals in Belgrade are commuting into Bozeman for work and that the 2 areas are naturally built-in.

Commenter Judy Lewis from Livingston mentioned she thought the “spoke and wheel” design for districts was a great factor in that it will get totally different folks with totally different views in the identical district the place they’ve to speak to one another.

“I feel we have to keep in mind that this map is simply not for now. This map goes to go until 2032,” she mentioned. “Montana is altering and we have to attempt to bridge the city rural separation.”

Lewis was additionally one among a number of commenters who thanked the fee for conserving Livingston collectively in a single district.

Different critiques of the map included East Helena shouldn’t be drawn west to incorporate components of Helena and Republican legislators commenting that the jap half of the state was drawn higher on the map proposed by the Republican commissioners final week.

There have been noticeably extra legislators commenting on the map proposals than in earlier public hearings hosted by the fee as they get nearer to figuring out a ultimate map for submission for the legislative districts.

“Persons are seeing now what forms of districts they’d run sooner or later and it could be new and totally different due to inhabitants inhabitants adjustments,” Miller mentioned. “That’s not supposed to show away any explicit individual from working, it’s simply that your district would possibly look totally different than the one you used to signify.”

Miller mentioned she hopes that extra folks can see what the fee faces when balancing objectives and standards in drawing the legislative map.

The fee will meet at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday to find out Senate District pairings and assign districts to the 25 holdover Senators who have been elected to 4 yr phrases in 2022. The fee will take public remark earlier than submitting the ultimate map in Dec. 21.