To the editor:
The League of Women Voters Brown County is pleased to announce that our board member, Sonia “Sunny” Leerkamp, has been selected to be on the Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC). She was selected out of 300 applicants to be one of nine people on the commission. The ICRC will serve as a shadow commission to hold public forums to garner input on citizens’ criteria for developing fair districts. They will present maps to the Indiana legislators that meet these criteria.
We are thrilled! Her background and knowledge will be a great asset on the commission. Sunny has served as a lawyer for 45 years. Nearly half that time was as deputy prosecutor, then 16 years as elected prosecutor for Hamilton County. She continues to serve as a special prosecutor in several counties. As special prosecutor, judges request her to take certain cases, normally when the local prosecutor has a conflict of interest.
Sunny has been a member of the League of Women Voters for several years. The limitations of COVID had one bright side in that it allowed some time for her to become more active in the League. She became a director on the LWVBC board this year.
Diversity, equity and inclusion is one issue that drew her to work with the League. Sunny is co-chairing the LWVBC DEI Book Club/Committee with Judy East. The committee is focused on issues of prejudice, equity and institutional racism. The group is reading “White Fragility” and discussing what the issues are, how we each contribute to the problems and how we can become part of the solution.
Redistricting has always been an issue of importance to Sunny as an elected official and as a voter. She is very interested in learning more about the process. “It’s important to do what we can to maximize everyone’s vote with fair maps,” she stated.
On behalf of LWVBC, we extend our sincere gratitude to Sunny for her service with the board and with ICRC. We look forward to supporting you, Sunny, on this valuable project.
ICRC will soon announce several virtual forums. The public will be invited to help identify criteria for developing fair new voting districts for Indiana. Email LWVBC to be added to our email list to receive notifications: [email protected].
Laurie Teal, vice president, League of Women Voters Brown County
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