HOME BIOGRAPHY PHOTO GALLERY SENIOR CITIZENS NEWS LINKS CONTACT                       By Rudy Clay Post-Tribune Guest Columnist This is my response to an editorial that appeared in the Post Tribune on Oct. 31, giving their opinion of the Gary redistricting maps. The Gary City Council redistricting ordinance, adopted Dec. 27, presently being challenged in court, violates state law (I.C. 3 11 1.5 32 and I.C. 364 6 3) because the Gary City Council passed the ordinance after the Nov. 8, 2002, deadline. The ordinance disenfranchised 7,618 registered voters, illegally removing 12,000 Gary people from their old districts, including 15 precinct committeepersons. It also violates the equal population laws and illegally places 4th District School Board Member Bruce McKinzie in the same district with 3rd District member Karen Pulliam, which violates state residency laws. The Post Tribune stated that "Gary City Councils new redistricting maps will not come into play until the 2007 City Council election." This is untrue. R. Lawrence Steele, the attorney representing the City Council, told Lake Superior Court Judge John R. Pera in open court that the districts "are going to be for the Gary City Council's 2007 election." Mayor King's attorney, Rebecca Wyatt, agreed in court with Steele on the 2001 effective date. The truth is that the effective date of the ordinance would have been Nov. 5, if myself Lad others had not filed the lawsuit. As correctly reported in the Post Tribune, the court has placed the redistricting map on hold until such times as all facts are presented to the court. The litigation could have ended if the attorneys for the city of Gary and the City Council had not waffled and refused to sign a settlement agreement that would have declared the effective date of the ordinance to be Jan. 15, 2007. This seemed a reasonable proposal to me since the attorneys for the city of Gary and the City Council both stood up in court and said the ordinance was to take effect in the 2007 election. The Post-Tribune mentioned that Mayor King signed the ordinance because under the old maps the 5th District had 2,700 more voters than the 1st District, stating that he wanted equal population in all districts We do too; however, Patricia Bacan, Lake County Voter Registration Board clerk, who is familiar with the standards and guidelines of redistricting, testified under oath that the Gary redistricting ordinance violated state law because the ordinance was not adopted on time and it violated the state of Indiana requirement that the districts have equal population (T.C. 36 3 4 3(A). In fact, the redistricting ordinance signed by Mayor King shows that Glen Park's 6th District population has 1,800 more people than the 1st District. This is clearly a violation of the equal population law. It also violates a recent state Supreme Court ruling that each district should have no more than 1.8 percent population than any other district. The Post Tribune mentioned that it is okay for a person to vote for a district councilperson and wake up the day after the election and have a person that was not on their voting ballot represent them. The editorial called it "side effects" of redistricting and stated that "a good councilman would embrace the new constituents that have landed in their district." Well, I think that the good councilperson should be the person that you voted for and elected. No one should have to tolerate disenfranchisement in our free society and make a mockery of the voting rights act at the same time. Why is it that every citizen yes, every citizen in the state of Indiana can be rep resented by the district councilperson that they voted for and elected, except for citizens that live in the city of Gary? The State of Indiana has 117 cities and the city of Gary was the only city in the state where the redistricting ordinance missed the Nov. 8 deadline. Another red flag issue that was mentioned in the Post Tribune was: "Unfortunately, the Gary City Council was late last fall in approving the new district maps. By rights they should have been in place for this year." No, no, not unfortunately they were late in approving the new district maps, but illegally they were late in approving the maps. No, no, not by rights, they should have been in place, but by law, they should have been in place for the 2003 primary election. In fact, Sally LaSota, director of the County Voter Registration and Election Board, wrote a letter dated July 10, 2002, warning the mayor and City Council members of the Nov. 8, 2002, deadline for adopting the redistricting maps, and offered to help them with the maps but they still violated the law and missed the deadline anyway. The Post '17ribune had mentioned county Councilwoman Elsie Franklin's name. Well, the redistricting ordinance literally strips county Councilwoman Elsie Franklin of her district captain's position, puts her in a new district, and places her County Council position in a precarious situation. Therefore, we think that it is just the right thing to do in trying to prevent that from taking effect under an illegal ordinance. Our involvement is to protect the constitutional rights of the people of Gary that is enshrined in our U,S. and Indiana Constitutions in fighting for free and fair elections to ensure that right is might, not might is right. Rudy Clay is a Lake County commissioner whose district includes Gary. He also is Gary Democratic chairman. "No, No, not unfortunately they were late in approving the maps, but illegally they were late in approving the maps. No, no, not by rights they should have been in place, but by law they should have been in place for the 2003 election ... Rudy Clay	Clay gives fundraiser to build more wheelchair ramps. Click here.               There is a change in the way lots can be disposed of. Click here.               Clay proposes using casino funds to pay property taxes for senior citizens. Click here.                 Clay holds the "Toys for Kids that Santa Claus Forgot" program. Click here.
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