GOP objects to redistricting plan for PRC

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – Republicans are lining up against a Democratic-backed proposal for redistricting New Mexico's utility regulatory agency.

Republicans complained Saturday that proposed district boundary changes for the Public Regulation Commission will make it harder for GOP candidates to compete in some parts of the state.

The House Judiciary Committee endorsed the proposal on a party-line vote and sent it to the full House for consideration. Speaker Ben Lujan said the House may debate the measure on Sunday.

Two Republicans and three Democrats currently serve on the PRC, which regulates utilities, telecommunications and insurance.

“I believe quite firmly that we should make it possible for voters to elect their elected representatives and not have elected representatives basically predetermine the outcome,” said Rep. Cathrynn Brown, R-Carlsbad. “I really believe there could have been an effort, if there had been a spirit to do it, of making these more competitive.”

Currently a district covering south-central and southwestern New Mexico is the most competitive politically and it barely leans Democratic based on voting in recent elections. Republican Ben Hall of Ruidoso represents District 5. However, it would become slightly more Democratic under the proposed changes, which include consolidating all of Dona Ana County – the second largest in the state – within its boundaries.

District 2 currently is strongly Republican and that would continue under proposed boundary changes to make it cover most of eastern New Mexico – from the state's border with Colorado in the north to the border with Texas in the south.

Other PRC districts would remain in favor of Democrats under the redistricting plan.

Democrats said the proposed boundaries are better than current districts because several counties and communities will no longer be split between two districts.

The Democratic-backed plan eliminates current divisions in Dona Ana, Otero and Lincoln counties and the city of Alamogordo. A portion of Dona Ana County in the Las Cruces area currently is in District 2 with southeastern New Mexico.

House Majority Leader W. Ken Martinez, D-Grants, said the proposed boundary changes will meet legal mandates for redistricting and there is no constitutional or court-established requirement that districts must be politically competitive.

The Legislature must adjust district boundaries for population changes in the past decade. The goal is to try to equalize the populations of districts as much as possible to meet the legal requirement of equal representation – one person, one vote.

Redistricting plans also must comply with the federal Voting Rights Act by not diluting the voting strength of minorities.

District 4 – covering northwestern New Mexico and a part of the Albuquerque area west of the Rio Grande– offers Native Americans a chance to elect a member of the PRC, according to Martinez. Indians will account for almost 31 percent of the voting age population, up from about 29 percent currently. A member of the Navajo Nation – Democrat Theresa Becenti-Aguilar – represents the district.

Rep. Eliseo Alcon, a Milan Democrat, took issue with GOP criticisms of the proposed PRC plan and pointed out that Indians and Hispanics tend to vote Democratic in New Mexico. If lawmakers protect their voting rights in redistricting, he said, Democrats will be favored in some districts.

“Unless you get a lot of Native Americans registered Republican and a lot of Hispanics registered Republican, I don't see how we can make it competitive politically,” said Alcon.

Under the committee-approved measure, District 3 will cover north-central New Mexico including the cities of Santa Fe and the fast-growing community of Rio Rancho in Sandoval County. The city of Albuquerque will continue to be mostly in District 1.

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The PRC redistricting measure is committee substitute for HB15.

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