At their regular meeting on Tuesday, the San Juan County Commission voted to approve a resolution that will hire William Cooper, an attorney who previously testified in the Navajo Nation’s redistricting lawsuit against San Juan County, to assess 2020 census data for San Juan County and redraw election district maps for the county commission and the school board, if needed. The resolution passed two to one, with Commissioners Kenneth Maryboy and Willie Greyeyes in favor and Commissioner Bruce Adams against.
“I don’t support the whole concept. I’m not going to be a part of it,” said Adams.
“What’s important is that the end decision belongs to this commission on redistricting,” said Deputy County Attorney Alex Goble. He recommended that the county look into writing an ordinance for redistricting policies in the future “so that we don’t have to go through this process every ten years and recreate the wheel.”
In 2012, the Navajo Nation brought suit against San Juan County under the federal Voting Rights Act which resulted in the reconfiguration of the county’s voting districts and the altering of the county’s political landscape. As a result, the county commission became majority Democrat and Navajo for the first time.
