What's at stake when it comes to how political district lines are drawn? The answer is simple: your voice in our democracy. The process that occurs in Minnesota every 10 years following the national census is the foundation for how our representative democracy operates. Ultimately the redistricting process determines how your community is defined, who you have the opportunity to vote for, what kinds of policies and issues get debated, what happens to your tax dollars, and how the complex set of challenges we face are handled.
Join Xp Lee, Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera, and Tom Freeman for a conversation on redistricting. The discussion will engage your curiosity, answer questions about the history and process of redistricting, and allow us to imagine together how redistricting can best serve our democracy in 2021 and beyond. We will be taking live questions during the event.
We dare you to listen to these speakers talk about redistricting and NOT be fascinated. Okay, that would be silly, just come and allow yourself to be fascinated.
Event Details
The event will be hosted on Zoom. You will need a computer and a phone as a back-up audio method.
Register for the event on Zoom.
Speaker Information
Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera is the executive director for Common Cause Minnesota. Common Cause Minnesota serves as an independent voice for change and a watchdog against corruption and abuse of power. Common Cause Minnesota is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. They work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
Tom Freeman is a government relations director. With over a decade of experience in Minnesota politics, Tom has expertise on a range of issues at the Capitol, including taxes, commerce, health care financing, chemical regulation, public safety, bonding, and data practices issues. He represents businesses, nonprofit organizations, and trade and professional associations before the Minnesota Legislature, state agencies, and local units of government.
Xp Lee provides leadership for Minnesota Council on Foundation (MCF) members to help prepare Minnesota for the 2020 census, and coordinates the work of the Minnesota Census Mobilization Partnership. Xp comes to MCF with experience working on the 2020 Census. He is a member of the network that co-created, along with people from communities that are historically undercounted by the census, the Minnesota Census Mobilization Partnership’s 2020 Census Communication and Mobilization Plan. This plan was developed with support by MCF members. Xp is also a leader of the Hmong American Census Network.