Politics & Government

Lawsuit Filed Against County Commission Redistricting Plan

Former state senator Mike Bishop involved in filing of lawsuit by Clark Hill firm.

Former state Sen. Mike Bishop of Rochester Hills has filed a petition, through the law firm Clark Hill, on behalf of three Oakland County residents who are challenging the .

The petition to the state Court of Appeals names Mary Kathryn Decuir of Southfield, David Potts of Birmingham, a county commissioner, and Janice Daniels of Troy.

The commission adopted the redistricting plan on May 20; there was a 30-day window in which residents could challenge the plan. In Rochester Hills, the redistricting creates a new district that would not have an incumbent.

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The petition outlines several problems with the county’s proposed plan, including:

  • The plan violates MCL 46.404, a statute which stipulates “all districts shall be as compact and of as nearly square shape as is practicable, depending on the geography of the county area involved.” Instead, the petition says the adopted plan contains an "avoidably high number of non-compact districts.”
  • The plan “unnecessarily divides” communities of interest, including splitting the lower-income sections of Pontiac three ways and combining the more affluent Southfield Township with the lower income areas of Lathrup Village and Southfield.
  • The map was “intentionally and systematically designed” to affect a political advantage for county Democrats.
  • The map increases the number of minority-majority districts from three to four within the county, which dilutes the voting strength of the county’s African American population.

According to Charlie Spies, attorney for Clark Hill based out of Washington D.C., the Democrats' proposed plan is inexcusable primarily for the political maneuvering behind it.

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"In my experience, this case is remarkable if for no other reasons then there's a memorandum ... on how to gerrymander," Spies said. "There is no reason to have long, extenuated districts except for political purposes."

Spies is referring to a memorandum in which Apportionment Commission Democrats write that while Michigan statutes prohibit districts from being drawn to political advantage, there is no statute against making those districts "competitive." According to Spies, "competitiveness" eventually becomes a code word for partisan.

Daniels, co-petitioner from Troy, said party politics was the driving force behind her decision to file alongside Potts and Decuir.

"I wasn't going to allow our county to be led by a commission that is focused on partisanship," she said. "It's not fair. It was written by Democrats for Democrats."

For Decuir, a Southfield resident, her concern was with the county's African American population. Under the new plan, the four minority-majority districts (located primarily near Southfield and Pontiac) would have a 51 percent African American majority. A slight population shift, Spies said, would eliminate the minority-majority district and dilute the African vote.

"I'm concerned with the ability of African American to select a representative for our community," Decuir said.

The petition requests that the approved plan be rendered void and the committee should be instructed to adopt a new plan.


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