Last month, Vice President Al Gore told thousands of members ofthe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People thatthe debate over the 2000 census was about race, not methodology. Itwas a simple and irresponsible statement, meant to raise old enmitiesand stereotypes rather than contribute to thoughtful discussion. Hadhe chosen the high road, Gore would have been forced to addresssomething totally new: the administration's plan for Census 2000.
Less than two years from now, the Clinton administrationproposes - for the first time ever - to blend estimates and actualcounts into a single population number for the decennial census.That mixed bag of counted and estimated people will determine theallocation of more than $182 billion in federal funds to the states.If the Census Bureau chooses to disregard current law and implementsits plan to produce this one-number census, the ability of states andlocalities to legally challenge the results will be severelycompromised.
As an example, in 1990 an entire ward was missed in one town inU.S. Rep. Tom Petri's district in Wisconsin. Community leadersfound and corrected this mistake during the post-census review. For2000, the bureau does not plan a review.
That concerns me, both as a former mayor of Cincinnati and asco-chairman of the Census Monitoring Board, a bipartisan federaloversight board reviewing Census 2000. In this extremely fast-movingprocess, I am concerned that decisions are being made, and actionstaken, without substantial input from some of the most importantplayers in the census process - specifically, state and localleaders, and Gore should be especially concerned with two things: The lack of plans for a post-census review. The master address file, the address list used to mail census formsacross the country, probably will be inaccurate in many poor andrural areas, as well as in high-growth areas, regardless of racialmakeup.
Last week, the board heard from local officials in Columbia,S.C., who reported several examples in the recent census dressrehearsal where the bureau was unresponsive.
Columbia's community development director said, "One of thethings that we ran into with the census . . . is that it's easy tosay one thing, but do another. For example, this idea of, `We'regoing to use multiple resources,' but, in fact, they used singularresources in the dress rehearsal."
South Carolina had a number of resources available - more thanmost states. For one, the state has one of the leading addressdatabase programs in the country. Jack Maguire, a state databaseexpert, testified that South Carolina officials found more than26,600 addresses missing from the Census Bureau's master addressfile.
If the bureau and Gore follow through with their plan to throwout the post-census review, states and localities would lose thatavenue to appeal. With limited local input on the front end, and noreview on the back end, state and local governments would beeffectively shut out of the process.
That must not happen. In the words of Maguire, "If it comes toaccurate data and precise data and data that make a difference, thefeds are the furthest away. And states are a little closer, but thelocal government is where it happens."
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed anappropriations bill that provides for a review of this and othermajor changes planned for the 2000 census. The bill would buy timefor a review without shutting down all other federal agencies fundedby the same bill. President Clinton has threatened a veto.
He shouldn't.
We need to slow down the census process and take a look at itwithout shutting down government.
As a former mayor and undersecretary of HUD, I know and believein the power of local government. I also believe the U.S. House ofRepresentatives did state and local government a service, byproviding for our review of major changes planned for the 2000 census- changes that could have major repercussions in neighborhoods ofevery color. On the other hand, I believe Gore did us all adisservice by playing the race card.
J. Kenneth Blackwell is treasurer of the state of Ohio andco-chairman of the U.S. Census Monitoring Board, CongressionalMembers. He is a candidate for the office of secretary of state ofOhio. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service
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