MEDIA CONTACT: Julia Vaughn, Common Cause Indiana, (317) 432-3264 or jvaughn@commoncause.org
Diverse and Multi-partisan Group of Hoosiers Selected to Lead Citizens Redistricting Commission
Today the All IN for Democracy coalition announced it has selected a diverse and multi-partisan group of Hoosiers to serve on the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC), a shadow commission that will demonstrate how redistricting should be conducted in Indiana. The ICRC will host a series of virtual meetings in February and early March and invite people around the state to join a discussion about what non-partisan criteria should drive the redistricting process in Indiana and to identify important community of interests in their region. Testimony from these meetings will be compiled and delivered to the Indiana General Assembly before they begin their map-drawing with a request that legislators follow the public’s instructions to draw fair maps, not ones that benefit one political party over the other.
Julia Vaughn, Policy Director for Common Cause Indiana and a coalition leader said, “Almost three hundred Hoosiers applied for a seat on the ICRC so it wasn’t easy narrowing the group down to nine. The individuals we chose bring different skill sets to the table but all are leaders in their communities and committed to a redistricting process that is transparent, open to public participation, and results in districts that prioritize the interests of voters, not politicians. We are excited to get this process started and will announce the dates and times for our virtual public hearings early next month. I encourage everyone who wants redistricting that will allow voters to choose their politicians, instead of allowing politicians to choose their voters by manipulating district lines, to participate in these public discussions, and the public mapping project that will follow later this spring.”
The Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission is comprised of nine Indiana voters: Three Republicans, three Democrats, and three people who are neither Republican nor Democrat.
Republican members:
-Clara Glaspie of Indianapolis: Ms. Glaspie is a longtime Republican activist who was the first Black woman to participate in the Richard G. Lugar Excellence for Women Leadership series.
-Leigh Morris of LaPorte: Mr. Morris is the former Mayor of LaPorte and retired as the CEO of the community hospital there.
-Marilyn Moran-Townsend of Fort Wayne: Ms. Moran-Townsend is the CEO of CVC Communication and a co-founder of AVOW, Advancing Voices of Women, a group to support and empower women as civic leaders.
Democrat members:
– Missie Summers-Kempf of Portage: Ms. Summers-Kempf is active in a number of groups organized around racial justice and environmental issues in Northwest Indiana.
-Xavier Ramirez of Carmel: Mr. Ramirez is a student at Indiana University who works with the Civic Leader Learning Center as a student advisory board member.
-Ranjan Rohatgi of South Bend: Mr. Rohatgi is Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Saint Mary’s College where he developed a class called “Mathematics of Voting.”
Neither Republican nor Democrat members:
-Christopher Brandon Harris of Hammond: Mr. Harris is a project manager for a commercial construction general contractor and participates in the Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation.
-Sonia Leerkamp of Ninevah: Ms. Leerkamp is the former Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney who serves on the board of the Brown County League of Women Voters.
-Charles Taylor of Muncie: Mr. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science at Ball State University who has moderated numerous political forums and is committed to civic education
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