ABSTRACT
The City of Glendale, located in the western portion of Arizona's Maricopa County and part of the Phoenix metropolitan area, is a primarily residential community, many of whose residents work in Phoenix or are retirees. Arguments made for the proposition ranged from improvement of representation for all citizens to enhancement of representation of Glendale's Hispanic community. Glendale's City Council perceived the threat to its continued existence offered by the initiative, known as Proposition 100. Research preparatory to the 1988 redistricting showed that Glendale had no experience of polarized voting behavior; indeed, the city seemed to have no issues that might tend to polarize the community on racial grounds. The concept of "retrogression" had been gaining legal and practical force in the years prior to 1990. The total minority population of Glendale in the 1990 Census was 31,555 persons, or 21.30 percent of the City's total population.
