Districting and Demographics

Dividing up Albuquerque and Surrounding Areas to allow for Fair, Democratic Representation in Government

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Description

In this activity students will learn why the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County are divided into governing districts. They will learn what districts their homes and schools belong too, and what city counselor and county commissioner represent them in local government. They will explore the history of why the two governments chose a districting system and why their particular districts were created the way they were. Students will explore whether or not current districting allows for fair and democratic representation of their districts' population. They will look at census data, as well as conduct interviews with their city and county representatives to determine the demographics (ethnic, income, lifestyle, etc.) of the people living and working within those districts. Based on their findings, students will redistrict the city and county (drawing new boundaries on a classroom map) and defend their reasons for drawing these new boundaries (or maintaining old ones, or doing away with the whole thing in general). Students will have to work with those researching and representing neighboring districts to come to a consensus about how the whole county and city will be divided up (or not) in the end.

Objectives

Students will learn:

• What districting is and what it means for local government
• The History of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County 's Districts
• How to find, read, and interpret Federal Census data
• How to find, read, and interpret different kinds of maps
• About the difficulties of creating districts
• Issues surrounding districting and democratic representation
• How they as citizens can affect local government through their elected representatives

Classroom Time Required for Activity

At least two class periods and out-of-class research time

Grade Level

High School

NM State Benchmarks and Standards

To be filled in later

Vocabulary Used

• Charter : A written general statement containing the basic laws and goals of a community and establishing its form of self-government.
• City: A community incorporated by charter granted by the state.
• Commission: A governmental agency of elected or appointed citizens having administrative, legislative or judicial powers, usually granted to perform a specific function
• Council: A legislative, executive, advisory or administrative governmental body whose elected or appointed members are assigned certain duties and responsibilities by law, as Town Council City Council, Citizens Advisory Council.
• Democracy: A form of government in which all the people have political power and input—-not just government officials.
• District: A territorial division defined for electoral, jurisdictional or special purposes
• Elected Officials: Those persons selected by a majority of the citizens voting in an election to serve on a government body.
• Election : The process whereby those eligible exercise their right and privilege to make a choice by voting on issues or candidates.
• Executive : The executive branch of the government consists of those persons or government bodies which carry out and direct the operations of government.
• Home Rule: A state law gives New Mexico municipalities the right to adopt and amend their charters, choose their form of government and to govern themselves in any way not deemed them, or already covered, by state or federal law. The Home Rule Law returned to the municipalities a large measure of local control in governing themselves
• Needs Assessment: Determining what the needs of the people are in a community.
• Non-partisan: To be free from party affiliation; the opposite of partisan where affiliation with a political party is noted, as Democrat or Republican.
• Urban : Relates to a geographical area having the characteristics of a city, especially in terms of population. Opposed to rural, which usually describes an area of small population and agricultural activity,
• Ward : A geographical division of a political unit for representative, electoral or administrative purposes
• Zoning : Designating certain geographical areas of a community for specific purposes, as residential zone, commercial zone, and agricultural zone.

Materials

Paper and pens, Census Data Reports, Maps of the Albuquerque Area

Procedure

1. Setting the scene

Explain to the students that the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County are divided into City and County Districts. City Districts have different boundaries than County Districts. Each of the 9 City Districts has a different city councilor that represents it. Each city councilor is elected by the voters of that district and represents that district's population and needs in city decision making. Likewise, each county district is represented by one of the five county commissioners elected by that county district's voters, and responsible for representing that district in county decision-making.

These councilors and commissioners are the citizens' most important and direct representatives in local government. They are responsible for making sure that people in their districts are fairly represented in government undertakings. By analogy, they make up the legislative body (like Federal Representatives of the House and Senators) that create the laws and manage the affairs of local government, and maintain the checks and balances on the Executive Branch of the Mayor and County Manager (who are like the National President).

2. Identifying Current City and County Districts and their History
Ask students to look at the maps found in the Supplementary Information Section of this activity to identify which City and County districts their homes and schools fall within. Ask students to identify which City Councilors and County Commissioners represent those districts. Have students look at the districts that border their own and then the city and county as a whole, and discuss why they think these district boundaries may have been chosen. Have them think about how population numbers, ethnic diversity, and income may have been considerations in these boundaries.

3. Demographics and Representation of Districts
Divide students into groups, so that each group has one city district to investigate. Have students identify what county districts overlap with their city district. Have students research the history and current demographics of the neighborhoods that fall within their districts. Have them determine what ethnic and economic groups/stakeholders have historically been located in their districts, why the Charter in 1974 may have decided the specific boundaries for their district to be what they are, and what current population trends and characteristics are present currently in their districts. In this information gathering phase of the project students will want to look at historical information about their neighborhoods in the Albuquerque Environmental Story, demographic data from the city, the 2000 Census Bureau, the Rusk Report, and interview their city councilors and county commissioners directly.

4. How would you redistrict the county and city?
After students have gathered information about their districts, ask students to think about following questions:

• Does this district fairly represent the ethnic and economic diversity of the population living there?
• Do the city councilors and county commissioners representing these districts seem to be in touch with their constituents' demographics and needs?
• Do you think it is useful to have separate districts for the county and city? Would government be more effective if city and county districts merged into a single governing body?
• Do you think that districting is a good idea?
• If you could redistrict your district, (and the ones surrounding it), how would you do so?

5. Defending and Creating New City and County Governing Bodies for these Districts

Each student group representing a city district will make a discussion within their group about how they would choose their district's boundaries (they might even decide to break their district into several new districts or dissolve it all together) according to what they have learned and discussed in the previous steps of the activity. Each group will elect a representative who will act as their city councilor, someone that will represent their new district to the best of her/his ability. Each of the nine city councilors will meet in front of the class and draw their group's new district boundaries on a map of the Albuquerque Area in a different color and defend to the class why their group has decided on these particular boundaries. Once all groups have drawn their boundaries and defended them, students will identify areas of overlap. The council must now debate to find a way to make all these districts somehow “equal,” “fair,” and “democratic” in their representation. Students may find that they cannot come to a consensus about boundaries and population representation. When students have either come to a consensus or gridlock concerning districting and the issues, it is time to end the debate. Conclude the activity with an open discussion by students about what they have learned about democratic representation in local government. Ask students if they understand local government structure better and if they feel more empowered now to have their individual voices heard in local government decision making.

Supplemental Information for Completing this Activity

Information about the History of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County Districting

•  Shared Vision CYE Website

More Information about Albuquerque Demographics

•  Very Useful Maps and Census Data can be found in the Appendix (Very End) of the Rusk Report and Unification Exploratory Group Report at: http://www.cabq.gov/council/UEG%20Report.pdf

•  Albuquerque Demographics and Statistics: from the City of Albuquerque at http://www.cabq.gov/planning/statistics/index.html#index

•  2000 Census http://www.cabq.gov/planning/statistics/census2000.html

History of Albuquerque Neighborhoods and Areas

•  Albuquerque Environmental Story: has information about the history of each neighborhood and its human and natural characteristics in detail in Part 3: Sense of Place at: http://www.cabq.gov/aes/s2index.html

•  Many Albuquerque Neighborhood Associations have information about their area's history on their websites…..Neighborhood Associations:

• Alameda North Valley Association
• Alameda Neighborhood Association
• Barelas Neighborhood Association
• Boyds-Leslie Park Neighborhood Association
• Chelwood Vista Neighborhood Association
• Embudo Canyon Neighborhood Association
• Fairwest Neighborhood Association
• Fair Heights Neighborhood Association
• Four Hills Village Homeowners Association
• Huning Castle Neighborhood Association (HCNA)
• Mathew Meadows Neighborhood Association
• Parkland Hills Neighborhood Association
• Peppertree/Royal Oak Residents Association (PRORA)
• Plaza Vieja Neighborhood Association
• San Gabriel Area Neighborhood Association (SGANA)
• Santa Fe Village Neighborhood Association
• Singing Arrow Neighborhood Association
• Snow Heights Neighborhood Association
• Supper Rock Neighborhood Association (SRNA)

  Information about Current City and County Districts and their Representatives taken from the City and County Websites :

•  City of Albuquerque Districts and City Council Members

To contact the City Council write or call:

Albuquerque / Bernalillo County
Government Center
One Civic Plaza NW
City Council, Room 9087
Albuquerque, NM  87102
Telephone: (505) 768-3100
Office Fax: (505) 768-3227

e-mail all counselors at citycouncil@cabq.gov

To see more about individual counselors visit:

http://www.cabq.gov/council/ccmeet.html

To learn about City Council meetings visit:

http://www.cabq.gov/council/cc_sched.html

•  Bernalillo County Districting and Commissioners

To contact the county commission call or write:

Bernalillo County Commission

One Civic Plaza N.W.
Albuquerque , N.M. 87102

Phone: 768-4000

The following maps show county district boundaries:

Activity Written by Melanie Stansbury for Shared Vision, 2003