Sussex may get more seats in Leg Hall
Delaware's Representative Districts
(Goal population is 21,900
residents per district)
District 14: 25,997 residents
Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth
District 35: 22,751 residents
Rep. David Wilson, R-Bridgeville
District 36: 26,484 residents
Rep. Harvey Kenton, R-Milford
District 37: 24,694 residents
Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown
District 38: 25,569 residents
Rep. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View
District 39: 19,663 residents
Rep Daniel Short, R-Seaford
District 40: 22,338 residents
Rep. Biff Lee, R-Laurel
District 41: 26,231 residents
Rep. John Atkins, D-Millsboro
Senatorial districts
(Goal population is 42,759
residents per district)
District 18: 54,015 residents
Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford
District 19: 48,816 residents
Sen. Joe Booth, R-Georgetown
District 20: 49,455 residents
Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach
District 21: 44,799 residents
Sen. Robert Venables, D-Laurel
Delaware’s population is growing rapidly, and many newcomers have landed in Kent and Sussex counties.
Following each census, all local, state and federal electoral districts must be remapped to account for changes in population and ensure that each district contains about the same number of people. According to the latest census figures for Delaware, released March 2, the population in Sussex County has grown by 26 percent in the last 10 years.
With nearly 900,000 people living in Delaware, many existing election districts have too many people. District lines will have to be redrawn, and Sussex County expects to see more districts in the coming election.
The average representative district will have 21,900 residents. Districts must have within 5 percent, or 1,100 people, of the average. Five of the eight representative districts in Sussex County are more than 12 percent over the average population.
The average population for a senatorial district is 42,759, give or take 5 percent. Three of the four senatorial districts in Sussex County have as much as 26 percent more people than the average district will after redistricting. As a whole, Sussex County has grown by 40,500 people over the last decade, almost enough to account for two additional representatives and one additional senator.
House of Representatives
Erik Schramm, chairman of New Castle County Democratic Committee, has been charged with redrawing lines for the House majority caucus. Schramm said it is too early in the process to speculate how the lines will be redrawn.
Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, will assist Schramm in redistricting. “This is a challenge. It’s a very daunting challenge,” Schwartzkopf said. The House majority leader said he is unsure whether Sussex County will need a new district. “I think ours is manageable in Sussex County if we move some things around.”
Schwartzkopf said it is likely New Castle County will have three fewer districts after redistricting, meaning the boundary lines will be redrawn. In some cases, this could mean incumbents will have to run against other incumbents in the 2012 election.
Though his district has about 4,000 people more than it should, Schwartzkopf said he intends to bring Dewey Beach back into the same district as Rehoboth Beach. Dewey Beach was separated in 2002, he said, when the lines were redrawn by House Republicans to favor their candidate, who ran against former Dewey Beach Mayor Bob Frederick, a Democrat.
“It wasn’t right when it happened. It hasn’t been right for 10 years,” Schwartzkopf said. Dewey Beach residents became part of District 38 and had to drive up to 12 miles to a polling place. Before 2002, Schwartzkopf said, a voter could ride a bike or walk to cast a vote.
Schwartzkopf said Rep. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, who currently represents Dewey Beach in District 38, agrees Dewey Beach should be in the 14th District.
Schwartzkopf said he is planning a joint public hearing with the Senate to provide Delaware residents with census and redistricting information and allow them to ask questions.
“We want to make the process as open as possible,” he said. Schwartzkopf said he hopes the workshop will take place before the end of March. Once the lines are drawn, Schwartzkopf said, he plans to hold a second public hearing.
He said public suggestions and comments and the minority caucus’s suggestions for new district lines will be taken into account before the process is complete.
Senate
Sen. Gary Simpson’s District 18 has about 10,000 more people than the average district – one of the highest populations in the state. “We’ve seen tremendous growth in our area,” said Simpson, R-Milford, but he said he hopes to keep communities together. “In the last redistricting, they split Milford right in half,” he said. The Senate minority leader said he hopes to have all of Milford and Lewes in the 18th District after election lines are redrawn.
Simpson said he supports an independent planning commission to draw district lines fairly, without political motivation. “Even if we don’t have an independent commission, the process should be transparent and open to the public,” he said.
The process
Joe Fulgham, communications officer for the House minority caucus, said House and Senate party caucuses are given census data, and each caucus produces a map.
Fulgham said he will use Maptitude, a computer program, to create a map for the House minority caucus. Senate majority administrative assistant Dick Carter will create the map for the Senate Democratic caucus. Fulgham said an intern is working on a map for the Senate minority caucus.
Fulgham said House and Senate Democrats will pass each other’s proposals for new districts. When remapping the districts, the most important task is to even the population, Fulgham said. He said it is also important to consider compactness, congruity, county and municipal lines, and to preserve the original districts as much as possible. Fulgham said mappers should also take advantage of opportunities to make a minority ethnic group into a district majority, in an effort to prevent disenfranchising Hispanics and other minority groups in the area.
Gerrymandering
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 21 states have a redistricting commission that draws the lines, advises the legislature or acts as a backup if the legislature fails to draw district lines.
Delaware puts the task to the General Assembly, where Democrats have the majority. In 2002, when the last redistricting took place, Republicans controlled the House; Democrats controlled the Senate.
Holding the General Assembly responsible leaves the redistricting process open to accusations of gerrymandering, or redrawing the lines for political favor, which is against Delaware Code.
Senate Majority Leader Patricia Blevins, D-Elsmere, said in the past two legislative sessions, she has attempted to introduce a bill to establish an independent redistricting commission. The bill was never put on agenda. Blevins said she plans to propose the bill again next year so it can be on file for redistricting in 2020.
Blevins said she imagines her district, which has too few voters, along with many in northern New Castle, will expand southward to compensate for the population shift. Blevins said she hopes by April the Senate will have an idea of how the new districts will look.
According to Delaware Code, the General Assembly has until Thursday, June 30, to reapportion and redistrict the state for the 2012 general election.
While some now hold different offices, Schwartzkopf; Hocker; Sen. Joe Booth, R-Georgetown; and Rep. John Atkins, D-Millsboro, all made their first run for office in 2002, after redistricting, and won.
Sussex council districts grow by 20 percent
Sussex County Council members will be representing about 8,000 more residents in each of their five districts by the time county redistricting is completed.
Population within the five Sussex County councilmanic districts has increased more than 20 percent, from 31,200 residents to 39,400 residents, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Each district must have an even number of residents.
The county’s population has grown from 156,000 to more than 197,000 over the past 10 years.
County Administrator David Baker said county attorney J. Everett Moore would coordinate the county’s redistricting process. But, the process cannot get fully under way until the Delaware General Assembly determines the representative districts in Sussex County.
Once district lines are redrawn and a recommendation has been made to county council, a public hearing will be scheduled.
Ron MacArthur contributed to this article.
