Yavapai County Board of Supervisors picked a map many were unaware existed for the redistricting of Yavapai County.
Supervisors attended a public meeting in Prescott on Monday, Aug. 22, where they voted 2-1 in favor of an alternative version of Map A, which differed from the Map A made available during months of public comment. The alternative Map A was redesigned by District 2 Supervisor Tom Thurman and others. District 1 Supervisor Carol Springer said she also contributed to the design of Map A.
Both Springer and Thurman voted in favor of the alternative Map A. District 3 Supervisor Chip Davis, meanwhile, voted against Map A.
Davis, who publicly stated he favored redistricting Map C, said the redesigned Map A had already been designed, but not made public. Davis said he had no involvement in the redesign.
“We held 38 different meetings, and public comment, and showed the four maps, and that’s what the public got to view. In the meantime, this map that they are going to vote on is out there and they’re not disclosing it. I don’t think the process was very straightforward or up front,” Davis said.
County staff toured the district with four maps — not included the map selected – to obtain public comment prior to Aug. 22.
The revised district Map A puts Jerome, Clarkdale, Cottonwood, Sedona, the Village of Oak Creek and the Verde Villages in the District 3 supervisory district. District 2 would be reformed to include communities such as Page Springs, Cornville, Camp Verde, some of Prescott Valley, Black Canyon City, Crown King and Mayer. Cornville, Camp Verde and Page Springs are currently in District 3 under Davis.
Davis said individuals in Cornville have already expressed their unhappiness with the Aug. 22 decision.
“The residents of Cornville are not very happy about it. I don’t see the relationship of commonality with Prescott Valley and Cornville,” Davis said.
Public comments on the redistricting maps included surveys and public forums. A number of communities also endorsed a map, including the city of Sedona. Sedona City Council members, along with members of the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council, voted for Map C as their preferred alternative prior to Aug. 22.
Sedona Councilman Mike Ward attended the meeting as a representative for City Council.
“I was surprised that nearly all of the speakers, and there were probably 40 or 50 of them from both Cottonwood and Prescott, spoke in favor of Map C. A couple people from Prescott Valley and the Prescott area, where Map A would be in their own personal interest, they felt that, for the health of the county, Map C was the most logical,” Ward said.
Ward said he believed Thurman and Springer’s minds were made up prior to the meeting.
“It occurred to me there wasn’t anybody at the meeting speaking in favor of Map A. They didn’t have to. It was a foregone conclusion. That’s my personal take on it,” Ward said. “I was strongly disappointed, not only that they chose to ignore the desires of a third of the county’s population, who also contribute about a third of the revenue for the county, and reenforced this idea that the other side of the mountain holds sway, and we don’t really count for much.
“When you look at the size of our new district, it’s tiny. We’ve been shunted off to a corner. Instead of the Verde Valley having one-third of the representation, we now have one-fifth. I really feel that is a disservice to the county as a whole.”
The redrawn district maps stem from increased population numbers reported in the 2010 Census. Yavapai County will grow from three districts to five. Those recent census numbers showed a 26 percent increase in Yavapai County between the 2000 Census and the 2010 Census, leading to a shift from three to five county supervisors.
The map now goes to the Department of Justice for approval prior to implementation.
