Newsletter - May 2026

In last November's newsletter, I introduced the concept of reforming the Congressional redistricting process by adopting race-neutral and party-neutral redistricting principles. With such an approach, I believe that we can produce fairer and more geographically coherent congressional maps, resulting in Congressional representatives that are more reponsive to their constituents.

To evaluate this concept, I have initiated a project with the following objectives:

1. Assess the feasibility of creating congressional maps that

   1. Allocate equal population across all districts

   2. Minimize splitting of cities and counties

   3. Maximize compactness

   4. Does not consider political party or demographic data.

2. Determine the impact of such districts on demographic and party affiliation

3. Solicit input from a diverse group of Americans

4. Leverage the results of this study to create national legislation that results in a constitutionally neutral redistricting process using only geographic and population critiera

Each of the project objectives are incredibly challenging, with numerous obstacles that could derail this undertaking. It is important to note that I believe this project will take a minimum of two years to complete.

To help guide my work, I have created a "project summary" that includes project scope and objectives, key milestones, and success metrics. Here is a link to the first draft of the project summary. I encourage everyone receiving this newsletter to review it and provide me their input.

I firmly believe that the current gerrymandering "race to the bottom" is a huge disservice to the citizens of this country, and I believe that the framework I am envisioning can produce fairer and more geographically coherent congressional maps that don't favor either party.

Much more to follow in the months ahead...

My next newsletter will be in July. In addition to providing an update on this project, I plan to share highlights from the upcoming Braver Angels national convention, and provide updates on the Citizens Commission on Immigration and the two workshops we recently completed in Northeast Ohio.

Happy Memorial Day, and enjoy the start of your summer!

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Framework for Non-Gerrymandered Congressional Maps

Project summary v. 1 - 5/15/2026

Anti-gerrymandering Project Summary v1.pdf

Download PDF • 430KB

Newsletter - April 2026

On April 18, I had the pleasure of attending a Braver Angels Common Ground workshop on Immigration in David Joyce's 14th congressional district. This event demonstrated deliberative democracy and courageous citizenship at its best.

Eight "reds" and eight "blues", representing a wide range of viewpoints, openly and constructively shared their concerns and values regarding immigration, and reached unanimous agreement on eight solutions or policies for addressing immigration challenges facing our country. Their recommendations ranged from addressing processing backlogs, enforcement standards, education and communication, employer accountability, and workforce development.

In addition to sharing the findings from this workshop with Representative Joyce, points of agreement from the workshop will be incorporated into a national report, which will detail bipartisan points of agreement that can form the basis of much needed immigration reform legislation.

A key to the success of this work is active engagement and sponsorship by members of Congress. That's where Constituent Conversations and other active outreach efforts become critical. Whether it be through this work, or through the public consultation efforts of organizations like Voice of the People, we are clearly demonstrating the ability of citizens to find areas of bipartisan agreement on a wide range of difficult issues.

Although we have not yet been able to overcome the forces that prevent members of Congress from working together on a bipartisan basis to produce the legislation necessary to address the difficult problems that face our nation, I remain cautiously optimistic that we are laying the foundation for a sustainable movement that helps us to finally overcome inaction and gridlock on both a local and national basis.

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I take great pains in my work and through this newsletter to maintain a non-partisan focus on improving goverment processes and the effectiveness of Congress.

My social media post earlier this month on election integrity and the SAVE act may be perceived by some subscribers as stretching that non-partisan focus. My work from 2022 to 2025 with election officials, subject matter experts, and quality professionals, provided me with a unique understanding of the heroic work of election officials and the comprehensive guardrails in place to ensure the integrity of our elections.

If you have not already done so, please review the aforementioned social media post and take the two minutes required to view the associated video. The proposed SAVE act is much more than a voter ID requirement, with multiple provisions that would be costly to taxpayers, problematic to implement, and potentially harmful to our election system.

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