The Brad Miller Thread (AKA Draw your own CD)

[Miles]

This is for our more creative members!

Here's the scenario:

Your a state legislature in charge of your Legislature's Redistricting Committee. Your party holds supermajorities in both chambers, so even your governor cannot override your plan. Any Congressional redistricting map you draw will be passed. You want to move up to Congress; this is your chance to achieve that.

Using Dave's Redistricting App, draw a Congressional District in your state that would favor you. Assume that their would be no incumbent in your new seat. The VRA doesn't exist.

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

I cut out the black areas to insulate me against a potential challenger in the primary and added some areas that would be personally favorable to me.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

All right, here we go.

I'm an independent, but a liberal one. Assume I run as a Democrat. Since it's not exactly hard to draw myself a safe Democratic seat, I decided to give myself areas that I am familiar with (at least somewhat), and areas that I have ties to (no matter how tenuous).



This is what I came up with in a vacuum. However, since I'd generally rather have Democrats in Congress than Republicans, it's likely that I would draw a nasty gerrymander that included something like this, had I actually bothered to draw the entire state.

[Miles]

Vazdul's actually looks pretty clean.

I cut out the black areas to insulate me against a potential challenger in the primary and added some areas that would be personally favorable to me.

My thinking exactly. I drew my district so that I'd have enough blacks to buoy myself a bad year for Dems, but I'd still have the edge against a black primary challenger. (48-42 White VAP advantage)



My logic: I cut out a good part of southern New Orleans (to lower black numbers). I kept much of conservative western New Orleans and a sliver of eastern Jefferson (I grew up in those areas...I'm hoping voters there would cross their ballots for me). I'd then go north to get my "base" at LSU and grab a few parishes that Melancon won.

I'd have to run as a pretty centrist Mary Landrieu/Blanche Lincoln Democrat.

[krazen1211]

All right, here we go.

I'm an independent, but a liberal one. Assume I run as a Democrat. Since it's not exactly hard to draw myself a safe Democratic seat, I decided to give myself areas that I am familiar with (at least somewhat), and areas that I have ties to (no matter how tenuous).



This is what I came up with in a vacuum. However, since I'd generally rather have Democrats in Congress than Republicans, it's likely that I would draw a nasty gerrymander that included something like this, had I actually bothered to draw the entire state.

That's a very nice district. Minor tweaks and I could fit mine. I want NYC commuters and not people on the shore.

[PulaskiSkywayDriver]

That Princeton Seat could be the new 12th assuming Chris Smith moves to Jackson lol.

[Verily]

Well, here's mine.

The first step was to take in my home town. Englewood is a very diverse place, so I knew I wanted a diverse district. I also want a district that is not easily controlled by a machine. Hence, I want to avoid having too many voters in one county, having too many white Catholics, and having too many minorities of a single group. I also wanted a fairly wealthy district that wouldn't resist some of my more right-wing economic positions but which would still be solidly socially liberal and supports immense government spending on education and healthcare. I also want a fairly young district.

I first grabbed the nearby areas that fit the profile fairly well. Tenafly is the most obvious, and Teaneck because it is demographically very similar to Englewood. I then took in the heavily Korean areas in SE Bergen; although they are fairly religious, they are also not in tune with national conservative movements and content with social liberalism (and also unlikely to vote against an incumbent in the primary). I also wanted the moderates of the Northern Valley, so those areas were put in the district.

I then extended the district down into Hudson County through the very expensive new developments along the Hudson River to Weehawken and Hoboken, which are young, hip and liberal and a very good fit for my politics. I also took in Downtown Jersey City, which is a mix of yuppies and South Asians who are both good fits for my politics. Having downtown JC also gives me a nice fundraising base from the companies there (having Englewood Cliffs, Alpine and Fort Lee in my district is similar advantageous).

I then new that I wanted to extend my district out to mid-Essex County to take in the diverse and wealthy areas there, such as Montclair, West Orange and Maplewood, which are similar to Englewood and also good fits for me. Additionally, stretching into Essex County would prevent the Bergen County political machines from being much threat. (However, the the largest portion of the district is still in Bergen County, so I control the district.) The district had to stretch through some white Catholic areas to get there, but I tried to minimize exposure.

Once in Essex County, I also took in the wealthy and moderate-to-Democratic communities of Livingston and Millburn that would balance out the district well. That finished the district.

The district is, on VAP, 53% white, 17% Asian, 15% Hispanic, 11% black, and 66% Obama. It also likely skews younger and wealthier than the state as a whole.

[TJ in Oregon]

Assuming I move back to Erie County after school, this is probably my best district. It's only R+8 but that ought to be enough to get re-elected as long as I am not a complete failure of a congressman. I also tried not to give any other community of interest more influence than the Erie-Huron-Ottawa-Sandusky-Seneca County area because I'd be just as worried about a primary as a general election. I'm imagining myself as more of a Chris Smith-style Republican so I'd need to avoid a lot of really, really strong GOP areas. I'm more of a rust belt type of guy so I tried not to exclude industrial towns to inflate the PVI. Sure I might not win the city of Sandusky bit it's too near to my heart to draw it out and any Republicans around would likely favor me. I have too many friends in that town to split it or not represent it.

After that I needed some more GOP voters and I decided the upper Miami valley was my best bet as it's one of the most heavily GOP parts of the state. It also has a lot of white Catholics (which I am one of) and that's a demographic that, unlike Verily, I'd like to maximize in my district, unless of course I get too union-heavy.

[Torie]

Here is my little CD which I think would maximize my potential. There is definitely a method to my madness.. Who is perspicacious enough to figure out my modus operandi here I wonder?  

[Dancing with Myself]

Where is the redistricting app?

[Miles]

Where is the redistricting app?

http://gardow.com/davebradlee/redistricting/launchapp.html

[Lunar]

I wouldn't have a chance, but I suppose my odds would be increased by focusing on areas with high white (non-Hasidic) Democratic primary turnout and fracturing the remainders among Asians, Hispanics, and Blacks.

Perhaps I should have looked to scoop up some traditionally Republican areas just to decrease the Democratic primary electorate's total population overall, since this is purely tactical

[muon2]

It is interesting to see three different NJ posts for ideal districts. Let me go a step beyond and assume they all sit as members of the NJ Redistricting Committee. I'll act as a staffer given their requests to form into the new map.

Here are my observations in fulfilling the request.

Chairman Verily (he has the most posts) is requesting the shape of the new CD 9. Even though the request is made without the VRA, the final map will have to have one majority-black and one majority-hispanic district. The majority-black district (CD 10) needs the Oranges, Maplewood, and part of Montclair to bring it up to 52.7% VAP. The majority-hispanic district (CD 11) is 51.8% VAP, but leaves Nutley and Lyndhurst as islands that have to go to the chairman's new CD. After those changes plus some extra wards in Clifton, it's now 61.9% Obama with a VAP of 56.7% white, 7.5% black, 16.2% Hispanic and 17.9% Asian.

Members Vazdul and krazen1211 have requested adjacent districts (CDs 12 and 4). They both are looking at parts of Mercer county and they've left a bit of a hole around Jamesburg in Middlesex. Since the Jamesburg hole is heavily Dem, that will go into CD 12 and most of krazen1211's Mercer request will be retained in CD 4. The biggest constraint on CD 4 is insuring that there are 3 full CDs in south Jersey without going into Monmouth, and that adds parts of Florence to CD 4 bringing it to 54.2% McCain.

CD 4 and the south Jersey 3 define CD 6 along the Jersey shore. CD 10 needed Plainfield, so to  maintain some compactness CD 6 picks up Piscataway from Vazduls' request. That leaves East Brunswick and Somerville to bring CD 12 up to population. It is now 66.4% Obama with VAP of 54.2 % white, 15.1% black, 15.0% Hispanic, and 14.1% Asian.

This is the map that results. The maximum deviation is 61 persons. The political split is 8 D - 4 R, with one of the D districts (CD 2) rated as a lean D with Obama at 54.3%.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

Really, I'd have to move to Northern Virginia, because Hampton Roads is not the right area of the state to elect someone like me, but this is the best district I could come up with:



I did make sure that VA-03 would remain majority-black despite losing Norfolk.

[Brittain33]

Silverlight is downloading

Somerville+Cambridge (from MA-8) +Brookline+Newton (from MA-4) = 310,000
Arlington 43,000, Watertown 32,000, Belmont 25,000, Lexington 31,000, Waltham 60,000 (from MA-7) = 191,000

Total suburban Boston = 501,000

Add in Alston-Brighton, Back Bay, South End, Beacon Hill, Jamaica Plain, and parts of Dorchester with a large enough gay population from MA-8, and you'll get a less diverse, more upscale version of MA-8 with a large liberal Jewish population.  

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

It is interesting to see three different NJ posts for ideal districts. Let me go a step beyond and assume they all sit as members of the NJ Redistricting Committee. I'll act as a staffer given their requests to form into the new map.

Here are my observations in fulfilling the request.

Chairman Verily (he has the most posts) is requesting the shape of the new CD 9. Even though the request is made without the VRA, the final map will have to have one majority-black and one majority-hispanic district. The majority-black district (CD 10) needs the Oranges, Maplewood, and part of Montclair to bring it up to 52.7% VAP. The majority-hispanic district (CD 11) is 51.8% VAP, but leaves Nutley and Lyndhurst as islands that have to go to the chairman's new CD. After those changes plus some extra wards in Clifton, it's now 61.9% Obama with a VAP of 56.7% white, 7.5% black, 16.2% Hispanic and 17.9% Asian.

Members Vazdul and krazen1211 have requested adjacent districts (CDs 12 and 4). They both are looking at parts of Mercer county and they've left a bit of a hole around Jamesburg in Middlesex. Since the Jamesburg hole is heavily Dem, that will go into CD 12 and most of krazen1211's Mercer request will be retained in CD 4. The biggest constraint on CD 4 is insuring that there are 3 full CDs in south Jersey without going into Monmouth, and that adds parts of Florence to CD 4 bringing it to 54.2% McCain.

CD 4 and the south Jersey 3 define CD 6 along the Jersey shore. CD 10 needed Plainfield, so to  maintain some compactness CD 6 picks up Piscataway from Vazduls' request. That leaves East Brunswick and Somerville to bring CD 12 up to population. It is now 66.4% Obama with VAP of 54.2 % white, 15.1% black, 15.0% Hispanic, and 14.1% Asian.

This is the map that results. The maximum deviation is 61 persons. The political split is 8 D - 4 R, with one of the D districts (CD 2) rated as a lean D with Obama at 54.3%.

Looks good to me. I have no problem with the changes to my district. I really have no preference as to whether I get Piscataway or Jamesburg and East Brunswick- at that point I was just looking for filler to bring my district up to population. I chose Piscataway because I have ties to Highland Park, and felt it would be ridiculous to cross the Raritan River just for Highland Park.

Silverlight is downloading

Somerville+Cambridge (from MA-8) +Brookline+Newton (from MA-4) = 310,000
Arlington 43,000, Watertown 32,000, Belmont 25,000, Lexington 31,000, Waltham 60,000 (from MA-7) = 191,000

Total suburban Boston = 501,000

Add in Alston-Brighton, Back Bay, South End, Beacon Hill, Jamaica Plain, and parts of Dorchester with a large enough gay population from MA-8, and you'll get a less diverse, more upscale version of MA-8 with a large liberal Jewish population. 

Thank God you're running in Massachusetts. Krazen and I can't afford having you run in New Jersey, unless you want a district dominated by Burlington and Camden.

[krazen1211]

It is interesting to see three different NJ posts for ideal districts. Let me go a step beyond and assume they all sit as members of the NJ Redistricting Committee. I'll act as a staffer given their requests to form into the new map.

Here are my observations in fulfilling the request.

Chairman Verily (he has the most posts) is requesting the shape of the new CD 9. Even though the request is made without the VRA, the final map will have to have one majority-black and one majority-hispanic district. The majority-black district (CD 10) needs the Oranges, Maplewood, and part of Montclair to bring it up to 52.7% VAP. The majority-hispanic district (CD 11) is 51.8% VAP, but leaves Nutley and Lyndhurst as islands that have to go to the chairman's new CD. After those changes plus some extra wards in Clifton, it's now 61.9% Obama with a VAP of 56.7% white, 7.5% black, 16.2% Hispanic and 17.9% Asian.

Members Vazdul and krazen1211 have requested adjacent districts (CDs 12 and 4). They both are looking at parts of Mercer county and they've left a bit of a hole around Jamesburg in Middlesex. Since the Jamesburg hole is heavily Dem, that will go into CD 12 and most of krazen1211's Mercer request will be retained in CD 4. The biggest constraint on CD 4 is insuring that there are 3 full CDs in south Jersey without going into Monmouth, and that adds parts of Florence to CD 4 bringing it to 54.2% McCain.

CD 4 and the south Jersey 3 define CD 6 along the Jersey shore. CD 10 needed Plainfield, so to  maintain some compactness CD 6 picks up Piscataway from Vazduls' request. That leaves East Brunswick and Somerville to bring CD 12 up to population. It is now 66.4% Obama with VAP of 54.2 % white, 15.1% black, 15.0% Hispanic, and 14.1% Asian.

This is the map that results. The maximum deviation is 61 persons. The political split is 8 D - 4 R, with one of the D districts (CD 2) rated as a lean D with Obama at 54.3%.

Looks good to me. I have no problem with the changes to my district. I really have no preference as to whether I get Piscataway or Jamesburg and East Brunswick- at that point I was just looking for filler to bring my district up to population. I chose Piscataway because I have ties to Highland Park, and felt it would be ridiculous to cross the Raritan River just for Highland Park.

Silverlight is downloading

Somerville+Cambridge (from MA-8) +Brookline+Newton (from MA-4) = 310,000
Arlington 43,000, Watertown 32,000, Belmont 25,000, Lexington 31,000, Waltham 60,000 (from MA-7) = 191,000

Total suburban Boston = 501,000

Add in Alston-Brighton, Back Bay, South End, Beacon Hill, Jamaica Plain, and parts of Dorchester with a large enough gay population from MA-8, and you'll get a less diverse, more upscale version of MA-8 with a large liberal Jewish population. 

Thank God you're running in Massachusetts. Krazen and I can't afford having you run in New Jersey, unless you want a district dominated by Burlington and Camden.

That's not a terrible map actually. Realistically Lobiondo will win that district anyway.

[minionofmidas]

That's not a terrible map actually.

Well, after you've dismantled the Verily Atrocity it won't be.

[Napoleon]

[Verily]

That's not a terrible map actually.

Well, after you've dismantled the Verily Atrocity it won't be.

Hey, it's not my fault the young, educated liberals chose not to coalesce in one part of the state

Actually, while that district looks ridiculous, it isn't unreasonable from a demographic or communities of interest perspective. Just like normal-looking districts can still be egregious, ridiculous looking districts can combine reasonable interests. Of course, allowing some ridiculous-looking districts usually means allowing all of them, so they're not a good idea anyway.

[Napoleon]

Mine is worse looking, Verily, and I was going for similar demographics.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

If I'm going to run against a Democrat, I'll need as Republican-friendly a district as I can manage. So, looking at the Brown/Coakley numbers, I strung together about every 70%+ Brown town I could find.

I added Framingham even though it's a Coakley town, but that's just because I know people there who could probably help me out politically.

Oh hey, guess where I live?

[PulaskiSkywayDriver]

My district is the the Christie Swing-Jersey Shore Special (though it doesnt quite go from my house in Bayonne all the way down to Seaside).  This includes basically all the areas Christie over-performed his 7 point statewide swing. My ideas was to take culturally conservative white ethnics and Jews and pack as many in in North Central NJ as possible. I start in Bayonne, touch Elizabeth and Linden, take Republican areas of Woodbridge and then head into Monmouth County, stopping at Pt. Pleasant in Ocean County. I make sure to add Manalapan and Marlboro which have really swung to the GOP and have lots of Jews. There is a link through Colonia to Clark, Cranford, Kenilworth and western Linden. All of those towns I'd do well in. I'll take Perth Amboy and Carteret but not Asbury Park.

CD-6
Obama: 48.7%
McCain: 51.3%

Avg Performance:
Democratic: 48.8
Republican: 51.2

Demographics:
White: 70%
Black: 5.2%
Hispanic: 17.4%
Asian: 6%

VAP:
White: 72.4%
Black: 4.9%
Hispanic: 15.8%
Asian: 5.9%

Now I just need the pic. How do you insert em?

[tmthforu94]

Now I just need the pic. How do you insert em?

Easy way - First, save the map how you'd save any other picture (that works on Silverlight, right?). Click on the gallery button near the top of the page, and from there click on the MyImages button, which is near the top right side. Then click "Add a Picture", and upload it. There should be a code, like this:  (inserted some spaces so you could see it.

Tell me if that works out.

[Vazdul (Formerly Chairman of the Communist Party of Ontario)]

My district is the the Christie Swing-Jersey Shore Special (though it doesnt quite go from my house in Bayonne all the way down to Seaside).  This includes basically all the areas Christie over-performed his 7 point statewide swing. My ideas was to take culturally conservative white ethnics and Jews and pack as many in in North Central NJ as possible. I start in Bayonne, touch Elizabeth and Linden, take Republican areas of Woodbridge and then head into Monmouth County, stopping at Pt. Pleasant in Ocean County. I make sure to add Manalapan and Marlboro which have really swung to the GOP and have lots of Jews. There is a link through Colonia to Clark, Cranford, Kenilworth and western Linden. All of those towns I'd do well in. I'll take Perth Amboy and Carteret but not Asbury Park.

CD-6
Obama: 48.7%
McCain: 51.3%

Avg Performance:
Democratic: 48.8
Republican: 51.2

Demographics:
White: 70%
Black: 5.2%
Hispanic: 17.4%
Asian: 6%

VAP:
White: 72.4%
Black: 4.9%
Hispanic: 15.8%
Asian: 5.9%

Now I just need the pic. How do you insert em?

I'd really like to see this one. Even more, I'd like to see a full map that accomodates this district as well as the rest of our New Jersey delegation.