The Allegan County Democratic Party is supporting a challenge to the proposed redistricting boundaries for the next decade, according to census figures recently released.The proposed districts have been redrawn by a committee made up of County Clerk Bob Genetski, Treasurer Sally Brooks and Prosecuting Attorney Myrene Koch and the county chairs of the Republican and Democratic parties.
Chairwoman Jill Dunham and the Dems released a statement today on apportionment petition filed by a citizen with Michigan Court of Appeals, challenging the early County Commission district map submitted to the Bureau of Elections.
“This week, all five members of the Allegan County Apportionment Commission were served with a petition filed in the Michigan Court of Appeals challenging their plan to gerrymander the County Board of Commissioners.
“It’s no secret that the Apportionment Commission did a grave disservice by reducing the number of County Commissioner districts from seven to five. The submitted map includes a district that spans from Saugatuck to Hopkins and is clearly not compact, especially when compared to alternative maps before the commission.”
Dunham said she believes her colleagues on the Apportionment Commission didn’t consider the needs of a growing county or follow state statutes while redrawing districts.
“The process was clearly a rushed, partisan power grab that leaves the over 120,000 residents of Allegan County underrepresented,” Dunham said. “I’m optimistic that the Apportionment Commission can get it right and reverse course by adopting a less partisan, more compact map before the November 15th deadline given by the Bureau of Elections.”
Allegan County residents are encouraged to make their voices heard at the next meeting of the Apportionment Commission at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 1. in the board room, at 3283 122nd Ave., Allegan,
Explain why we have to redistrict. Is it done every few years automatically? What was wrong with the old district setup? Why do we have to spend money to do over a system that is working just fine? This is just another example of government intervention where it is not needed.
Because populations change and the goal is equal representation. The census is conducted every 10 years, so redistricting is supposed to reflect population changes.
It is also used to get rid of legislators who won’t follow the program, like Jack Wellborn. He was redistricted right out of office. And population change has little to do with the final product. It is all political.
It depends heavily on who gets to draw the districts. Same thing happened to Howard Wolpe.
If it was all about the distribution of the population, just count the people and draw the lines. But then they are not counting people are they? They are counting votes. That is why the Dems are so up in arms. And yes, Howard was also redistricted out of office. We lost a good man.
I have attended numerous meetings at which our county commissioners report board activity. It’s the same report every month — “We met Thursday and Monday, talked about employee compensation. Discussed this or that.”
I think we should draw a line down the middle of the county and have one commissioner on each side. It would save a lot of money and get just as much done.