Arizona’s latest redistricting commission will meet Thursday for the first time to be sworn in and interview five independents nominated to serve as the panel’s chair and potential tie-breaking vote .
The Independent Redistricting Commission is formed each decade under a 2000 voter-approved ballot measure that took drawing of new congressional and legislative districts after each U.S. Census out of the hands of the Legislature.
Legislative leaders took turns last year appointing two Republicans and two Democrats as the first four commission members.
The five registered independents nominated by a screening commission to serve as chair are Robert Wilson from Coconino County; Gregory Teesdale from Pima County and Maricopa County residents Thomas Loquvam, Megan Carollo and Erika Schupak Neuberg.AD
Along with picking a chair, the commission’s organizational tasks include hiring a legal team and an executive director, the Arizona Capitol Times reported.