On May 9, during an interview that included a discussion on redistricting in our country, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made a very succinct comment on the subject: “Republicans have to cheat in order to win.”
Here in Clark County we have witnessed just that. The Clark County Council voted to approve redistricting map C2. This map barely saw the light of day during the Redistricting Committee deliberations, but was revived by the recently appointed councilor, Richard Rylander Jr. Keeping in mind he was selected by Karen Bowerman to fill Eileen Quiring O’Brien’s vacant seat, at his very first meeting he promoted the revival of a failed plan that purposely preserved Bowerman’s seat by gerrymandering district boundaries to keep her in District 3.
Further evidence of that planned gerrymander occurred during the Dec. 3, 2021, Redistricting Committee meeting. When the Republican map was being debated, committee member Morgan Holmgren directly asked if Bowerman’s address was considered when the Republican proposed map was developed (48:02 in the video). After some stammering and mumbling, and pressed further for a yes or no answer by the chair, committee member Cemal Richards, who was hand-picked by Quiring O’Brien, replied “yeah” (48:46 in the video). Gerrymandering mastery!