Iberville to have more legislators
Iberville Parish will have five legislators, up from the current three, after the next elections under a reapportionment plan the Legislature approved at the special session that just ended.
House District 60, now represented by Rep. Karen St. Germain, will be expanded to cover some three-fourths of the parish, including Precinct 10 on the Eastside.
But, despite objections Parish Council Chair Matthew H. Jewell of Maringouin and other North End officials, the Legislature moved Maringouin's precincts 31 and 32 into District 18 with all of Pointe Coupee Parish and parts of West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana parishes.
Term-limited state Sen. Rob Marionneaux Jr. had worked to keep all of Iberville Parish in Senate District 17, which he represents, but 10 precincts and part of an 11th along the Mississippi River, were pieced into a new majority black District 2 that includes parts of Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist and West Baton Rouge parishes.
House District 58, currently represented by Rep. Elton Aubert of Ascension Parish, lost Precinct 10 to District 60, but continues to include the rest of the Eastside and the White Castle area.
Some legislators hope to amend the plan at the regular session that opens Monday.
A state reapportionment plan still must pass muster with the U.S. Justice Department. The state must have an approved plan before qualifying for the fall elections, set for September 6-8, if they are to go forward on schedule.
Federal election law requires reapportionment after every 10-year census to adjust districts to account for population shifts. The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that districts must provide “one-man, one-vote” representation.
After the 2010 Census, the ideal Louisiana House district would comprise some 43,174 people, and each Senate district would have some 116,240 residents.