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--> --> Eagle Point challenges Bradbury's redistricting EAGLE POINT (AP) - The cities of Eagle Point and Shady Cove will ask the Oregon Supreme Court to toss out the new redistricting map that severs them from the rest of the Rogue Valley. The new House District 55 reaches into five counties, Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Crook and Deschutes, stretching from Prineville in Central Oregon to Lakeview near the California border. Redistricting is required every 10 years following a census to reflect changes in population. The job to redraw the state's legislative boundaries fell to Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, a Democrat, when Gov. John Kitzhaber vetoed the state Legislature's plan. Bradbury released a plan in July, held public hearings around the state and issued a new plan in August. "I don't see anything in the constitution that allows the governor the power to veto," said Medford attorney Joseph Kellerman, who represents Eagle Point and plans to file a petition Friday. "This will definitely throw in a monkey wrench." The secretary of state can't comment on the whether the governor's veto was constitutional because of pending legal action, said Marion Hammond, Bradbury's spokeswoman. Shady Cove officials are fighting the map on a different front, claiming Bradbury violated redistricting criteria when he grouped the communities with towns on the other side of a mountain range. "Anybody who thinks you can hop over the Cascades has never driven across the mountains in the winter," said Elise Smurzynski, the city administrator. "You might as well be in Okinawa." Bradbury's Web site says he grouped communities that share agricultural and timber interests. The new boundaries prompted state Rep. Alan Bates, a Democrat, to move from his 40-acre Eagle Point farm into Ashland. Shady Cove would exchange state Rep. Susan Morgan, a Republican from Myrtle Point, for Phil Barnhart, a Democrat from Eugene. "It's a political power shift," said David Hussell, Eagle Point city administrator. "That's the reason for the census a realignment of the political power. The more population, the more representatives, the more power." Taking Eagle Point and Shady Cove away from the other eight cities in Jackson County is like severing a limb from the body, leaders in both cities say. Eagle Point and Shady Cove get their water from the Medford Water Commission, contracts with Bear Creek Valley Sanitary Authority for sewer services and Fire District 3 for fire protection, and works with Rogue Valley Council of Governments on regional planning issues. "When there are political decisions that need support, we are basically being ostracized, ripped out regionally," Hussell said. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing