Redrawing legislative lines proves costly and confusing to lawmakers

Local News

February 12, 2012

By Ronica Shannon Register News Writer The Richmond Register Sun Feb 12, 2012, 07:30 AM EST

MADISON COUNTY — State lawmakers are asking each other, their leaders and even reporters in what district they will ultimately campaign.

The new legislative redistricting lines recently signed into law by Gov. Steve Beshear have been at the center of recent controversy.

The latest confusion stems from a ruling issued by Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd, who ordered the secretary of state on Tuesday not to recognize newly redrawn legislative districts, saying they are unconstitutional.

The review of district lines is mandatory every 10 years and is based on population statistics from the U.S. Census.

Under House Bill 1, which outlines the redrawn lines, Madison County would have four House representatives instead of three.

Before the passage of the bill, Madison County was represented by Rep. Donna Mayfield (R-73rd District), Rep. Rita Smart (D-81st District) and Rep. Lonnie Napier (R-36th District).

With the new districts, Smart would remain a representative for Madison County, along with Rep. Danny Ford (R-80th District), Bill Farmer (R-88th District) and Teddy Edmonds (D-91st District).

The controversy surrounding House Bill 1 has caused some confusion among those in office and those wishing to seek office.

Richmond Republican Tiffany Nash has paid the $200 filing fee twice since the redistricting controversy began.

“I filed for the 80th District first because House Bill 1 moved my neighborhood out of the 81st District,” Nash said. “I saw that as an opportunity to serve the citizens of Madison County. After the judge ruled that unconstitutional and we went back to the old lines, that put my neighborhood back in the 81st District. One of the things that concerns me is the cost of this whole process to the taxpayers. They chose to do this during regular session and they’ve admitted that nothing else is getting done. Now, we’re paying court costs for the first lawsuits to fix a problem that should have been done right in the first place.”

There could be a more efficient way to set the legislative district boundaries, according to Madison County Clerk Kenny Barger.

“It’s been a challenge for us because we put a lot of man hours into getting this ready, and it was wasted time,” he said. “We’ve spent about 400 staff hours between our office and the county GIS (Geographical Information Systems) office since January. I think there are better ways to go about redrawing these lines. The state could redraw their districts and the counties could do theirs based on the state. That way, we would know what framework we have to work in to make our precincts. I don’t have an opinion either way about how they draw the lines, but I do think now is a good time to change this process while it’s fresh in everybody’s mind.”

Shepherd’s ruling restores district boundaries that had been in place throughout the last decade, and extended the deadline to file to run in this year’s elections. The ruling means some candidates may have to withdraw in the newly redrawn districts and file for election in the old districts.

The Legislative Research Commission has said it will appeal Shepherd’s ruling.

The LRC plans to take the defense of the constitutionality of House Bill 1 directly to the Kentucky Supreme Court, bypassing the Court of Appeals, in order to get a quicker resolution of the issue. The Supreme Court will be asked to dissolve the injunction of the Franklin Circuit Court and to order that legislative districts created by House Bill 1 be used for 2012 elections.

CNHI News Writer Ronnie Ellis contributed to this story.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.

Text Only

Local News

Paradise Cove open through Labor Day Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
May 26, 2012
Dump of the Day
An old mattress, a car seat and other debris sit Friday afternoon on North Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets where it was first spotted Thursday. The “Dump of the Day” is a recurring series the Richmond Register publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Sunday’s Richmond Register to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.

May 26, 2012 1 Photo
Undefeated academic team brings pride to Madison Middle School
Madison Middle School 6th and 7th grade academic teams have been undefeated for the last two years.
The 8th grade team also has done well, having some students qualify to compete at the state level.

May 26, 2012
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.

May 26, 2012 1 Photo
Man is indicted on additional sex charge involving teen in 1998
A man already accused of sex abuse in November 2011 has been indicted on a charge of first-degree rape involving a child in 1998.
Charles W. Peyton, 63, of East Irvine Street, was indicted Wednesday by a Madison grand jury. He used “forcible compulsion” to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl between March 1 and May 1 in 1998, according to the indictment.

May 26, 2012
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
Officers responded to a call in the 1000 block of Scaffold Cane Road about a man trying to break into a home, according to a release from BPD Public Information Officer Jake Reed.

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Pets of the Week from the Madison County Animal Shelter
The Madison County Animal Shelter is located at 1386 Richmond Road in Berea. Shelter hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Animals available for adoption can be seen from noon to close Monday through Saturday. The adoption fee for cats and kittens is $10. Puppies and grown dogs may be adopted for $25. Adoptions include a free veterinary exam, a first series of vaccinations, a discount on spaying and neutering, free licensing and de-worming. Call the shelter at 986-9625.

May 25, 2012 2 Photos
A big sister’s reflection on life, love and changes
Yesterday was my Little Sister’s graduation. This one, though, was especially important to me.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos
Veterans will conduct Memorial Day programs
Although Memorial Day weekend may be a time of picnics and barbecue for many, some will be observing the day’s original meaning.

May 24, 2012
EKU Arts Center attendance tops 50,000 mark
The Center for the Arts at Eastern Kentucky University has played host during its inaugural season to more than 50,500 guests from more than 30 states and abroad, according to data released by EKU.

May 24, 2012 3 Photos
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Redrawing legislative lines proves costly and confusing to lawmakers

A recent health ranking listed Madison County as the 20th healthiest county in the state. It measured factors such as exercise, access to health care and smoking. Do you smoke cigarettes?

Site Map