The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that a state Senate district pairing part of east Anchorage and the Eagle River area constituted an “unconstitutional political gerrymander.”
Member Nicole Borromeo said she believed the pairing would open the board to “an unfortunate and very easily winnable argument of partisan gerrymandering.”
Member Bethany Marcum had proposed the pairing. She also proposed pairing an Eagle River House district with an Anchorage district that includes a military base. She said there were strong ties between the base and Eagle River and socio-economic ties between Muldoon and Eagle River.The Supreme Court in its order Friday took issue with the board’s drawing of House District 36 and said the so-called Cantwell Appendage was in violation of the state Constitution.
Peter Torkelson, the board’s executive director, said the board was “pleased that the Supreme Court agreed with the Board on 39 of Alaska’s 40 house districts and 19 of 20 Senate districts.” He said in a statement that the board will meet soon to discuss the decision.
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