---

Dear Editor;
Just for the record, I'm a life long independent (and former cartographer, UW La Crosse). I'm discouraged when I hear people say, "we should do nothing in the coming post census map restructuring because all political parties create unfair voting maps." Partisan gerrymandering allows political insiders and party bosses to draw unfair voting district lines. With today's technology, not-seen-before partisan manipulation of the mapping process has been made easy.
Gov. Walker's 2011 bill, Act 43, changed the gerrymandering process as never before. The media wasn't allowed access to the process, the public wasn't allowed access, and certainly, Democrats weren't allowed to participate in any way. Even Republican legislators who were not in leadership positions were kept in the dark, and they had to sign an oath of secrecy to view any map.
These are politically divisive times. Let's end political power plays for good, reform the process and set up independent commissions that ensure full public participation, fair representation, and transparency when drawing voting maps. Voters should choose politicians - not the other way around. If you support this important reform process, I urge you to: 1) contact your legislators to support a non partisan model---Senate Bill 389 and Assembly Bill 395 (to find yours, go to legis.wisconsin.gov click on "representatives" or "senators"); 2) Contact Senator Duey Stroebel, Chair, Senate Committee on Government Operations,
Sen.Stroebel@legis.wisconsin.gov and Janel Brandtjen, Chair, Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections,
Rep.Brandtjen@legis.wisconsin.gov, and ask for public hearings and citizen involvement; 3) Sign a petition against gerrymandering: search "end gerrymandering in wisconsin" for several excellent sources.
If we don't speak out now, we're allowing democracy to be dangerously weakened.

Laurence Kruckman
Mt Horeb, WI