There's a big meeting coming up Saturday for legislative redistricting here in Montana. The public has the opportunity to weigh in on the proposed maps both in person at the capitol, and online via Zoom.

We spoke with one of the Republican appointees on Montana's Districting and Apportionment Commission, Dan Stusek.

Stusek: We have a public hearing on Saturday from 9 to 6 at the State Capitol in Helena on a draft proposed plan that the Commission adopted last Thursday. And we can go into details, but I want to make sure people know that they can show up and participate in the capital, which is preferred. But certainly, it's winter, and it's a long distance for most. Another way to participate is on Zoom, and folks can request a ability to do that online, via the state legislative website or mtredistricting.gov. You can click on the meetings tab, and then scroll down and click on "request remote participation" for December 10.

In order to participate via Zoom, you have to sign up by 5 p.m. Friday.

The Republican appointees on the commission have major concerns with the tentative proposal. One concern is that it gives too much power to the university neighborhoods and erodes the rural voice by creating these "pinwheel" districts. Another concern is that Eastern Montana conservative areas have been forced into very large districts. One district alone stretches from the Billings area to Fort Peck Lake. Stusek also expressed concerns about districts not being compact and contiguous.

Here's the full audio with Stusek explaining his concerns with the tentative proposal:

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