There’s some sleazy politics going on in Oakland County, where the Republicans are apparently willing to try just about anything to maintain their hold on the Board of Commissioners.
For the first time in the county’s history, Democrats control the five-member committee that will draw the new district lines for the 25-member board. In response, Republicans are trying to pass legislation in Lansing that would void the committee and let the commissioners draw their own lines.
This transparently tricky plan was hatched by Sen. Mike Kowall and his wife, state Rep. Eileen Kowall, who are White Lake Republicans. Their legislation is even more devious than it sounds because it would only impact Oakland County. It applies to counties with a population of 1 million or more, which includes only Oakland and Wayne County, but the Democrats are so dominant in Wayne that the effect will be minimal there.
The watchdog group, Common Cause Michigan, quickly blasted the GOP scheme, saying it’s a step backward compared to the rest of the nation, with movements to end gerrymandering gaining momentum in numerous states.
“Having the legislative body draw their own districts is something that a majority of states and local municipalities have stopped doing,” said Christina Kuo, executive director for Common Cause Michigan. “Voters recognize that letting elected officials ‘pick’ their own voters is anti-democratic and a huge conflict of interest.”
Currently, county board districts in all Michigan counties are drawn by a five-member reapportionment committee composed of the county clerk, county treasurer, county prosecutor, and the chairs of the two major parties in a county.
Because the Democrats captured the treasurer and prosecutor posts, they now will have a 3-2 advantage in the apportionment process. If the process is turned over to the county board, the Republicans there have a decided 15-10 edge.
Democratic Treasurer Andy Meisner correctly calls the bill a brazen move that would amount to “the fox guarding the chicken coup.”
Kuo added this: “We believe that Michigan should be moving forward on making redistricting at the state and county level more transparent and free from partisan gamesmanship. However, these bills move us backwards and turn county redistricting into the hyper-partisan game that pervades state and congressional redistricting in Michigan.”
The Kowalls, in their own twisted way, may see this as good politics. But it’s not good government.
