The Urban Affairs Committee heard testimony Feb. 11 on a bill that would authorize district elections for the metropolitan utilities district (MUD) board of directors.<\/p>\n
LB1014, introduced by Omaha Sen. John Murante, would authorize the MUD board of directors to divide the district\u2019s territory into seven election subdivisions.<\/p>\n
Under the bill, the board would have until Feb. 1, 2016, to establish districts composed of substantially equal population and compact and contiguous territory. The board would assign each member a numbered subdivision for the remainder of their current term of office.<\/p>\n
Assignments would be made so as to stagger elections to the new districts until 2023. The board would be responsible for redistricting following each federal decennial census.<\/p>\n
Murante said the MUD board sees the value that district elections have for providing voters with better representation, but they currently lack the authority to make the change. At-large districts tend to leave some populations without adequate representation, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are hundreds of thousands of us who don\u2019t have anyone from our community representing us,\u201d Murante said.<\/p>\n
Ron Wanek, a current candidate for the MUD board, testified in support of the bill, saying district elections would promote greater accountability and transparency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you live in the same district as your neighbors \u2026 you\u2019re certainly more accessible and people can reach out to you and talk to you,\u201d Wanek said.<\/p>\n
No opposition testimony was offered and the committee took no immediate action on the bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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