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Republicans announced four hearings

A story posted Wednesday stating that four public hearings on reapportionment have been scheduled beginning next week was incorrect.

Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris), chairman of the Republican delegation on the Legislative Apportionment Commission, announced the hearings Wednesday but Democrats on Thursday said they have not agreed to any official hearings.

Instead, Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), chairman of the Democratic delegation, sent a letter Wednesday to Webber outlining what he describes as "a plan for responsible and comprehensive public hearings that will ensure full public participation in legislative redistricting."

Wisniewski's proposal is based on suggestions from Ingrid W. Reed, formerly of Rutgers' Eagleton Institute of Politics, for structured hearings that she believes would benefit the public and mark a contrast from public hearings held on legislative redistricting in 2001 and 1991.

"Ms. Reed specifically cautioned against avoiding mistakes of the past in which public redistricting hearings were set up without any structure, without any agenda and without any explanation of the process," Wisniewski said.

Wisniewski wrote:

Dear Chairman Webber:

Thank you for your letter from this afternoon concerning legislative redistricting. I commend you for your renewed commitment to ensuring that public input is a critical element of the workings of the New Jersey Apportionment Commission — a commitment that the five Democratic members strongly support and have emphasized from the outset of process.

That is why we have agreed to the Jan. 3, 2011 invitation extended by Ingrid Reed — the former director of the New Jersey Project at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, a former staffer to New Jersey Apportionment Commission tiebreaker Dr. Donald Stokes, and one of the most respected and good-government oriented public figures in the State of New Jersey — to establish a plan for having a transparent, open and meaningful process for the New Jersey Apportionment Commission that will maximize public input. This would include having a moderator for public hearings to benefit the public and to protect against a partisan agenda.

Ms. Reed specifically cautioned against avoiding mistakes of the past in which public redistricting hearings were set up without any structure, without any agenda, and without any explanation of the process.

We have accepted Ms. Reed's invitation and are surprised and disappointed that — to date — it appears you have not. Instead, you have communicated by a partisan press release and have unilaterally attempted to set up public hearings without checking beforehand about the availability of each member of the Apportionment Commission.

It should be noted that on Friday December 17th, I offered the opportunity for four public hearings in January with specific dates and have not heard any response from you until today via press release. It is obvious you are advocating for hearings that will be geared towards advancing your partisan interests, rather than accept a meeting with Ingrid Reed and both parties to establish a process that will be in the public's interest.

You seem intent on repeating the mistakes of the past. The Eagleton Institute of Politics in November hosted a well-attended panel discussion on legislative redistricting. At that discussion, it was pointed out by several participants that the public hearings ten years ago were not as productive as they should have been. There was no structure to them. There was no agenda. Because the public was not educated about the process, some groups submitted recommended legislative maps that were illegal. The hearings were disorganized. It was a missed opportunity to maximize the opportunity to gain meaningful public input. Ingrid's letter substantiates all of these points, so your partisan position and agenda is regretful.

I also regret to inform you that you do not possess the authority to unilaterally call Apportionment Commission public hearings. In fact your call for partisan public hearings beginning next week would require the Commission to hold a hearing before the Commission has even organized or adopted bylaws, before we have agreed on a valuable structure to public hearings, without checking with the schedules of our members, before the Commission has a budget or even a website, before final Census data has been released, is frankly comical. It does not show respect for the process that the public deserves. You have started this process in a very partisan and very disappointing manner.

I urge you and your four other Commissioners to accept Ms. Reed's offer so that both parties can work together and establish and unprecedented and positive process for legislative redistricting that we can all be proud of.

I look forward to hearing your response.

Very truly yours,

John Wisniewski, Chairman

New Jersey Democratic State Committee

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM