New District lines for Gray and New Gloucester
By Elizabeth Prata

Last fall, it was announced that House District #41 was being rearranged to comply with reapportionment requirements. Reapportionment realigns districts along population lines to ensure equal representation.
Gray was previously united with part of New Gloucester to form District 41. The outcome of the discussions in the legislature in Augusta was that New Gloucester was not split any more, although they do share turf with Pownal and on the other side, with Poland.

Gray was split into two new districts, #110 and #109. Gray now shares turf with North Yarmouth and Pownal to the east in District 109, and Windham to the west in District 110.
Asked when the new district will be in effect, House Minority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Raymond, at left) said, "Redistricting takes effect with the upcoming 2004 election. I am still the representative for Raymond and Windham. Sue Austin is still the rep from Gray until after the November elections. There will be two reps from Gray after the election and you will know who those candidates are after March 15th when the nomination papers need to be turned in to appear on the primary ballot in June. All Reps and Senators are up for re-election every two years under the Maine constitution."

Rep. Susan Austin (R-Gray) said, "You asked when does the new district kick in? This is rather a two part answer. With regards to the election process, candidates will campaign for the representation of the new district. With regards to official representation of that district: it will begin when the elected candidate is officially sworn into office in December 2004. All Representative's and Senator's seats will be going thru an election as this is the natural end of the two year elected terms in the legislative body."
While it may be preferable for towns not to be split, others look at it as an opportunity to be represented by two Legislators in Augusta instead of one. The redistricting process is governed by a stringent set of criteria. (Below, Austin.)

"When this negotiated plan was being worked on I advocated very much for Gray to stay as it is and for this seat to continue to represent a portion New Gloucester. I would have even preferred to have both towns in their entirety in one district together, but our populations are too high to meet one of the specific criteria set for formulating a district," Austin continued. "Let me state the established criteria for forming a district as put forth by this two-party negotiations effort:

The deviation number for a district's population is 8443 - plus or minus 5% (New District #109 pop. 8270 residents),
76% of Gray, 66% of No. Yarmouth, 67% of Pownal,
District must be a Contiguous land mass,
A Town may not be divided more than once,
Incumbents will not be placed within the same district to compete against each other in upcoming election (this could not be avoided up north in two districts).

"During all of the deliberations around this issue I came to see first hand what a complex, intricately detailed process this was; one which took approx. 9 months work by each parties' negotiating team before the #121st Legislature arrived on the scene to have input," Austin said.

Not everyone was happy with how the redistricting fell out. Gray Democrats' president Donnie Carroll said, "The "division of the Town" occurs only for election pertaining to our State Representative. I believe the State Senate race keeps Gray as one voting district."

Asked how the Dems feel about Gray being split into two Legislative districts, Carroll said his initial reaction was "stunned disbelief followed by disappointment and a feeling that the Town was not very well looked after. In a single word, appalled. Although it is a difficult task to realign legislative districts, it truly is inappropriate to divide small communities when considering reapportionment. The Town of Gray will face problems, but the Towns of North Yarmouth and Pownal have been divided into three different districts - that to me is totally unacceptable."

Bruno said that, "These are the tough decisions made when reapportionment is done every ten years to satisfy the constitution."

Austin explained, "Both groups were lead by excellent leadership from within their parties. The biggest contributing factor to the complexities of the southern portion of the state map was the downward migration of our state's populations from the northern counties. That migration caused such a compression notably around the Portland suburbs that ended in the changes we see. "

"I believe that as unexpected as it is for the people of Gray to see our town represented by two different House Representatives, with the caliber of commitment that I have seen and experienced amongst my colleagues in the House, the people of Gray will continue to have the opportunity to be represented well," Bruno continued.

Carroll, himself a former legislator for Gray, said that he can "remember back to Gray's experience as a divided electoral district from 1974 - 1984, we can expect something between general confusion to general chaos the first few elections. People will be confused as to which side of what street they live on therefore will be unsure as to which line to stand in. In 1974 (Longley for Governor) the election produced long lines, short tempers and lots of confusion. I would say multiply those factors by the increase in population and voters and you'll get a vision of November 2004 (a presidential election, with always higher voter turnout). Add on to this an increase in the local cost of a general election because we now must prepare two separate voter lists, have two separate sets of ballot clerks, separate sets of voting booths (a certain number based upon the total voters per district) and possibly separate Wardens or voting machines."

Gray Town Manager Mitchell A. Berkowitz said that voters will all still come to Newbegin Gym in Gray to vote. He will place a warden at the front door to direct voters to the left side of the gym or the right, each side representing District 109 or 110. He will arrange the voting booths back to back and they will be accessed from the appropriate entry point correlated the voter's residence.

In District 106, Pownal and Freeport, Freeport comprises 94% of the district. In District 107, North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Yarmouth comprises 74% of the District. In District 108, Cumberland and North Yarmouth, Cumberland comprises 86% of the District. The new District 109, Gray and North Yarmouth and Pownal, Gray comprises 62% of the District. In #110, Windham and Gray, Windham comprises 80% of the District.

Carroll has concerns abut the percentage split, saying "Generally, I fear Gray will see a dilution in its representation in Augusta. In District 109 Gray comprises only slightly more than 60% of the electorate, while in District 110, Gray makes up a mere 20% of the voters. What commonalities do we share with Pownal, North Yarmouth and Windham? The acceptance of this reapportionment plan was not in the best interest of at least three of the towns, yet in was endorsed and supported by the elected officials. We will survive and the citizens will cope with the strange lines that divide their community, indeed their neighborhoods.

"This may be one of the few times I wish I lived in Texas - all we would have to do then would be call our Congressional leaders and have them redraw the lines to our liking! Then again, in Maine we accept the votes of our elected officials knowing they will be on the ballot in November - well at least some of Gray's ballots," Carroll said.

Bruno said that, "It will take citizens some time to adjust to having to contact someone new for their issues with the state. The folks striving to represent them should do a good job of getting themselves in front of the voters so the electorate can make an informed choice when they vote. I'm sure the old reps would be more than happy to help if they get called and at least direct them to whoever can help them, at least that has been my experience."