Gary Common Council President Lori Latham, D-1st, expressed gratitude for her fellow council members Tuesday in advocating against Indiana redistricting.
“We deserve to have representation,” Latham said. “We deserve to have our voices heard and decide who we elect to represent us.”
The Gary Common Council unanimously supported a resolution that opposes mid-census redistricting of Indiana’s congressional districts. The resolution was sponsored by Councilman Darren Washington, D-at large, and Councilwoman Linda Barnes Caldwell, D-5th.
Councilwoman Mary Brown, D-3rd, was absent from Tuesday night’s meeting.
“The council hereby expresses its strong opposition to (Gov. Mike Braun’s) scheduling of a special session of the Indiana General Assembly for the purpose of redistricting Indiana’s congressional districts in 2025,” the resolution said. “The council urges that any future redistricting occur only in accordance with the decennial census schedule and pursuant to a process that ensures transparency, accountability, and fairness to all Indiana residents.”
The resolution was created so Gary leadership can show the state that they don’t agree with the decision, Washington said.
Concerns about redistricting Indiana started near the beginning of August, when Vice President JD Vance met with Braun. At the time, U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said he believed redistricting was “a done deal,” according to Post-Tribune archives.
“No matter what district they put me in, I will fight for working class people,” Mrvan previously said. “I will fight for fair education. I will fight for access to health care, and I will not allow our most vulnerable populations to be left behind.”
Indiana Republicans visited the White House last week to talk with officials in President Donald Trump’s administration, according to Post-Tribune archives. Politico reported that Vance met with more than 55 Indiana Republicans to discuss redistricting, and Trump reportedly met privately with House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville.
Redistricting occurs every 10 years following the release of census data, according to Post-Tribune archives. The Trump administration has been pressuring states to redistrict ahead of 2026 midterm elections as Democrats would need to flip only three seats to take control of the U.S. House.
Washington told council members Tuesday that it would cost Indiana taxpayers about $260,000 to redistrict mid-census.
“We have benefitted from our current U.S. Congressman (Mrvan),” Washington said. “There’s no need to do this over again.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, Washington said that of Indiana’s nine congressional districts, seven are represented by Republicans. Washington also said it’s within the best interest of city leadership to continue supporting Mrvan.
“Trying to redistrict within a 10-year period, that’s the point that it becomes unacceptable,” he said.
Indiana was last redistricted in 2021, according to Post-Tribune archives, following the 2020 Census. Mrvan and U.S. Rep. Andre Carson hold the state’s two Democratic seats, with Mrvan representing the First District and Carson representing the Seventh.
Before the council’s Tuesday vote, Latham expressed the importance of the council’s opposition.
“This is an effort to cheat,” Latham said about redistricting efforts. “It is (an attempt) to stack the deck and to change in the middle of a decade and redraw the lines, and it’s unacceptable.”