| 6/1/2021 |
Clark County Board of Commissioners
| Approved
Agenda note: SPEAKER(S): Present
DISCUSSION: The Board received presentations from two consulting firms, Redistricting Partners and Main Street Communications, regarding the management of the 2021 Clark County redistricting process.
The principal consultants of Redistricting Partners, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Chris Chaffee and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Kimi Shigetani, shared details of the firm’s team, background, experience and qualifications, information on past and current clients, and partners and projects, and also shared details on the many facets of the redistricting process which included multiple technical approaches; alignment with federal, state, and local laws; demographic analysis; adherence to the Federal Voting Rights Act guidelines; public engagement, transparency and outreach; plan creation timelines; that the Commissioners would be provided with tools and training on the redistricting process; public facing mapping tools; implementation of a racially polarized voting analysis or a Supreme Court Gingles test where applicable; consideration of projected population and deviations based on the American Community Survey (ACS); and consideration of current population and voting age population ratios.
In response to questions by the Board, the COO provided clarifications on minority majority district boundaries and Section 2 compliance; racially polarized voting; timeframes for the availability of boundary projections; deviation percentages; advantages and disadvantages of a multi-staffed consultant that managed multiple projects versus one fully-dedicated consultant; possible inaccuracies of mapping tools; the ability to maintain cities and towns throughout the county whole; and the feasibility of constituent engagement and interest.
Main Street Communications President Dave Heller stated that the 2011 Clark County redistricting was the result of his independent efforts, which provided a unique historical knowledge of the County and the seven commission districts; that the redistricting map provided in 2011 had been approved with a unanimous vote and was never challenged in any forum; stressed that there would be one individual that provided dedicated hands-on service; shared steps of the process which included detailed analysis of changes in each district; one-on-one meetings with each Commissioner; inclusion of data from the Census Bureau; relocation of the consultant to Las Vegas would occur for the duration of the project which would allow ongoing, in-person communication at the Board’s request; public input into the mapping process; a detailed timeline of milestones; and the assurance that the revised maps would reflect equal opportunity for minority groups to elect officials of their own choosing.
In response to a question by Commissioner Tick Segerblom, the speaker advised that during the 2011 redistricting process, there had not been a sufficient number of Latino constituents to support a minority majority district, nor were there any requests by the Board to implement such a district.
Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick emphasized that every Commissioner should represent a portion of unincorporated Clark County.
Commissioner Tick Segerblom stated that the County needed to be more in touch with where minorities resided, that Caucasians were a minority in the County, and stressed the importance of continued analysis of the communities and to enable those communities to have the most impact; and expressed opposition to a contract with Main Street Communications.
Legal Counsel confirmed a statement by Commissioner Jim Gibson regarding adherence to Section 2 requirements. | Pass |
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