PETERSBURG, ALASKA <br />
City council members and a few others presented testimony – all of it negative – as board members from Juneau and Kotzebue listened. <br />
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Two draft plans would put Petersburg in a state House district with Ketchikan and separate it from Sitka. A third plan would place the community in a district with downtown Juneau.<br />
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Two of the plans would also put Petersburg in a state Senate district including Interior or Gulf of Alaska communities. <br />
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Council member John Havrilek says that’s divisive.<br />
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"The previous draft plans don’t work for Petersburg and they pretty much set neighbor against neighbor. That is devastating in this economy. We need to be working together."<br />
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He and several others urged the board to match Southeast’s four new House districts to create two regional Senate districts.<br />
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Mayor Al Dwyer says the plans would also shrink state funding opportunities.<br />
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"Communities like Wrangell and Petersburg will be silenced pretty much. By the time it gets to the legislature, it’s going to be very difficult to lobby for capital projects. It will be filtered through the bigger town, like Juneau or Ketchikan." <br />
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Several people pointed out that new election district boundaries would divide a proposed Petersburg borough. Vice Mayor Mark Jensen was among those objecting.<br />
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"Cutting Mitkof Island in half doesn’t seem to take into consideration the geographic layout of things. If you cut Mitkof Island in half at the city limits, then all the other residents would be in a different district, which in my opinion would make it confusing."<br />
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About two dozen people attended the Tuesday hearing. Similar meetings are taking place around the state.<br />
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Redistricting Board member PeggyAnn McConnochie said she’s heard similar objections from other communities. She said suggestions will be used to revise boundaries.<br />
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Not all the comments focused on Petersburg.<br />
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Council member Rick Braun pointed to plans that split Saxman and Ketchikan, which are right next to each other.<br />
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"It seems like the primary objective of the redistricting board was to make sure the Native communities didn’t lose political power. In trying to accomplish that, I believe the redistricting board has worked in exactly the opposite direction."<br />
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McConnochie says comments and alternate plans can be submitted by Friday morning. She expects several plans to be proposed by independent groups.<br />
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Maps of the plans and additional information are available through the board’s website, <a href="http://www.akredistricting.org">www.akredistricting.org</a>
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