The Romeo Observer - Romeo, Michigan: Northern Macomb County's weekly newspaper since 1866

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CURTIS OSTRANDER	DUAINE HARDING
ELEANOR TODD	ELMER "BUD" HAHN
GERVASE KILEY	MARGARET ZIEMAN
MARIAN SUTTON	ORLO KIRKUM
SLAVA KOKOTOVICH
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County panel approves
of redrawn district map

by CHRIS GRAY
Observer Staff Writer

      The re-mapping of Macomb County to reduce its districts by half has been completed, and resulted in merging a number of northern districts into one.
       Following the March 3 meeting of the Macomb County Apportionment Commission, the county's districts have been redrawn to reduce the amount of commissioners from 26 to 13, just in time for the county lawmakers to run against one another in the May primaries and November election.
       Dubbed "the DeBeaussaert plan," the re-mapping essentially calls for melding the northern districts of 13, 14 and 15 into one. This new district will become district 7.
       District 7 will include the Village of Romeo and Armada, the townships of Armada, Bruce, part of Macomb, Ray and part of Richmond. It also includes the City of Memphis. The estimated voter count of the district is tallied at 59,191.
       The apportionment commission, made up of the county clerk, county treasurer, county prosecutor and the chairs of the Democratic Party and Republican Party committees in the county, voted 4-1 to approve of the plan submitted by Democratic Committee Vice Chair Michelle DeBeaussaert.
       Republican party leader Jared Maynard was the opposing vote.
       "I don't agree with gerrymandering," said Maynard. "There are fatal flaws in the plan, they could've chosen to address it, but instead jam it down the throats of county residents."
       Maynard said he will be evaluating all his options and make a decision soon on whether to challenge the approved map or not.
       Ed Bruley, the chairperson of the Democratic Party, said that the approved plan follows the rules passed down by the State Supreme Court, while the two plans submitted by the Republican Party did not.
       "Their plans didn't follow the rules," he said. "Each district should contain a certain population, and when containing them you shouldn't break up townships or precinct lines as much as possible."
       DeBeaussaert sat on the apportionment committee in place of Bruley, as he is a county commissioner.
       A district must have between 57,000 to 64,000 voters, and have around 60,000 in order to have its own county commissioner. In all three plans that were submitted, the northern part of the county was basically drawn the same way.
       The redrawing came about due to residents voting in the Home Rule Charter, which will change the way the county's government operates by shifting the executive powers of the commissioners to the new county executive position. The remaining commissioners will become a legislative body.