The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission has received very limited feedback from either Oakland County or from Jewish communities of interest in Oakland County that may desire being grouped together.
I am a member of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. As you may be aware, the Commission is responsible for drawing the U.S. Congressional, State House and State Senate maps for the State of Michigan.
The Commission has proposed several maps for comment by the public, with the intention of adopting one of each type of map at the end of December (Dec. 28-Dec. 30). The Commission has proposed two maps (the Chestnut and the Birch v2) for the U.S. Congressional districts that divide Oakland County very differently. The Commission’s proposed maps have been given tree names to assist the public in identifying the maps.
The Commission has received very limited feedback from either Oakland County or from Jewish communities of interest in Oakland County that may desire being grouped together. I believe this feedback is needed in order to evaluate the draft proposed maps.
One proposed U.S. Congressional map (the “Chestnut”) removes Southfield, Lathrup Village, Franklin, Bingham Farms and Beverly Hills from Oakland County and places them into a primarily Wayne County district, consisting of the communities of Detroit, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Redford, Inkster, Westland and Garden City.
The other U.S. Congressional map (the “Birch”) places Southfield, Franklin, Lathrup Village, Bingham Farms and Beverly Hills into an Oakland County-centric district with Farmington Hills, Farmington, West Bloomfield and Bloomfield Township together with other Oakland County communities. The Birch map also places Oak Park and Huntington Woods together in a separate district with the remaining Oakland County communities, including Rochester and Troy, along with portions of Macomb County.
I am actively seeking public feedback regarding the proposed maps. Readers can provide comments and feedback on the maps before the end of December. I am particularly interested in feedback regarding the Chestnut’s Southfield-area/Dearborn-area combination vs. the Birch v2’s Southfield placement. Any feedback will assist me in evaluating which maps are the most appropriate for approval.
Comments can be provided in several ways, including via our public comment portal at www.michigan.gov/micrc. On that same page, individuals can click on the “Proposed Maps” link to be taken to the list of proposed maps. Comments can be “dropped” directly on the individual proposed maps following those links. In addition, all of the maps are available at the following link: https://michigan.mydistricting.com/legdistricting/michigan/comment_links. Both the Chestnut and Birch v2 are accessible under the U.S. Congressional tab.
I request that any feedback or comments be submitted either on the public comment portal or the maps themselves so that all Commissioners will receive them.
Rebecca Szetela is a commissioner with the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.