Anderson City Council to hire consultant for new district maps

As part of a federal court mandate, the Anderson City Council needs to draw new districts for council representation.  In June, the council approved a new map proposal.  But now, as IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, the body says it won’t be submitting those maps to the court for approval.

As part of a federal court decision, the court has to approve new voting districts for the city council, after it missed a redistricting deadline in 2022 – a violation of state and federal law.

According to city council attorney Rosemary Khoury, council members had three options on how to move forward.   They could submit the map made by the council and approved unanimously in June, use the map submitted by Common Cause Indiana – an organization that was part of the federal lawsuit, or hire an outside consultant to draw a new map.

In a 7-2 vote at a special meeting this week, the council decided to hire an outside consulting firm. Councilmen Ollie Dixon and Joe Newman voted against the measure.

Dixon spoke against hiring an independent party, saying drawing the new district maps is the sole responsibility of the Anderson City Council. 

“The last thing I want is some outsider coming in and doing our job,” he said.

He also again raised concerns about diluting underrepresented voters in the 4th district, where he’s served as the council representative for more than a decade.

Khoury said submitting the map made by the council would likely result in the court appointing an independent party to redraw the map anyway.

At the start of the new year, the council will select three different firms to interview for the task.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer.  Contact him at [email protected].