Скачать или смотреть Full Text: NH Chair Mirski Tries to Defend Lack of Transparency in Redistricting Conversation

Partial Victory: Republican Leadership Hastily Announces Redistricting Input Sessions in Response to Public Pressure

Chair Rep. Mirski rescinds previous comments, announces public hearing plan

CONCORD, NH - The Chair of the Special Committee on Redistricting, Rep. Paul Mirski (R- Enfield), has scheduled a press conference for next week to announce a series of 10 public hearings related to redistricting.

"We are glad that Rep. Mirski has felt the public pressure to make the redistricting process more open and transparent," said Zandra Rice Hawkins, Director of Granite State Progress. "However, we are extremely concerned that this announcement is for public relations purposes only, and not an intentional effort to involve the public."

To date, the Redistricting Committee has not discussed holding public input sessions, as has been common in past redistricting years. When questioned in committee about it just last week by the group America Votes, Chair Mirski told committee members:

"It's a very complicated problem and quite frankly because it is a mathematical problem it doesn't lend itself to the sort of give and take with the public that may have been the case in the previous redistricting ... We have been holding off on this because we really have no way to utilize the public forum to get those answers. I just want to make that point."

GSP State House Video Monitoring Project: NH Chair Mirski Says No Public Needed in Redistricting Conversation, 9.20.11    • NH Chair Mirski Says No Public Needed in R...  

America Votes and Granite State Progress have publicly criticized the committee for the lack of transparency over the redistricting process since this summer.1 Over the past week staff from both organizations did a focused search through State House archives and made several inquiries of committee members past and present to determine the public input process and timeline for past redistricting committees.

In apparent response to the heightened criticism, yesterday Rep. Mirski hastily scheduled space for a press conference this coming Tuesday morning to announce that the committee would, indeed, host statewide public input sessions - a full 24 hours prior to even notifying Redistricting Committee members about the potential for such events, and in apparent contradiction to his recent statements. In fact, the press conference to announce the dates and content will be held three hours before the committee meets to discuss it for the first time. (A copy of Chair Mirski's email to committee members is below.)

"Just last week Rep. Mirski told us that public input wasn't needed, and now this week he's hastily throwing together events," Josiette White, State Director of America Votes NH said. "The public is tired of the lack of transparency and accountability under Speaker Bill O'Brien and his leadership team, and have made that abundantly clear in the four special elections to date. But short-sighted, public relations tactics are not a sufficient response."

"This is a last minute attempt by Rep. Mirski and the House Republican Leadership to circumvent increasing criticism for a poor redistricting process," Rice Hawkins said. "Committee members have had absolutely no conversation regarding what the public hearings would entail, when they would be scheduled, and who will be participating. How is this supposed to be a real process?"

America Votes and Granite State Progress plan to attend the press conference and encourage reporters and news outlets to ask questions regarding the timeline for a redistricting plan, the public release regarding redistricting software, and specifically how these public input sessions will be conducted and why there was a lack of conversation and preparation for them through the full Redistricting Committee.

1 Lack of Redistricting Transparency Concerns NH Groups, http://www.publicnewsservice.org/inde... & Local Meetings Present Chance for Citizens to Discuss Redistricting, Debate Lack of Transparency, http://www.americavotes.org/NH_redist...