Now that the redistricting process is nearly complete and the maps are out in the open, it can now be revealed that an inside joke was played on his legislative colleagues by Rep. Pete Lund, one of the key figures in reapportionment.
A Shelby Township Republican and chairman of the House redistricting committee, Lund dealt daily with the anxiety and curiosity expressed by fellow lawmakers wondering how their new district will look.
To playfully aggravate the situation, Lund said he would walk around the Capitol with rolled-up maps in his hand and legislators would practically salivate at the chance that they might get a look.
What these House and Senate members didn’t know is that Lund was carrying the current maps, drawn in 2001, as a practical joke.
Apparently, the only person who was privy to the spoof was Lund’s Senate counterpart, Joe Hune of Hamburg, who chairs the Senate redistricting committee.
Occasionally, Lund would walk into the Senate chambers, unroll the 2001 maps on Hune’s desk and playfully try to block the view of other senators who would try to peak over his shoulder.
Lund had his fun. Now that the maps are out, inevitably some disgruntled legislators won’t think the new lines are very funny at all.
