IMPAC 2000

Screenshot from Redistricting Press Conference on C-SPAN by Martin Frost

IMPAC 2000 was the National Redistricting Project for Congressional Democrats created on October 11 1988 "[T]o Support Democratic State Legislative And Gubernatorial Candidates In Preparation For The 1990 Reapportionment Process".

According to an article from the Center for Public Integrity in 2003, IMPAC 2000 was one of the top 527 committees to "spend millions on elections with little oversight or accountability".

Gubernatorial Races and Redistricting

Redictricting Strategy Discussion featuring the late Thomas Hofeller

Katherine Meek was one of those speaking at a bipartisan meeting representing IMPAC 2000 on "Gubernatorial Races and Redistricting" in 1990.

Redistricting article mentions IMPAC 2000

On May 2009, an article about an upcoming Democratic redistricting proposal mentioned IMPAC 2000:

Matt Angle, Martin Frost’s former chief of staff, worked closely with IMPAC 2000 and has subsequently focused on Democratic efforts in Texas and is working as an outside consultant to the Foundation for the Future. Former DCCC political director and media consultant Peter Cari was executive director of IMPAC 2000 and is likely to be involved in the overall redistricting effort in some capacity.

The article also mentioned that "Democrats thus far appear to have the upper hand over their GOP counterparts in terms of behind-the-scenes planning for the fight, perhaps a result of the fact that the party lost the overall battle in the last round of redistricting."

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "has tapped fellow California Rep. Mike Thompson (D) to spearhead the party’s redistricting effort."

Excerpt:

"Traditionally, Democrats have relied on outside groups to handle the nuts and bolts of their redistricting effort, putting them in a better position to adapt to the new rules.

"The Democratic effort will utilize a divide-and-conquer strategy, covering the electoral, analytical and legal battles of the redistricting war.

"A new entity is forming to head up the party’s legal strategy. According to multiple Democratic sources, it’s likely to be called the Redistricting Trust.

"Final details and paperwork for the organization are still being worked out but former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Political Director Brian Smoot will be the executive director and a number of high-level DCCC veterans will be involved as well. The group will focus on developing national and state-specific legal strategies, according to Smoot, who is also a partner with 4C Partners.

"The new group will be able to accept non-federal dollars, placing the funding burden squarely on outside groups.

“In 2003, progressive groups attacked redistricting as a political problem, but it was a legal problem,” said Democratic strategist Matt Angle. He stressed the need for progressive groups to embrace the legal cause, as well as the map-drawing and electoral aspects.

"In July 2008, representatives from the major groups involved in the redistricting process — including the National Committee for an Effective Congress, Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees — met at Democratic National Committee headquarters.

"The Democratic Governors Association and DLCC are focused on making sure that Democrats have as many seats at the redistricting table as possible. That means winning gubernatorial and state legislative races beginning this year.

“It’s all incidental if you don’t have the seats,” said one Democratic strategist. “It’s important to control the chambers.”

"The governorships of 36 states are up for election next year. The governor has a direct role in Congressional remapping (whether it is veto power or appointment of a commission) in all but eight states. State legislatures will draw the lines in 36 states.

"The DLCC is also involved in the Foundation for the Future, a Democratic 527 organized in July 2006 to prepare for redistricting.

"The AFSCME is also involved with the foundation and party insiders credit the labor union for important work at the state level and bringing financial backing to the table. The NCEC, including Washington Director Mark Gersh, is considered the gold-standard when it comes to number-crunching, data analysis and projecting demographic trends in districts on the Democratic side and is also a key player in the Foundation for the Future.

"Democrats view the NCEC’s work as critical because redistricting is more than drawing maps. It’s about understanding population trends in order to draw districts that survive electoral ups and downs. Data analysis is also important because this is the first remapping that will be undertaken with a Democratic-led Justice Department since passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

"The foundation appears to be the latest version of the National Democratic Redistricting Project, which began in the late 1980s and was led by then-Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Calif.) in the early 1990s."

Bill Clinton Addressed IMPAC 2000

Former President Bill Clinton addressed IMPAC 2000 on September 14, 2000. In his remarks, he referred to Representative Ken Bentsen, chair, IMPAC 2000 National Democratic Redistricting Project; former Representative Vic Fazio; and Representative Martin Frost, chair, Democratic caucus.

Leaders

• Martin Frost Chairman
• Alan Wheat Chairman
• James Davidson Treasurer
• Katherine Meek Treasurer

Other Staff

• Greg Speed, current president of America Votes, Board of Directors of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, served as communications director for IMPAC 2000.
• J. Gerald Hebert served as General Counsel to IMPAC 2000.