A former member of a committee tasked with drawing new boundaries for the Clark County Council’s districts has sued the county, alleging it violated state law during its process after the council approved a map after months of deliberation.
Janet Landesberg, one of two Democratic Party members of the Clark County Redistricting Committee, filed a suit in Clark County Superior Court on May 11, arguing a number of violations. Several are focused on alleged bias on behalf of the council as they considered district boundaries.
Chief among the suit’s arguments is that the council took into account the residences of current councilors when a new map was crafted in order to keep them in their respective district.
The suit also alleges the council violated state law by breaking up several neighborhood associations into multiple districts. It claims the council violated the Clark County Charter by interfering with executive operations when the map was changed after the county auditor’s office sent out notifications to residents who would be affected by an initial change approved by voters in November.
Landesberg was one of five members of the redistricting committee that did not vote with a four-fifths majority on a map by the end of 2021. The committee forwarded maps that were under consideration to the council, starting a monthslong process to determine the district borders by those it would affect.
One of the lawsuit’s claims, stating the decision made after Dec. 31, 2021 was a violation of state law, has been thrown out. On May 26, Superior Court Judge David Gregerson ruled the county’s charter superseded state law with regard to the redistricting process.
Landesberg said during the redistricting process county staff and legal counsel said they were using what was laid out in state law to redraw the maps. She filed the lawsuit based on what was in state law, only for attorneys representing Clark County in her lawsuit, from an outside firm from Seattle, to argue it wasn’t applicable.
Landesberg’s suit was filed the day the county council approved a redistricting map with a 3-1 vote. The map was based on one that was initially drafted during the redistricting committee’s work but did not get a majority of support from the committee.
Councilor Richard “Dick” Rylander, who was recently appointed at the time of the vote, was the one to suggest the map.
Though he ruled on whether or not the Dec. 31 deadline was applicable, Gregerson did not rule on the other arguments, which keeps the suit alive. Any ruling on the other parts won’t affect elections this year, which include three of the five county council seats, Landesberg acknowledged.
“I can’t change what’s going to happen in the county for the next 10 years. … Those lines are drawn,” Landesberg said.
She added any effect from a change brought on by the suit would disenfranchise individuals who might have run before the changes were made.
Even with the May 26 setback, Landesberg has not dropped the lawsuit. She said she will push for a discovery process that will require the parties in the suit to turn over documents pertinent to the case.
She said that process may bring to light allegations that the political parties involved with appointing members of the committee had different standards for the selection of a map. The process may turn up actions or discussion during the process from council chair Karen Bowerman and councilor Gary Medvigy, who will be up for election in 2024.
Landesberg said the issue with deadlines could be resolved at the state level to make the process clearer.
“It would be a whole lot easier if I could get the Legislature to clear it up, then to have to create a charter amendment,” Landesberg said.
Landesberg said following a census, other public jurisdictions like school districts and ports change their boundaries, but it doesn’t seem to be as big of a deal as the council districts’ boundaries.
“They all redistrict and they don’t make it so political,” Landesberg said.
