Assembly candidate Brostoff calls for non-partisan redistricting
State Assembly candidate Jonathan Brostoff has called for non-partisan redistricting in Wisconsin to rectify gerrymandering.
MILWAUKEE – State Assembly candidate Jonathan Brostoff has called for non-partisan redistricting in Wisconsin to rectify gerrymandering.
Jonathan Brostoff, a candidate for the Assembly seat in the 19th district, says that a non-partisan group responsible for redistricting would bring accountability to elected officials, eliminate costly court cases and create a more democratic environment for political debate in Wisconsin.
“Republicans have successfully given themselves an unfair advantage by redrawing districts to ensure GOP majorities in the Assembly and Senate,” said Brostoff. “This is undemocratic and unfair to the people of Wisconsin, and we need to fix it.”
Support for AB 185 and SB 163, which are based on Iowa’s model for non-partisan redistricting and promoted by Rep. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) and Rep. Tim Cullen (D-Janesville), is a start to fixing this broken system, says Brostoff. If passed, redistricting responsibilities would transfer to the LRB, which is a non-partisan state service agency.
In the 2012 state Assembly election, only 11 out of 99 districts were considered competitive – that is, decided by a margin of six percentage points or less – according to the LRB. “If elected officials feel they have no real challenge to their seat, they don’t have to be as accountable to their constituents,” said Brostoff.
The need for a non-partisan group responsible for redistricting became more pressing, Brostoff said, after a 2012 Federal court decision that determined Republicans’ attempts to redraw maps on the south side of Milwaukee violated the law, calling the effort “all but shameful.”
Wisconsin taxpayers paid more than $2.1 million in court costs to resolve the issue, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, money that Brostoff thinks could have been better invested elsewhere in the state.
“Non-partisan redistricting is an issue fundamental to our democracy,” said Brostoff. “Our representatives should be decided by citizens on voting day, not in advance by a crooked line on a map.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
More about the Gerrymandering of Legislative Districts
- Without Gerrymander, Democrats Flip 14 Legislative Seats - Jack Kelly, Hallie Claflin and Matthew DeFour - Nov 8th, 2024
- Op Ed: Democrats Optimistic About New Voting Maps - Ruth Conniff - Feb 27th, 2024
- The State of Politics: Parties Seek New Candidates in New Districts - Steven Walters - Feb 26th, 2024
- Rep. Myers Issues Statement Regarding Fair Legislative Maps - State Rep. LaKeshia Myers - Feb 19th, 2024
- Statement on Legislative Maps Being Signed into Law - Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos - Feb 19th, 2024
- Pocan Reacts to Newly Signed Wisconsin Legislative Maps - U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan - Feb 19th, 2024
- Evers Signs Legislative Maps Into Law, Ending Court Fight - Rich Kremer - Feb 19th, 2024
- Senator Hesselbein Statement: After More than a Decade of Political Gerrymanders, Fair Maps are Signed into Law in Wisconsin - Dianne Hesselbein - Feb 19th, 2024
- Wisconsin Democrats on Enactment of New Legislative Maps - Democratic Party of Wisconsin - Feb 19th, 2024
- Governor Evers Signs New Legislative Maps to Replace Unconstitutional GOP Maps - A Better Wisconsin Together - Feb 19th, 2024
Read more about Gerrymandering of Legislative Districts here
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by Rep. Jonathan Brostoff
We all need to get behind the concept of nonpartisan redistricting. The idea of actually being represented fairly should be the norm, and it is important to take redistricting out of the hands of politicians who have their self-interest and job preservation as motives instead of representing the voters. Both sides have been guilty in the past–and it’s time to make it fair to everyone, and take it out of the hands of both sides and put it in the hands of a nonpartisan group.