We at Royalton Psychological Associates, LLC (RPA) believe in taking stands that help empower individuals and improve their quality of life. We do not endorse specific candidates but rather endorse issues that benefit families. One such issue is on the ballot this year, Issue 1: Establish the Citizens Redistricting Commission Initiative. Merriam-Webster defines gerrymandering as “the practice of dividing or arranging a territorial unit into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage in elections.” Gerrymandering may appear to be a republican created issue in Ohio, but in New York, my home state, it is a democrat created issue. Regardless of political party, gerrymandering hurts all of us.
I have been concerned about our society believing less and less in the art of compromise and placing too much emphasis on “winning.” Gerrymandering reinforces the goal of winning at all costs. When we focus on winning, all of us lose in the end. Currently in Ohio and many other states, politicians appoint people to draw congressional district lines, and the party in charge gets to appoint the majority of members. Thus, the party in charge has the power to draw congressional boundaries that favor them, even if they are not the majority party in the state. When you are in districts that favor one party, politicians from that district are only concerned about satisfying their own party members and tend to take more extreme positions. Ohio congressional districts have been declared unconstitutional seven times, yet they have not changed because politicians do not support change.
Issue 1 will create a citizen based redistricting commission. A board of citizens who are democrats, republicans, and independents will be in charge of creating congressional districts. Congressional boundaries will be based on communities and natural boundaries like town or county lines. The districts will not take into consideration political party. All meetings will be public so that there is transparency in this process. Having more balanced districts will lead to a need to find common ground and compromise. Politicians will have to listen to people in their district from across the political spectrum. Perhaps then we can find some solutions to housing, child care, education, and health care. Good compromise means no one gets everything they want, but everyone gets something. That is better for all of us. Please vote in favor of Issue 1.