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The Humphrey School of Public Affairs is the University of Minnesota's school of policy and planning.


Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Gerrymandering

The two major political parties are gearing up this year for a once-a-decade process to draw new federal and state legislative districts.  The stakes are potentially enormous, helping to advantage Republicans and Democrats in congressional and state legislative elections for the next ten years.  This process threatens to reverse our democratic process – instead of voters choosing their legislators, the legislators and the major parties will choose their voters with little or no input from citizens. 

CSPG hosted a screening of Gerrymandering, a provocative documentary that examines how the redistricting process is being manipulated to control political outcomes. The movie was followed by a panel discussion on redistricting with Former Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum, Senator Larry Pogemiller, and moderated by Star Tribune columnist Lori Sturdevant.

Watch the trailer.

Pogemiller ImageSenator Larry Pogemiller

Senator Larry Pogemiller was first elected to the Minnesota House in 1980 and to the Minnesota Senate in 1982. Pogemiller has been re-elected in every general election since.  He was elected Majority Leader in 2007 and served through 2010. As majority leader, he was chair of the Senate Rules Committee and its subcommittees, and also served on the Senate Tax Committee.  Pogemiller is the former Vice Chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures Standing Committee on Redistricting and Elections.  Pogemiller has a B.S. from the University of Minnesota and an MPA from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 

Sviggum ImageSteve Sviggum

Steve Sviggum served in the Minnesota State Legislature for 29 years. He was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1978. He served as House Minority Leader from 1993 to 1998 and later as Speaker of the House from 1999 to 2007.  In July of 2007, he assumed his new role as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, and later took over as Commissioner of the Minnesota Management and Budget Office.  Sviggum earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from St. Olaf College in 1973.  He recently joined the Humphrey School in February as a legislative fellow with the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.  Sviggum is also a newly elected Regent of the University of Minnesota.

Sturdevant ImageLori Sturdevant

Lori Sturdevant writes editorials and a weekly column about topics she has covered for more than 30 years, state government and politics.  She joined the Minneapolis Tribune as a summer replacement reporter in 1975, returned as a reporter in 1976, and was lead Capitol reporter and a newsroom assignment editor before joining the editorial staff in 1992. A native of South Dakota, Ms. Sturdevant is a graduate of Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and a member of that institution’s Board of Trustees.

When

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
6:30-8:45 p.m.

Where

Cowles Auditorium
Humphrey School of Public Affairs
301 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Parking + Directions

More Information

For more information and disability accommodations, please call (612) 625-5340 or
e-mail cspg@umn.edu.

This event was co-sponsored by Common Cause Minnesota, League of Women Voters Minnesota, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, and TakeAction Minnesota.

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