Lansing House panel approves congressional map GOP-drawn map extends 14th District into Pontiac

By Kathy Barks Hoffman Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Ignoring Democratic requests to give the public a bigger chance to weigh in, a Republican-led House committee on Tuesday approved a proposed map redrawing Michigan's congressional districts. The map would throw Democratic incumbent Reps. Sander Levin, of Royal Oak, and Gary Peters, of Oakland County's Bloomfield Township, into the same district and extend the border of Rep. John Conyers' 14th district for the first time beyond Eight Mile Road, which separates Detroit from its northern Oakland County suburbs. It also would move Calhoun County from the 7th District to the 3rd, protecting GOP Rep. Tim Walberg, of Tipton, from a rematch with his predecessor, Mark Schauer, unless the Battle Creek Democrat moves into the newly drawn district. The map also would add more GOP territory to the 1st District, where Republican Dan Benishek now holds the seat. Michigan is losing a congressional seat after seeing its population decline in the 2010 census. Republicans have drawn maps that would allow them to keep the nine districts they hold while shrinking the number of Democratic districts from six to five, for a total of 14. Though they have until Nov. 1 to pass the redistricting maps, they plan to get the job done by July 1. Democrats and several speakers testified Tuesday against the plan, both for what it does and for the speed at which it's becoming law. They were especially critical of carving Oakland County into four congressional districts and stretching both of the current congressional districts that include Detroit farther into the suburbs to pick up enough black voters to maintain black majorities. Detroit has lost a quarter of its population over the past decade. The GOP-drawn map would extend the 14th District north from Detroit to Pontiac and include the Oakland County communities of Oak Park, Southfield, Farmington Hills and Orchard Lake, among others. The 13th District held by freshman Democratic Rep. Hansen Clarke would stretch from Detroit south to Ecorse and west to the cities of Westland, Wayne and Romulus. Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer said the map was clearly drawn to benefit Republicans. "Never before in Michigan's history have districts zigged and zagged all over a large geographic region for partisan advantage," he said in written testimony, noting the 14th District now is more than 50 miles long but less than a half-mile wide at some points. The 11th District in Wayne and Oakland counties now held by GOP Rep. Thaddeus McCotter "is literally only a few blocks wide at one point," he added, noting how it spiraled from Livonia to South Lyon, Auburn Hills and Troy before ending in Bloomfield Hills. The map also was criticized by Kevin Rex Heine of the Independence Caucus of Kent County, a tea party-related group Heine said holds "constitutional loyalties over political loyalties." "Redistricting should be about keeping like communities together. That didn't happen in southeast Michigan," said Heine, while also criticizing the move to put Calhoun County into the 3rd District that includes much of Kent County and Iosco County on the far north side of Saginaw Bay into the 5th District, which includes Flint and Genesee County. Iosco County currently is in northern Michigan's 1st District. Calhoun County now is in the 7th District that borders Indiana. "What does Kent County have in common with Calhoun County? Nothing," said Heine, who lives in Kentwood. "This map is garbage. I could do a better job in my sleep." Common Cause Michigan executive director Christina Kuo was among leaders of voter advocacy groups asking that citizens be given at least a month to study and comment on the maps before they're voted into law. She and others in the Michigan Redistricting Collaborative also called for a series of committee hearings around the state where citizens can comment on the maps, rather than Tuesday's single hearing. None of the pleas swayed Republicans on the House Redistricting and Elections Committee, who voted 6-3 along partisan lines to send the map to the full House. The House's GOP majority on Tuesday afternoon advanced the legislation, leaving it likely to come up for a final House vote later this week. House Republicans have said they don't see a need for a months-long delay in approving the new map since they explored the redistricting process in past committee hearings. Republicans have the most control over the redistricting process because they hold the majority in the state House and state Senate. The GOP also has an edge on the Michigan Supreme Court if the plans wind up facing legal challenges, and Gov. Rick Snyder is a Republican. Published: Thu, Jun 23, 2011