by:  Diane Benjamin

Previously I questioned if Rob Fazzini was trying to hide the truth to get signatures to put the Ward change on the March ballot: http://blnnews.com/2013/12/18/was-rob-fazzini-trying-to-cover-up-the-truth/ 

He managed to convince WGLT’s Charlie Schlenker of his Six Wards and Three At-large plan.  Listen to an interview aired today with Alderwoman Judy Stearns:  http://wglt.org/wireready/news/2013/12/07670_12-20stearnsqa_web_085852.shtml

Schlenker opens the interview repeating the Fazzini lie of 6 and 3.  Later in the interview Schlenker tries to minimize the cost of elections increasing because the Wards would be bigger.  He thinks they will only be 2000 more people to reach.

Sorry Charlie!  Wards currently have 8000-9000 people.  Let’s use 8500 per ward.  8500 x 9 wards = 76,500 total population – close enough to actual.

Those 76,500 people will be REDISTRIBUTED into FIVE wards:  76500/5 = that’s 15,300 per ward.  That almost doubles the current ward size!  Of course campaigns will cost more.

The people pushing for these much larger Wards are trying to convince voters their representation on the Council will not be affected.  Citizens will go from one of 8500 people represented by a person living in their neighborhood, to 1 of more than 15,000 represented by someone who may not live close by.

Alderwoman Stearns brings up some other good points.  California cities are abandoning At-Large elections because they have been found discriminatory under the Voting Rights Act.  Does Bloomington want sued?

Maybe Normal should re-evaluate their At-Large system.  If the ISU students and residents who live nearby decided to sue, it looks like Normal would lose.  The only explanation I’ve heard for Normal Aldermen being At-Large is to keep ISU students off the Council.  Meanwhile, residents in the area around campus who are impacted by ISU eliminating dorms, have no representative on the Council.  Running At-Large in Normal is close to impossible, so alderman quit before their term expires and a replacement is appointed so the government farce can continue.  With the debt piling up, it working for them!

I’d like to hear Alderman Fazzini’s explanation for  why he lied, and then why he thinks discriminating against any part of the City is a good idea.  Even though Bloomington has changed how the Council is elected before, they always return to a strict Ward system.

The citizens have voted Rob.  In March they will reaffirm their desire for personal representation, just as they did in the past.  So sorry you can’t run for City king.