A newly drawn map of county supervisor districts isn't likely to change much when it comes to election outcomes. Voters in just 20 of more than 400 Pima County voting precincts would be in new districts.
The Board of Supervisors tentatively approved a new map Tuesday morning after some last-minute tweaking of the boundaries that had been recommended to them by a five-member panel that had been assigned the task of redrawing the lines.
The remapping occurs every 10 years to reflect population shifts and growth identified in the U.S. Census. A separate panel is considering new state and federal district lines.
The supervisors are scheduled to vote on the tentative map Sept. 13.
Most of the board avowed the late changes were not a case of last-minute political games.
Only Republican Supervisor Ann Day voted against it, saying she was concerned the late changes to the map mirrored a situation in 2001 when last-minute maps, previously unseen by the public, were submitted to the board and approved. Democrats on the board at the time were accused of gerrymandering to protect District 3 Supervisor Sharon Bronson, a Democrat.
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Ray Carroll, the board's other Republican, said the remapping was not anything like what happened in 2001. Some residents of eastern Pima County, under the tentative map, will be moved to other districts.
"Three precincts had to be shaved off District 4 in one way or another. I had too many people," Carroll said. "I do want to say it's nothing like 2001. I was protesting loudly back then."
The biggest change to the new map is putting three Green Valley precincts back into District 4, which Carroll represents.
"A lot of people argue for what I call 'pretty lines,' but what you really want as a district is to be associated with communities of interest," Board of Supervisors Chairman Ramón Valadez said after Tuesday's meeting. "If I have no common interest with my neighbor, it will be difficult to get good representation."
Valadez said the last-minute change came as a result of public reaction from people in the Green Valley community who objected to being taken out of District 4 and put in District 3.
The new map has two Republican-leaning districts, and three that are Democratic-leaning, which still reflects the makeup on the board. Bronson's District 3 is the most balanced of the three Democrat-leaning districts, and Bronson said her district would remain competitive no matter where the boundaries lie.
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PEEK AT THE NEW MAP
To look at Pima County's tentative new district map: www.pima.gov/redistricting
Contact reporter Stephanie Innes at 573-4134 or sinnes@azstarnet.com
