As you may remember, Governor Hogan’s bipartisan Citizens Redistricting Commission released their final map at the beginning of November after many public meetings and public work sessions. Their map is below and shows my district that combines Northern St. Mary’s with Southern Charles County with a number change of 41A.
Subsequently, on Monday, December 20th, the Legislative Redistricting Commission, the commission made up of almost entirely Democrats, released their proposed map.
The Southern Maryland area of the LRAC map looks very similar to the current 2010 map. The LRAC map keeps St. Mary's whole along with the Southern tip of Calvert County to balance out the population for the Senate district. However, I do want to take the time to thank both commissions for following through with what citizens from our area wanted regarding keeping St. Mary’s County together. I put out a call to action email back in September asking citizens to weigh in with keeping St. Mary’s whole, and I again want to thank those citizens who took the time to testify and write letters. Clearly, your voices were heard.
The Maryland General Assembly convenes on January 12th, and redistricting will be among the most hotly contested topics. I am sure Democrats will make minor adjustments to their LRAC map, but I cannot see any significant changes that would impact our area. However, the redistricting issue may take some time to sort out and will likely be decided by the courts.
On Wednesday of last week, Doug Mayer, former Hogan aide and current leader of “Fair Maps Maryland,” threatened to sue over the LRAC Legislative map. As reported in the Baltimore Sun, Mayer promised that if the “outrageous and unconstitutional” proposed map is approved, his group will file a legal challenge in court.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-state-map-hearing-20211222-j54c4r3lmrdepb3fgmvhmookr4-story.html
Congressional Redistricting
I do want to thank Fair Maps Maryland and Judicial Watch for suing over the recently passed Congressional Map. Maryland is known for having the most gerrymandered maps in the country, and Democrats during the special session a few weeks ago passed a map that Nancy Pelosi and her cohorts would love.
I want to thank my friend Delegate Neil Parrott for getting the ball rolling on these lawsuits. About ten years ago, along with Delegate Parrott, I was a named complainant in a Judicial Watch lawsuit over redistricting. Neil always fights the good fight, and it’s good to see a Republican take a stand. He has my full support because without fairly drawn district maps, conservative voices in Maryland will continue to be stifled, and we will face even more formidable odds electing those who represent us.
