McNally appoints Senate redistricting committee with Akbari as co-chair
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) Friday, Sept. 17, appointed seven senators to an ad-hoc committee on redistricting.
Randy McNally; Raumesh Akbari
The committee is the counterpart to a much larger one in the state House, which began the redistricting process with a meeting earlier this month.
State Sen. Raumesh Akbari is the only Memphian in the Senate group, and she is one of two Democrats.
State Sen. Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), the Senate majority leader, will chair the committee. Akbari and state Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville) will serve as co-chairs.
“This committee will help ensure my commitment to an open and transparent redistricting process,” McNally said in a statement provided by spokesman Adam Kleinheider. “The Republican-led redistricting process 10 years ago solicited public input for the first time. That precedent will continue this year.”
He continued: “Every legislator and every member of the public who wishes will have their voice heard in this process. Public input will help the legislature create a fair and legal plan based on the census numbers provided to us. It is a tough job balancing both our federal and state constitutional mandates but I believe this committee and the General Assembly is up to the task.”
Redistricting is the process through which political boundaries are redrawn. It happens every 10 years, after new population data is collected in the Census. Memphis, which is losing residents, may lose seats in the General Assembly while multiple Middle Tennessee counties stand to gain seats.
The last four members of the committee are state Sens. Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin), Ken Yager (R-Kingston), Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) and John Stevens (R-Huntingdon).
Kleinheider’s statement says the committee will hold hearings to “outline the redistricting process and inform the public on how they may submit their plan.” The statement does not say when the committee will meet for the first time.
Members of the public have until Monday, Nov. 22, to submit suggested maps. Those plans must include the whole state, and districts must be close to the same population. Maps must comply with state law and the federal Voting Rights Act.
When the General Assembly gets back to work in January, the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Bell, will consider redistricting bills. That committee is advisory, Kleinheider stated.
Email senateredistricting@capitol.tn.gov with questions and comments. On the committee’s site, learn how to design and submit maps.
Topics
Randy McNally Raumesh Abkari Tennessee General AssemblyIan Round
Ian Round is The Daily Memphian’s state government reporter based in Nashville. He came to Tennessee from Maryland, where he reported on local politics for Baltimore Brew. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland in December 2019.
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