Discuss with maps!: County map requests for 2008 election results

[Torie]

I am working on a Maricopa County map that is most of the way done and will be posted within the next couple of days. However, I must say that it is single-handedly the most frustrating map I have ever attempted. The file they supplied is the longest >.txt< file ever made (several hundred thousand lines long); it is so large that it crashes my internet every time I open it.

I hate Maricopa's format, but I'd love a map.  You don't happen to know of a way to figure out which precincts are in the city of Phoenix?  The county bounced me off to the local political parties.

You can go to the city of Phoenix election site, and pull down the precincts for the 2007 municipal election, which although it will have consolidated precincts, the names of the three or four precincts that were combined will be listed. All you will need to do for the 131 consolidated precincts, is write down three or four names for each of them, and then go to the general election results, and tag the Phoenix precincts on an excel spreadsheet, use the sort function to put them all in one place on the list, and you are then good to go. It should take you more than about 4 hours or so.

[Torie]

That primary map is weird, the mission district doesn't really make sense. Are those areas south of I-280 heavily hispanic? Or are they Asian?

That is where Senator PiT lives (i.e. south of I-280 in SF).  Ask him. I think it is lower middle class Anglo.

[Torie]

Ahh, thank you!  That gels a lot better with my understanding of Redding.  Obama mostly in new subdivision-land, Clinton in old (and poorburb) old subdivision-land in East Redding, affectionately "Helltown."  Blue-collar downtown mostly Clinton, except for Brookline, the standard Nice Area.

Lake Shasta area is a bit surprisingly strong for Clinton, although admittedly I don't know who lives there, and the coloring of the westshore precinct suggests to me that these are low-vote precincts.  My guess is that's the same for the very-Obama Platina precinct in the southwest.  I forget where the topography gets farm-unfriendly, but I'm guessing Platina "proper" is pretty damn sparse.

For the record:  Redding is a horrible, terrible place.  Do not go there.

What is so horrible about Redding?  It did not strike me as hell on earth by a long shot when I was last there about 40 years ago.

[Torie]

Haha.  In fairness, I spent like one night there, and I was miserable for Redding-unrelated reasons.  But I remember downtown being a sprawly parking lot of a place, and East Redding being a tangled mess of cul de sacs, mass-produced houses and trailer parks.  The proximity of Shasta was lost on me, and I didn't get to see the river.  There wasn't much to do there.  I couldn't ever find out where the real downtown was, if there was really one.

I was actually staying closer to this place, which I think is technically Redding proper, but does seem to be much more horrible than most of the city.

I also have two friends, one who broke down in Redding and was robbed, and another who was forced to move down there while her brainwashed mother attended Shasta Bible College, which is a lot more nefarious than it sounds.

All roads just led to bad memories in Redding, I guess

Well if you use the adjective "horrible" with respect to Redding, I wonder what adjective you would use with respect to beautiful Bakersfield after you have the "pleasure" of visiting it up close and personal.