The City Council has appointed nine of the 13 members of the citizens’ advisory committee on redistricting. Each council member and the mayor selected one committee member. City Clerk Shirley Concolino announced the appointees at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Their names are listed below. U.S. Census data helps shape the redistricting process, which occurs each decade. When new lines are drawn, each district should have the same number of people, according to city staff. In a Jan. 18 report, city staffers wrote that the following elements will be assessed in the redistricting process: topography, geography, cohesiveness, continuity, “integrity and compactness of territory,” community

When a group of opponents to the “strong mayor” initiative talked to reporters earlier this month, a spontaneous debate over the initiative took place between two local veteran politicos. Steve Maviglio, public affairs consultant and Mayor Kevin Johnson’s unpaid spokesman, sparred with Phil Giarrizzo, a political consultant who is working for the camp that opposes the strong mayor initiative. Johnson, who leads the campaign for the initiative, would attain new powers if it passes. He would assume the duties of the city manager and create the city’s budget, among other responsibilities. Johnson's campaign says that more than 50,000 people signed petitions to put the initiative on the ball