Sieck, Shipley respond to redistricting changes

 

Montgomery County will see new representation in the state legislature following the elections in November 2022. 

Gov. Kim Reynolds released the following statement Thursday, Nov. 4, after signing the bipartisan redistricting bill, SF621: 

“Today I signed the bipartisan redistricting maps into law. I am confident in how the process played out—just as the law intended, and I believe these new districts will fairly and accurately represent the citizens of Iowa for the next decade,” Reynolds said. 

The new maps will be effective beginning with the 2022 elections. 

As a result of the recent re-districting, House District 23 representative David Sieck said the legislative representatives the county has been used to in recent years will change. 

“Basically I lose Montgomery County, and I’m going to miss it. My wife’s family is from over there, and I’ve got a lot of constituents that I enjoyed listening to and trying to help. I’m being given a large chunk of rural Pottawattamie County, except for cities such as Council Bluffs, Crescent, Underwood, and Avoca. It’s quite a shift, really,” said Sieck. 

As part of the redistricting, Montgomery County will now be under the leadership of current House District 23 Representative Tom Moore of Griswold, while in the State Senate, Montgomery County will fall under State Senator Tom Shipley of Nodaway’s district. Overall, Sieck feels the results are a bit of a mixed bag. 

“I know a lot of people in Pottawattamie County, so I’m looking forward to serving them, but I lose a lot of good constituents and friends in Montgomery County, and will possibly face some new challenges, so time will tell on that,” commented Sieck. 

The map was redrawn by Legislative Services, which also writes all the bills in the legislature and is non-partisan. 

“They draw all the maps. The first map was rejected, and this is the second map was approved in bipartisan fashion. A lot of people in Pottawattamie County were also upset, as they had one rural representative and now they have more than one. There are a lot of changes like that, and it all comes down to population,” Sieck explained. “As an example, there are certain spots where I was given the whole township except for one city, that was touching the next township into the district of another representative. It’s also the way is used to be for me with the districts as they are now. I came all the way around Stanton, but I didn’t get the city limits of Stanton. But we don’t get any say, we’re just given the map and can vote it up or down.”

Still, Sieck said that redistricting is a necessary function, due to shifting population demographics.  

“We had over 80 districts that lost population, which means 15 to 20 gained population, and some of them gained dramatic population, such as areas around Des Moines, which gained 10-15,000 people over the past 10 years. So it makes the rural districts bigger, and gives more districts to the city,” Sieck explained. 

State Sen. Tom Shipley will run again and said it is his hope to represent Montgomery County in his newly-redrawn district. 

“I would be covering some counties that I did not have before, and some I have been serving the past eight years. Before, I had almost all of Cass, Adams, and Union Counties, and some of Pottawattamie County. If I’m re-elected, I will not have any of Pottawattamie County in my District, but I have picked up Montgomery, Page, Taylor, and Ringgold, which puts where I live more at the center of my district, and in that respect, I do like that,” commented Shipley. 

The first map had Shipley going farther to the east, and this second map which the legislature approved makes his district more compact. Like Sieck, Shipley said there are positives and negatives to redistricting. 

“I’ve worked with a lot of people in Pottawattamie County, and now I won’t officially be doing that any longer, but that doesn’t mean to say that I would not respond or assist someone from Pottawattamie County if they reached out to me,” explained Shipley. “But by and large, it takes away some of the people I’ve been working with, and adds in others. But I know a lot of the people in my new district. I worked in Montgomery County for years, and in Page and Taylor Counties, so I have experience with working with people in those counties for a long long time.”

Still, the shift in his district is not a surprise, and they know every 10 years that the process will happen. 

“We don’t get involved at all in the redistricting process as legislators, and have nothing to say about it. I think it’s interesting also, if you look at a map of a state like Illinois, you can see the difference. They have congressional districts that are a long, thin line from St. Louis over to Champagne, and if that’s not gerrymandering, I don’t know what is, but we don’t do that. I feel like Iowa is an example of how it should be done,” Shipley stated. 

Shipley said if he’s re-elected to serve and represents Montgomery County, he’s not going to change the way he looks at things a lot. 

“What my focus has always been, and will continue to be, is to watch out for interests and be a voice for rural Southwest Iowa. Obviously the lines have been redrawn, and we have more strength in the urban areas, and someone needs to speak up for rural and small-town Iowa. All of my new district is made up of small towns, and my focus remains to do what we can to help people’s lives in these areas. That’s not going to change,” stated Shipley. 

 

Iowa Rep. Tom Moore, who’s new district will cover the areas currently represented by Sieck and Rep. Cecil Dolecheck, shared details of how his district has been redrawn. 

 

“My current district contains almost all of Cass County, Adams, and Union County. Being the incumbent from Griswold, and mainly because of where I live, the new district encompasses all of Cass and Montgomery County, and almost all of Page County, The southeast corner of Page County, including Clarinda, will go to the east, I believe with Cecil Dolecheck,” Moore said. 

 

Moore added that losing current constituents and gaining new ones is sometimes hard and sometimes easy.  

 

“For me, I don’t know much beyond my current district 21. I’ve only been in the legislature for six years and I’ve never been through redistricting before, but I hope everyone understands that this is constitutionally mandated because of population growth and changes, and we need to keep things balanced as best as we can,” Moore commented. “If I run for re-election, I would look forward to the challenge of representing a new district, but it would also be hard to not represent some of the fine people of Adams and Union County as I have. However, Montgomery and Page County has great people as well, and I would look forward to working with them, but I need to add the caveat If I’m elected. I’m not their representative until I decide to run again and they elect me.”

 

And, like Shipley, Moore said if he remained in office, he’d do what he could to help his former constituents, and while he’s still representing his current district for another year, he would be laying the groundwork to make sure he’s prepped to represent the people of his new district are represented should he run again. 

 

While Moore said due to his experiences as a teacher and with his work with KMA Radio in Shenandoah, he has exposure in the new counties the district represents, which he feels is a benefit, and if he runs and is re-elected, he shared what constituents in his new district can expect of him. 

 

“I’m very pro-education after being a teacher for 33 years and on the Griswold School Board. I’m a Conservative, and I look to represent small businesses and rural Iowa. That’s where my heart is, and I’m very much an advocate of the rural population,” said Moore. “They can expect to hear from me, and I will respond if they contct me. Obviously there will be those that oppose what I’m in favor of. You can’t represent 100 percent of the people 100 percent of the time just because of politics, but I would do my best to represent what the majority of my new constituents are going to want.” 

 

The redistricting changes will not take effect until the house and senate reconvene after next year’s elections, in January of 2023. 

The Red Oak Express

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P.O. Box 377
Red Oak, IA 51566
Phone: 712-623-2566 Fax: 712-623-2568

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