If that promise is weakened, the damage will not arrive with a dramatic announcement or a sudden upheaval. Instead, it will be disguised as routine procedure. The transformation will be bloodless, cloaked in the language of “efficiency,” “compactness,” and “traditional redistricting criteria.” These terms sound objective and fair, yet in practice, they often serve as the scalpels used to bisect a community’s heart. Local maps will be redrawn in quiet rooms, and the subsequent public hearings will likely be sparsely attended by citizens who have no idea their political agency is being dismantled. Continue reading…