untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
Redrawn district maps create uncertainty for Michigan Democrats
Aug 21, 2011 |
BY KATHLEEN GRAY
The 2012 campaign picture for Michigan remains fuzzy, even though state and congressional redistricting maps were signed into law nearly two weeks ago by Gov. Rick Snyder.
The only certainty, according to state Rep. Fred Durhal, D-Detroit, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, is that the new maps for the state and U.S. Houses of Representatives will be challenged in federal court.
"We're lining up our attorneys and figuring out how to come up with the money to pay for it," he said.
The caucus estimates it will cost at least $200,000 to challenge the maps and all interested parties -- organized labor, congressional Democrats, the state and national Democratic party organizations -- will be tapped, Durhal said.
The caucus is upset with the state House maps because it puts 11 Democratic incumbents, mostly in Detroit, into the same districts, setting the stage for potentially contentious primary contests.
The congressional maps create a different set of issues. The state is losing a seat, going from a 15- to 14-member delegation, because Michigan's population declined. Democratic U.S. Reps. Sander Levin of Royal Oak and Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township were thrown into the same district. The new boundaries in Detroit, which had to change dramatically because of population losses, give U.S. Reps. Hansen Clarke and John Conyers almost totally new districts. In Conyers' case, his S-shaped 14th District meanders from the Grosse Pointes through northern Detroit and into Oakland County to Pontiac. Most of the population of the district is outside Detroit.
All four incumbents have said they are running for re-election, but the only one who has pledged to run in his newly drawn district is Levin. There have been rumors that Clarke and Conyers would swap districts, but Conyers and staff members have been making forays into the Oakland County portions of the new 14th District. Peters has been encouraged to run in the new 11th District, currently represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Livonia, who is running for president. But that district is more Republican than it was.
A handful of names have surfaced as potential challengers to Conyers, including state Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Detroit; Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence; Southfield Treasurer Irv Lowenberg, and state Reps. Vickie Barnett, D-Farmington Hills, and Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills. Even Peters is rumored to be exploring the new 14th District, which contains a large swath of Oakland County that he represented either as a congressman or a state senator.
Further north, the impending retirement of Democratic U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee of Flint is sparking the prospect of a spirited Democratic primary between Kildee's nephew Dan Kildee, a former Genesee County treasurer, and former state Sen. and U.S. Rep. Jim Barcia of Bay City. Also looking at the seat is state Sen. John Gleason, D-Flushing.
Dan Kildee of Flint Township said he has to arrange a leave of absence from his job as president and CEO of the Center for Community Progress, which works on urban revitalization projects. He said he expects to make an announcement next month.
Barcia said he's encouraged with his ventures into the new 5th District.
"Sixty percent of the new district was included in the district I represented in Congress," he said of his 1992-2002 stint in Washington. Barcia gave up the seat when he was put into the same district as Kildee after the last redistricting.
With the fate of the district maps likely up to state courts, the 2012 election picture remains fuzzy. Any challenges must be filed by Oct. 1 and resolved by the courts by Nov. 1.
"I think they have a good case, but the track record for challenges is just awful," said Lansing political consultant Robert Kolt of the likelihood of the maps' opponents being successful.
Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4407 or kgray99@freepress.com |
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Register
Profile
FlintTalk.com Forum Index
> Political Talk
