think it has the virtues of single member
districts, both in the House and Senate.
Thank you, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bard, I
will recognize you to ask a question of
Delegate Lord if he will yield for a ques-
tion.
DELEGATE BARD: Delegate Lord, will
you yield for a question?
DELEGATE LORD: Certainly.
DELEGATE BARD: Mr. Lord, would
your proposal permit the slot method where
multiple member districts of three exist?
DELEGATE LORD: It probably will
permit it if adopted by the legislature. I
do not think that I can say that I am in
favor of the slot method, but I do not think
it enters the discussion here at all. This
proposal would certainly permit it.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak further in favor of the
amendment?
DELEGATE BUSHONG: I would like
to ask a question.
THE CHAIRMAN: Do you yield?
DELEGATE LORD: Yes, sir.
DELEGATE BUSHONG: Delegate
Lord, why do you want to do this? Why
should the people not have a member from
each delegate district if they want to?
DELEGATE LORD: If the people want
to? Are you saying that by adopting this
Constitution the people have clearly indi-
cated that they want single member dis-
tricts?
DELEGATE BUSHONG: I am not say-
ing that, because there is nothing in our
Report that requires residence in that dis-
trict. But why do you want to sew it up?
DELEGATE LORD: Without repeating
many of my arguments, I do not see why
the Commission that Delegate Gallagher
speaks of should have the right to deter-
mine what is in the best interests of each
subdivision. In some cases, this might be
single member districts, sometimes it might
be two member districts, and sometimes
three.
DELEGATE BUSHONG: Why put it in
the Constitution?
THE CHAIRMAN: Would you repeat
your question, please? |
DELEGATE BUSHONG: Why put it in
the Constitution when you do not have any
residence requirement now for single mem-
ber districts? Why put this in the Consti-
tution?
DELEGATE LORD: I am offering the
amendment, Delegate Bushong, as a counter
proposal to that put in by the Majority
Report of the Committee on the Legis-
lative Branch. This could be left out of the
Constitution entirely, I suppose, and han-
dled by statute. However, I think this
proposal is much better than the absolute,
across-the-board requirement of single
member districts.
DELEGATE BUSHONG: Why? I ask
you the question, why?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Lord.
DELEGATE LORD: Because in my
opinion, in many subdivisions, it is not in
the best interests of those subdivisions to
have single member ditricts. I understand
you are not from one of the larger metro-
politan areas, and you may not be aware
of the problem, but it would create a sig-
nificant problem, particularly in the five
metropolitan areas that I mentioned.
DELEGATE BUSHONG: If the people
want to elect somebody in the district, they
should be allowed to, shouldn't they?
DELEGATE LORD: Certainly.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bushong.
DELEGATE BUSHONG: Therefore,
one-man, one-vote does not mean much to
you?
DELEGATE LORD: Delegate Bushong,
it certainly means a great deal to me.
People will have an opportunity to vote for
the same people this way as they would
the other way.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bushong.
DELEGATE BUSHONG: Are you not
setting it up for three delegates to come
from one district along with a senator?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Lord?
DELEGATE LORD: That certainly
would be one of the possibilities.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any person
desirous of speaking in opposition to the
amendment?
Delegate Rybczynski?
DELEGATE RYBCZYNSKI: I would
like to ask Delegate Lord or Delegate Case |
