Court issues decision in state House redistricting

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – A judge on Tuesday approved a plan for revamping the boundaries of state House of Representative districts, making changes that will lump two Republican incumbents in the same district and pair two Democrats in another region.

District Judge James Hall adopted a proposal advocated by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and other GOP statewide officials. The new districts will be used by candidates in this year's legislative elections.

District boundaries must be adjusted for population changes during the past decade. The goal is to equalize district populations as much as possible to ensure that that each New Mexican's vote has equal weight. That's necessary to comply with the legal requirements of one person, one vote.

Democrats have enjoyed a House majority since the mid-1950s, although Republicans made gains in the 2010 elections and narrowed the Democratic advantage to 36-33. There is one independent House member, who is unaffiliated with either party.

To deal with rapid population growth in the state's largest metropolitan area, the court-approved plan creates new seats in GOP-dominated Rio Rancho, a Republican-leaning seat in the Albuquerque area northwest of the Rio Grande and a Democratic leaning seat on Albuquerque's west side.

To offset those changes, two southeastern New Mexico districts were consolidated, placing Roswell Republicans Bob Wooley and Dennis Kintigh in the same district. Two districts in north-central New Mexico also are merged, pairing Democrats Nick Salazar of Ohkay Owingeh and Thomas Garcia of Ocate into one.

Two Albuquerque incumbents – Democrat Al Park and Republican Jimmie Hall – are lumped together in the same GOP-leaning district in the city. Park isn't seeking re-election and has announced plans to run for a seat on the Public Regulation Commission.

The court-approved plan provides for six districts in which Native Americans account for a majority of the voting age population. That's unchanged from the current makeup of House districts.

The governor applauded the judge's decision.

“This plan does not favor one party over the other and instead ensures competitive districts that will allow New Mexicans to determine who represents them in the House,” Scott Darnell, a spokesman for the governor, said in a statement.

Democratic Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas of Albuquerque objected to the new districts.

“We are disappointed that the court is siding with the governor as she rigs districts to protect Republican incumbents and ignores several key factors, including incredible growth in Las Cruces,” said Maestas, who was a part of a group of Democrats who advocated a different proposal during the redistricting trial.

Maestas said, “We are absolutely weighing every legal alternative that will allow us to continue fighting for fair representation for New Mexicans all over the state.”

Redistricting ended up in court after the governor vetoed a House redistricting plan approved by the Democratic-controlled Legislature. The judge rejected that proposal, saying it didn't adequately equalize district populations.

Hall said the plan he adopted “properly places the highest priority on population equality and compliance with the Voting Rights Act as required by law.”

To comply with the federal Voting Rights Act, districts must not dilute the voting strengthen of minorities, such as Native Americans and Hispanics.

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