New Congressional map splits Alma, Fort Smith metro area

story by Roby Brock and Michael Tilley
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A Congressional redistricting plan that divides the city of Alma evenly between the 3rd and 4th Districts and also sees the 4th District cut into parts of Crawford and Sebastian counties has been approved by the Arkansas Senate and appears to have enough votes to survive a Tuesday (April 12) in the Arkansas House.

In the span of an hour and a half, a Congressional redistricting plan cleared nearly three-fourths of the hurdles needed to become law. The new controversial map splits 5 counties and reconfigures the 4th Congressional District into northwest Arkansas.

The new map (see full map at bottom of story) has the following features:
• Moves Madison, Franklin, Johnson and Yell counties into the 4th
• Moves portions of Crawford, Sebastian and Newton into the 4th
• Divides the city of Alma between the 3rd and 4th
• Moves a portion of Searcy County into the 3rd
• Moves a portion of Jefferson County into the 1st
• Moves Lincoln, Desha and Chicot counties into the 1st

FORT SMITH AREA RESPONSE
“This is insane,” Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith, told The City Wire late Monday when asked about the new map. “I didn’t think they could gerrymander this map more than they did, but that is what they did.”

Sen. Bruce Holland, R-Greenwood, spoke against the plan, saying he is being asked to vote on a plan when the bill’s authors can’t provide him a map of where exactly the district lines are in south Sebastian County.

Files said the several weeks of debating the Congressional redistricting issue has caused some legislators to vote on any plan just so they can go home.

“They’ve just worn people down with this,” he said.

Fort Smith City Administrator Ray Gosack and Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce President Paul Harvel said they began lobbying efforts in earnest Monday afternoon when they were told of the new Congressional boundaries and the support the plan had in the House and Senate. The city and chamber have sent resolutions to legislators asking to keep Sebastian County intact within the 3rd District.

“This will hurt our efforts with regard to our regional economic development alliance and all the other economic development efforts,” Gosack said.

“It’s not good. It’s not good at all, and we’re trying to do what we can to let our people (Fort Smith regional legislators) know we oppose this new plan,” Harvel said.

CONGRESSIONAL CAUTION
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, the 3rd District Congressman, was anything but pleased with the new district lines.

“I’ll put it this way, any plan that splits a city is probably, and I hate to sound like a guy who throws water on everything, but there has to be a more logical way than to split a city. We don’t have a city big enough in Arkansas to split for redistricting purposes,” Womack said. “I can see if you had a Dallas or a large city like that, but Alma?”

Womack said he doesn’t see a need to split cities or counties “unless you just need to for a rounding effort” to get to a one-person, one vote district.

“My caution to everyone is, ‘Hey, we have to live with this for the next 10 years. Let’s do it right,’” Womack said.

AFTERNOON CONFUSION
The House State Agencies Committee passed its version of the plan, HB 1836, in a contentious meeting full of resistance from Sebastian and Crawford County legislators and a large amount of parliamentary drama.

In the end, confusion on a roll call vote showed the bill clearing the House panel with the minimum 11 votes needed to spring the measure. The committee passed the bill despite pleas for more time to debate the new map from Rep. Tracy Pennartz, D-Fort Smith, and Rep. Terry Rice, R-Waldron.

The map was finalized on Monday afternoon and members had not seen the map until shortly before the vote.

On the Senate end, the Senate State Agencies Committee also approved a companion bill, SB 972. It then was considered in the full Senate and passed on a 23-12 bipartisan vote over objections from members of both parties.

Sen. Jerry Taylor, D-Pine Bluff, whose home county of Jefferson would be divided between the 1st and 4th District by the Arkansas River, asked, "Has common sense left this building, just walked out?"

With passage in the Senate and the clearance of the House committee, HB 1836 will be considered tomorrow morning (April 12) on the full House floor. If it passes, the Senate could suspend its rules and consider the bill within hours. Since it has passed an identical measure, the vote would be a formality.

If that scenario plays out, the 88th General Assembly could sine die, or officially adjourn, with all of its work completed.

House Speaker Robert Moore, D-Arkansas City, said that was a likely goal for Tuesday. He said he expected to see bipartisan support for HB 1836 on the House floor although none of the 8 Republicans endorsed it in committee.