Instead, they carved up friendly districts that made their party affiliation far more important than their voting record at election time.
The race-versus-politics distinction in redistricting decisions matters, because lawmakers often insist that they redraw district lines for political reasons — that is, to keep winning elections and to retain their power by creating friendly districts.
"We are a charter-friendly district," said Jill Marmolejo, a spokeswoman for the Fresno schools.
Not a week goes by, it seems, without the arrival of a new flagship or buzz-generating boutique in this tourist-friendly district.
Hoping to pad their narrow majority in the State Senate, Republicans used the redistricting process last year to draw a new, Republican-friendly district in the Albany area.
Microsoft has seen the number of suits filed in the famously plaintiff-friendly district court of Eastern Texas fall from 17 in 2007 to just two so far this year, says Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel.
But Mr. Grayson, 54, a native New Yorker who put himself through Harvard as a janitor and night watchman, is back, running in a new Democratic-friendly district against Todd Long, a Tea Party activist who has lost two previous House races.
Doubles from $125 City Hall, the Liberty Bell and Philly's own LGBT-friendly district, the Gayborhood, all sit within walking distance of this upscale boutique hotel, but you could just as happily spend your trip lounging in the gorgeous atrium-style lobby, gawking at the giant custom-made painting that spans four floors.
The legislators who have designed a statewide redistricting plan took extraordinary pains to protect Grisanti by sculpturing him a friendlier district.
