To the drawing board
by Stacy Temple - News Star (excerpt)

More than 200 residents and local officials gathered at the Monroe Convention Center Tuesday to voice concerns and give opinions where political lines should be drawn. The public forum on redistricting was one of nine meetings held throughout the state to gather citizen input. State Rep. Rick Gallot, D-Ruston, chairman of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, and state Sen. Bob Kostelka, R-Monroe, chairman of the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, led the meeting, which included a brief lecture about redistricting and why it has to be done.

One of the biggest issues facing the state will be how to draw Louisiana's new congressional districts, which will be reduced from seven to six because of the state's slow population growth during the last decade. Other entities affected by redistricting include the House and Senate, Public Service Commission, State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), and courts. "I think the public comments have been very good," Gallot said. "People throughout the state have been very engaged and that will help us."

Some people who attended the meeting said they want to see northeast Louisiana join with the Shreveport area to form a congressional district, while others asked the committee to keep two districts in northeast Louisiana to allow residents in the northern region to have representation.