tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826828000189814347.post6562687927985279791..comments2023-09-02T12:29:45.592-04:00Comments on Had Enough Indy ?: Democrats Have Time to Redraw Their Maps To Increase Black VAP Majority DistrictsHad Enough Indy?http://www.blogger.com/profile/09673791504434523246noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826828000189814347.post-70241293029680541362013-02-18T14:23:29.549-05:002013-02-18T14:23:29.549-05:00I think you are underestimating the strength of Af...I think you are underestimating the strength of African-American voters in the districts that favor a Democratic candidate. If a district is drawn to elect a Democratic candidate, then the better indicator of whether an African-American candidate stands a chance of winning election in that district is the demographic make-up of the people who vote in the Democratic primary for that district. I think you will find that there are Democratic-drawn districts, which may not be black majority districts but nonetheless will present good opportunities for black candidates to win the primary election because of the strength black voters represent in the Democratic primary. More importantly, your chances of being nominated in a Democratic-leaning district unless you are slated by the party are slim to none. We all know that the Marion Co. Democrats enforce affirmative action in its slating process to ensure the party nominates at least a certain percentage of black candidates regardless of what the demographics might be in a particular district. Except for a handful of truly competitive districts, the vast majority of council districts are gerrymandered to the point that the candidate nominated in the primary is for all pratical purposes always going to be the general election winner.Gary R. Welshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826828000189814347.post-78354241767075799842013-02-18T11:08:33.920-05:002013-02-18T11:08:33.920-05:00Redistricting in Indy, which seems these days to b...Redistricting in Indy, which seems these days to be a function of the Supreme Court, might actually get placed in the hands of a neutral agency if the Supremes would just open it up to anyone who wanted to use the new redistricting software, and than announcing it was just going to pick one of the submissions randomly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826828000189814347.post-9181277485532786732013-02-18T10:23:28.183-05:002013-02-18T10:23:28.183-05:00Democratic redistricting usually includes fewer &q...Democratic redistricting usually includes fewer "majority minority" districts than do Republican drawn maps. There is a reason why. African-Americans vote heavily Democrat. By following the mandate to create more majority-minority districts allows the Republicans to concentrate more Democratic-leaning voters in fewer districts. In short, you get more majority-minority districts but fewer Democratic districts.<br /><br />But actually there is a very good reason why we are seeing the creation of fewer majority-minority districts in Marion County. The fact is housing is much less segregated than it used to be. Whites, blacks, and Hispanics now live side by side in most parts of Indianapolis. Thus creating minority districts is increasingly difficult without creating crazy looking districts that bound from one community to another trying to incorporate into the district the fewer and fewer precincts where there is a majority of minority population. That's a good thing and we ought to celebrate it.Paul K. Ogdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16137003328850866711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826828000189814347.post-14555286596222598212013-02-18T10:22:27.146-05:002013-02-18T10:22:27.146-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Paul K. Ogdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16137003328850866711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826828000189814347.post-1954684645615231082013-02-18T09:43:56.844-05:002013-02-18T09:43:56.844-05:00I agree with you as far as the straight party voti...I agree with you as far as the straight party voting. That can be eliminated from the ballot, by the way, even as you wait for the elimination of parties.<br /><br />Other cities have non-partisan Council seats, and it works.Had Enough Indy?https://www.blogger.com/profile/09673791504434523246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1826828000189814347.post-28987698183076811692013-02-18T09:14:17.768-05:002013-02-18T09:14:17.768-05:00I would go along with this a lot easier if Straigh...I would go along with this a lot easier if Straight Party Voting was eliminated. I saw a good and decent politician defeated because Obama pulled black voters to the polls and they voted a straight ticket. I am for Black representation. I am against Straight Party voting.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853585294818950465noreply@blogger.com