County prepares for two new legislative districts

The population increase requires the county to add two new justice of the peace positions.

— While state law requires redrawing legislative districts every 10 years, Benton County’s growth rate over the last decade makes the task more imperative.

The county’s population growth triggered a requirement to add two justices of the peace to the Benton County Quorum Court, raising its membership from 13 to 15. That alone would complicate normal redistricting but the growth was uneven, creating large differences in population between existing districts as well.

Justice of the Peace Dan Douglas said he knew his district had grown, but not how much. With the district’s population topping 31,000, redistricting will provide more equal representation, he said.

“I knew that in the past several years the west and south sides of Bentonville and Centerton had had a lot of growth, but until we got the census figures we’d had no way of saying how much,” Douglas said. “But it’s really not a surprise.”

When the county drew justice of the peace districts in 2001, the average district population target was 11,800, according to the County Clerk’s office.

State law allows a 5 percent variance from average and the county’s districts met that range. District 12, which includes the northern portion of Siloam Springs, had 12,429in 2001, which was 5 percent above the average. District 2 and District 3, in the southeastern part of the county, were the smallest of the districts with District 2 at 11,163 and District 3 at 11,248. Both districts were about 5 percent below the average.

While the county began the decade with relatively equal populations in the districts, by 2010 they had been skewed by growth. The population in 2010 ranged from 12,273 for District 11 in the northwest corner to 31,362 for District 9 in west central Benton County.

Jeff Hawkins, director of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, told the justices of the peace at a recent Quorum Court meeting redistricting is guided by several criteria. Equal population within courtaccepted variances is one. Others include nondiscrimination against racial or language minorities; compliance with the Voting Rights Act and limits on districts drawn primarily or solely on race; keeping districts geographically contiguous and compact; minimize splitting political subdivisions; maintain core existing districts when possible; maintain continuity of representation where possible; maintain communities of interest where possible; and minimize partisan gerrymandering.

Tom Allen represents District 4, which grew from 11,882 in 2001 to 25,596 in 2010. Allen said he’s not pleased with some of the lines drawn, which separate similar areas he has represented - such as Pinnacle Hills and Shadow Valley - into separate districts under the newplan. He said some of that is inevitable.

“It is what it is. We’re going to have to shrink,” he said. “I live basically in Cave Springs, in what I consider a small town or rural area, and I still have that and the growth areas of southwestern Rogers and Elm Springs.”

Frank Winscott stands to see his district change substantially if the Election Commission adopts the plan recommended by a committee appointed to study the redistricting plans.

“It’s a much smaller district,” Winscott said of the proposed District 2. “It’s basically the southwestern corner of Rogers. I’m losing everything from the center of Beaver Lake to each of the county lines for Washington and Carroll counties.”

Winscott said he could see negatives and positives about the proposed district.

“I’ve made a lot of contacts in those areas over the years and I hate to lose those contacts,” he said.

Justice of the Peace Shirley Sandlin has represented a small district, District 8, that was mostly an established section of central Bentonville. Her new district has some of that area, but also extends farther south.

News, Pages 2 on 10/05/2011