One by one, hands shot into the air during a redistricting forum at Crispus Attucks High School on Feb. 8, easily marking the highest level of in-person community engagement since the campaign started in January.
The forums, run by Engaging Solutions, are meant to give the Indianapolis City-County Council an idea of residents’ priorities as councilors begin redrawing districts. Not everyone stayed strictly on topic in Crispus Attucks’ auditorium — some took the opportunity to complain about too much trash in their neighborhood or ask why more councilors didn’t show up — but it was a stark contrast from other forums where the public comment period lasted only a few minutes.
“I was really happy to see the turnout,” said Victoria Babb, an IT project manager who spoke during the meeting. “Very happy to hear people actually speak about their concerns.”
A week earlier, Courtney Kendrick sat in a mostly empty room at Decatur Township School for Excellence. She was one a few people who spoke at the podium.
Kendrick, a flight attendant who lives in the Arlington Woods neighborhood, learned about the forums through an email and thought it was something she’d be interested in.
“We are the common people,” she said. “We are the numbers that turn out these decisions.”
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Redistricting is a dry topic. When someone gets up to speak at a forum, there’s a decent chance they’ll mention that they’re affiliated with one of the political parties somehow or are running for office.
It’s also a complicated process. Redistricting only happens every 10 years following the census, and even though the rules laid out in state law are fairly straightforward, it’s evident there are competing interests in how district boundaries are determined — whether that’s someone who wants their neighborhood to be housed in a single district or an entire political party that feels cheated.
“I think the process leaves people a little confused because they don’t really know what their input means,” Damon Richards said while he waited for the forum to start at Crispus Attucks. “It’s kind of hard to get people to come out if they don’t know if they’re gonna have an effect.”
Richards is more involved with local government than most through his role as executive director of Bike Indianapolis, but even he admits he had misconceptions about redistricting, such as assuming it’s controlled at the Statehouse because state lawmakers seem to have their hands in everything Indianapolis does.
MaCie’ Moore, who has led the forums for Engaging Solutions, said she hoped for more people at forums.
“I’m not sure if it’s COVID or the weather or different elements that are preventing people,” she said after the forum Feb. 8.
People can submit comments online at yourvoice2022.com. Moore said there have been about 35 online comments that vary in length.
“We’ve had people submit dissertations,” she joked.
There are still two more forums: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Northwest Middle School, 5525 W. 34th St.; and 5:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center Gymnasium, 2990 W. 71st St.
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853 or email at tylerf@indyrecorder.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
