07-08-2025
Valparaiso City Council member Barb Dormer to push redistricting ordinance
Valparaiso City Council member Barbara Domer will introduce an ordinance to create a bipartisan Citizens Redistricting Advisory Commission to draft legislative district maps.
If approved, Domer said Valparaiso will join two other Indiana cities, Bloomington and Goshen, that have engaged their city councils with redistricting using the help of a bipartisan team of voters.
'After holding a public meeting in May to receive citizen input and gauge public support, I am excited to announce plans to move forward with introducing an ordinance to create a bipartisan citizen redistricting advisory commission for Valparaiso,' Domer, D-3, said earlier this month.
'My decision to run for City Council was spurred, in part, by my involvement with this city council's redistricting process in 2022, and I firmly believe this is a process that can, and should, be directed by voters, not politicians. I look forward to working with Mayor Costas, my fellow council members, organizations representing voters, and all others who support a voter-centric reform to create the building blocks of our council elections here in Valparaiso.'
Domer said her insistence and efforts so far 'have been praised' by Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, who helped redistricting activists in Valparaiso create a public mapping process during the 2022 round of redistricting.
'I first met Councilwoman Domer in 2021 during the state and Congressional redistricting process when she was one of the hundreds of local leaders we worked with as part of our Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission demonstration project,' Vaughn said.
'She helped organize and promote a local redistricting mapping project for Valpo council districts in 2022, which resulted in seven maps drawn by citizens, more public input than any other city in the state. It's so exciting that she used that experience as motivation to run for city council and is continuing to promote fair maps and responsible redistricting as a public official,' Vaughn said.
'I'm looking forward to continuing our work to make the city of Valparaiso the third city in the state to create a citizens' redistricting advisory commission.'
Additional information about redistricting can be found on the Valpo Redistricting page of the League of Women Voters of Porter County website,
Mayor Jon Costas and the rest of the city council have yet to share their thoughts publicly about the need for redistricting.
'As a member of the League of Women Voters of Porter County, I have been involved in the redistricting process for the past several years,' Domer said.
'Taking the politicians out of the map drawing process and entrusting the residents of our community with this responsibility will likely create district maps which respect communities/neighborhoods of interest without dividing voters for political gain.'
In 2022, the city entered a contract with the law firm of a former speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives to draw the city district maps, prompting Domer to be vocally critical of the outcome.
'The city paid close to $50,000 for this service, while meanwhile residents, including myself, prior to my council election, proved we could draw the maps locally, and we drew legislative maps for free,' Domer said.
Domer said an independent redistricting commission would establish 'the redistricting procedures that are transparent, inclusive and inviting public participation.'
'At the core of this commission's mission would be for them to be able to receive public input on how residents want to see their communities drawn,' Domer said.
