Then, he predicts Gilbert and other booming cities will lobby for a special census to give them a bigger share of the financial pie. Other cities, including Surprise and Scottsdale, will pick up funding from their higher population figures but still complain that they were undercounted. On the flip side, Phoenix racked up a higher head count than expected, yet it's still getting a smaller slice of state revenues. Although Arizona's largest city grew 34 percent, a healthy increase in almost any other part of the country, it lagged the statewide pace of 40 percent. However, the city could tap more money on the federal side, where some funding formulas are based on a pure head count.
Population means power, as well as money.
Two new congressional districts are being added, and lines for legislative districts will be redrawn this summer. It's already clear that the census is taking away some of Phoenix's muscle at the state Legislature. Phoenix lost two seats after the 1990 census. The winners are cities on the suburban fringe. And both the state's political parties claim they'll benefit.