Ottman detailed how he began building the map that was eventually introduced to the Legislature by reconciling how he drew district lines with feedback from legislative leadership on how they wanted lines drawn.

“We made decisions, (thinking) ‘This is what we think they talked about here so let’s draw this that way,’” he said.

Ottman said he prepared packets of information on the changes to each region’s map and talking points for them. He said he sat down with legislative leadership explaining, "Here is what this map does, here are the Assembly numbers, here are the current seat holders."

Act 43 had a public hearing and was voted on in a public legislative committee meeting. Ottman affirmed that those public hearings happened and that critics of the new maps did air their concerns.

Ottman was questioned about a memo he wrote to lawmakers about the maps in which he said, “We have an opportunity and an obligation to draw these maps that Republicans haven’t had in decades.”

When asked what that meant, he said he was speaking to the Legislature’s duty to redistrict after each U.S. Census.