LETTER: Gerrymandering is the enemy of representative government

To Ozaukee Press:

I am writing in response to Larry Williamson’s recent letter to the editor regarding gerrymandering published in Ozaukee Press.

Mr. Williamson correctly stated that both sides engage in gerrymandering when they have the majority. This is the reason why nonpartisan redistricting would benefit everyone.  

 Under our current system, the politicians are choosing their voters, rather than letting the voters choose their representatives.  This leads to the extreme partisanship and dysfunction in government that we are currently seeing.  

Because of the gerrymandered districts, elected politicians do not need to listen to the voters who disagree with them and there is no incentive to try to work with the opposing party.  

I believe everyone would be better off if our districts were not drawn to favor one political party over the other, regardless of which party is in power. Candidates for office would need to reach out to a broader array of people to get elected, and our government would be more likely to reflect the best ideas of both sides. Perhaps even the extreme divisiveness that we see today could be reduced.

Gretchen Meyer
Cedarburg