Progressive Politics from Memphis
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I’m Sure It’s Not Political
On Tuesday, Bill Dries at the Daily News penned an article looking at just who all would be cut out of their current districts under Council Attorney Alan Wade’s redistricting proposal. Unsurprisingly, no Council members would find themselves in the same districts as a colleague, even though some live within blocks of each other. What…
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10 Things
This is my 700th post. I started blogging for real in December of 2006. In the time since, I’ve written on a whole lot more than I ever imagined, transitioning from mostly national politics, to a kind of local advocacy that I’m really happy with, and proud of. When I moved here 7 years ago,…
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Why It Is the Way It Is
The Memphis City Council’s districting system is unlike any other. Sure, other places have single member districts and more “at large” seats, Nashville comes to mind for instance, but few cities that faced the legal challenges that ultimately led to our current arrangement were given the latitude to basically write their own deal. In 1988,…
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Horserace Politics and Determining the Track
Yesterday, after a long absence, our good friend and master map maker Polar Donkey resurfaced to point out the inadequacies of Alan Wade’s redistricting program. Those light spots you see in the map to your left. Those are precincts that aren’t included in Wade’s incomplete list. All in all there are about 15 of them.…
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Redistricting Proposal Out
Take a look at it here. Maps aren’t included, but a list of precincts and their proposed new district is. If you want to find out what precinct you live in, go here. Update: Several folks have contacted me about problems with this proposal. Seems there are several precincts missing from the list. We’ll see…
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Redistricting: When Will This Start Being Transparent?
Our country is built on the idea of public scrutiny. The very sanctity of our representative democracy is balanced on our government’s willingness to publicly disclose what it is or isn’t doing in our name, and our collective will to demand disclosure. So when things happen, either by circumstance or on purpose, without the benefit…