The main purpose of the New Mexico Legislature's special session that begins today is to draw up new boundaries for congressional and legislative districts.

Lawmakers also must draw up new districts for the Public Regulation Commission and the state Public Education Commission, an elected board that mainly has advisory powers.

Redistricting is a once-a-decade exercise, mandated by the one-person, one-vote principle established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1960s.

It's often divisive and expensive. The 2001 session lasted 17 days — and, unlike this year, that was without any other controversial issues on the agenda.

The last time the Legislature took up redistricting, in 2001, Democratic legislators and then-Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican, couldn't agree on several plans, and the state courts ultimately decided on the state House and congressional redistricting maps.

The state spent about $5.3 million on the 2001 redistricting, according to the Legislative Council Service. About $3.5 million of that total went for legal fees associated with litigation — $2.9 million to attorneys representing plaintiffs, defendants and intervenors, and another $650,000 to lawyers the Legislature hired during the lawsuits.

Again the state finds itself with a Democratic-controlled Legislature and a Republican governor. Many expect this year's redistricting also to wind up in court.

But Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, expressed some optimism Friday. He told a reporter that because of the close political makeup of the House, it's not likely either party can ram plans down the other's throat. There are 36 Democrats, 33 Republicans and one unaffiliated member in the House.

"No bill will pass the House without some Republican support," he said. This, he said, might make Martinez more inclined to sign the redistricting bills, thus avoiding court battles.

State candidates of all stripes hope redistricting is settled quickly. Early October is when candidates can start circulating nominating petitions. Many considering whether to seek legislative seats want to know what their districts will look like before launching a campaign.

Partisanship and self-preservation

Partisan fights are natural byproducts of redistricting sessions. This especially is true in redrawing congressional districts. It's not unusual for representatives of the national parties to get involved in this process.

But for many legislators, even more important than serving their respective parties is political self-preservation. In other words, protecting their own districts.

With the population shifts over the last 10 years — including a thinning out of some rural areas compared to urban areas — it will be difficult to avoid pairing at least some incumbent House members, said Brian Sanderoff, a consultant with Albuquerque's Research & Polling Inc.

"It would be very hard to draw a House map in which [Eastern New Mexico] doesn't lose at least one seat," Sanderoff said last week. "The Senate will be a little easier."

The eastern half of the state has not kept up with the rest of the state in population growth, according to census figures. Therefore, that area stands to lose some seats in the Legislature, Sanderoff said. Meanwhile, areas such as the west side of Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Las Cruces have seen significant growth, he said.

The most obvious example of the population imbalance in Albuquerque is House District 29 — represented by Republican Tom Anderson. The district has grown to more than twice the population of an ideal state House district.

The southeastern side of the state's largest city has not kept up in population growth, so it could lose seats in the House to the west side, Sanderoff said.

There are political implications. West-side Albuquerque and Rio Rancho tend to have large Republican concentrations. Southeastern Albuquerque districts, where population has decreased, mostly are represented by Democrats.

As Sanderoff has told legislators, districts should be no more than 5 percent over or under the ideal figure. For state Senate districts, the ideal figure is about 49,000 people. The ideal state House district would have about 29,000 people.

Santa Fe-area legislative seats

Within the city of Santa Fe, the population shifts have not been that dramatic, though southwestern House District 45, represented by Jim Trujillo, has grown to nearly 10 percent over the ideal size, while District 48, represented by Luciano "Lucky" Varela, is more than 18 percent under its ideal population. Egolf's District 47 is only about 4 percent under the ideal population. All three House incumbents are Democrats.

In Senate districts in Santa Fe, Sen. Nancy Rodriguez's District 24 is 2.5 percent over the ideal population, while Sen. Peter Wirth's District 25 is about 7 percent under. Both are Democrats.

No plans that have been discussed so far would pair any Santa Fe lawmakers.

Several plans under discussion call for Santa Fe's current districts to "shift south" — incorporating some precincts south of the city. Under some plans, northern districts, such as District 43, which includes Los Alamos, would expand eastward or southeastward to pick up more Santa Fe County precincts. None of the current plans call for splitting the community of Los Alamos.

A few of the House plans being discussed call for District 50, represented by Rep. Rhonda King, D-Stanley, to lose Santa Fe County precincts and pick up some in Torrance.

On the Senate side, there are several proposals to change the district now held by Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose. District 39 currently wraps around the south end of the city of Santa Fe, reaching up into Los Alamos County on the west and San Miguel and Mora countries on the east. One plan, bound to be controversial, would have District 39 expand into Las Vegas, N.M., pitting Griego against a fellow incumbent Democrat, Sen. Pete Campos.

Congressional seats

The state didn't grow enough to get a new seat in Congress, but adjustments will be made to the three existing districts. The 1st Congressional District, which mainly consists of Albuquerque, is 15,546 above the ideal district population of 686,393, while the southern 2nd District is 22,437 under the ideal population.

But the 3rd District, which includes Santa Fe and most of the northern half of the state, is only 6,891 over the ideal district population — the closest to ideal of the three.

Theoretically, the three districts could be left as is because all fall safely within the 5 percent over/under guideline. But there's bound to be some tinkering with the boundaries. The 3rd District, represented by Ben Ray Luján, likely will remain Democrat-leaning, while the 2nd is likely to stay GOP-leaning. Both sides are likely to try to manipulate the 1st District, which has been a swing district that provides close battles no matter which party holds it.

In one proposal, the 3rd District would lose Rio Rancho to the 1st District, a move that would make Luján's district more Democratic and the 1st District more Republican. Democrats likely would fight such a move.

Public Regulation Commission

Despite the recent scandals surrounding Jerome Block Jr., who represents the state Public Regulation Commission's 3rd District, there has been little if any talk of drastically altering the Northern New Mexico district. Block, who has been accused of misusing state-issued gas credit cards, among other misdeeds, has more to fear from a proposed House impeachment committee than any redistricting bill. (Block has yet to say whether he would seek re-election next year — if he dodges impeachment.)

Egolf said the only serious proposal for change in the district has come from residents of the Eldorado subdivision southeast of the city. Eldorado is in the Public Regulation Commission's 4th District, a long, winding district that stretches west to the Arizona border. "They want to be in the same district as Santa Fe," he said.

UPDATE: 8:45 a.m. The initial version of this story said the Public Education Commission has "only" advisory powers. Actually, besides its advisory role, the board is responsible for approving state charter schools. The story has been changed to reflect that.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.