MI's Independent Redistrict Commish Appears To Be Gerrymandering

Redistricting Michigan’s state House and Senate districts is a very important issue that everyone should get involved with. Redistricting Michigan’s U.S. Congressional districts is also a very important issue that everyone should get involved with. It will affect your representation at the State and Federal levels for at least the next 10 years and probably longer. It is happening right now!

The commission needs to hear from you “The People” about these proposed maps. This Friday, October 22^nd the commission will be holding a public hearing in Grand Rapids at the DeVos Place. The left will show up, will you?

The Commission canceled their Kalamazoo public hearing, why I am not sure. Your only chance to be physically seen and heard is this Friday.

It appears that many of the commissioners are more interested in creating "fair" districts than respecting our communities and community boundaries. Commissioner Anthony Eid said, "we might have to get a little creative." Get a little creative, that certainly sounds like gerrymandering to me!

Their latest idea is to put Kalamazoo in with Grand Rapids in a gerrymandered district. It doesn't make any sense at all. These areas don't share infrastructure, taxes, services, etc. In some ways, they are economic competitors are they not?

Would you not agree that Grand Rapids should be with Kent County, not Kalamazoo? They need to stop gerrymandering and start honoring our communities and the people who live in them. Breaking apart communities arbitrarily and focusing on partisan fairness or some other number ignores the will of the voters and fails to respect the citizen of our state.

Urge them to honor our communities. This is a higher Constitutional priority than trying to make every district "partisan fair."

If you cannot make the public meeting and I urge you to if you can. Seeing people that are not happy with their maps is better than reading comments from their website. That is not to say if you cannot make it, and I know many of you cannot, you should still go to their comment portal and give them your thoughts whatever they may be.

You can also submit your comments on this proposal online at the MI Redistricting Public Comment Portal.

You can ask them and inform them of the following:

Honor the Community of Interests that were submitted to the Commission throughout the spring and summer. Communities of Interest are a higher Constitutional priority than partisan fairness.
Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo have little in common. They don't share infrastructure, taxing entities, or services. In some ways they are economic competitors. Grand Rapids and Kent County share services, millages, etc., and Kent County has been built around the same infrastructure.
The Independent Redistricting Commission was supposedly created to honor our communities. If they break apart communities arbitrarily, focusing instead on partisan fairness or some other number, they ignore the will of the voters.

You can RSVP to fairmapskzoo@gmail.com if you'd like to connect with like-minded people at the public comment event.

Redistricting may sound like an “in the weeds” bureaucratic government function but it is one of the most important. If the Michigan “Independent” Redistricting Commission, which currently has 6 Democrats, 4 Republicans, and 3 “independents” on it, are allowed to gerrymander the Districts you may not have much of a choice who represents you.

Stand up and let the Commission know your thoughts and feel free to use my bullet points above to do that.