Detroit Democrats in the Senate were unsuccessful in a final attempt to change the lines drawn for the two largely-Detroit U.S. Congressional seats currently held by U.S. Representatives John Conyers (D-Detroit) and Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit). The new lines not only spread the two districts well into the surrounding suburbs, but essentially switch the portions of the City currently represented by the incumbents – arguably making both vulnerable to a primary challenge.
All 12 Senate Democrats voted no on the Congressional maps, HB 4780, and were joined by Republican Senator Judy Emmons (R-Sheridan) who objected to the new districts splitting a precinct in her area into two congressional seats. The new plan also draws sitting U.S. Representatives Sandy Levin (D-Southfield) and Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) into the same district.
The maps for the State Legislature, SB 498, passed with a bit of bi-partisanship, as Senators Morris Hood III (D-Detroit) and Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) joined the chamber’s 26 Republicans in voting yes. These maps were also not without controversy, as no less than eleven Democratic incumbent House members were drawn into districts with other seated Democrats.
The two Republicans most notably effected by the new lines are Senator Tonya Schuitmaker (R-Lawton), who will either have to move into Kalamazoo County to maintain the integrity of her current seat or stay put and run in a largely new geographic area, and Representative Rick Olson (R-York Township) who’s new seat is significantly Democratic.
Labels: redistricting