Officials huddle over redistricting…

Idaho Republican Party Chairman Norm Semanko and party executive director Jonathan Parker, seen here heading into a meeting room at the Idaho Secretary of State’s office, have arrived for this morning’s confab on a proposed new redistricting plan, as has state Democratic Party Chairman Larry Grant. The party officials have joined Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, his chief deputy Tim Hurst, and Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane for a closed-door discussion of the legalities; Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden is joining the discussion by phone. The complications: This proposed new plan, L-83, was developed by the previous citizen commission, which failed to meet its Sept. 6 deadline, forcing the appointment of a new commission that’s scheduled to start meeting this Wednesday. The former commissioners also said they’d reached agreement, three weeks after their deadline, on a congressional plan, C-38. This morning’s meeting is to figure out what’s next; the officials plan to talk with the media as soon as it concludes.