Politics & Government

Congressman Peters Vows to Fight 'Gerrymandered' Redistricting Maps

The Republican-driven changes eliminate the incumbent Democrat's seat and create new boundaries for State House, State Senate and Congressional seats.

Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday formally approved GOP-led plans to redraw legislative boundaries in the State House, State Senate and  congressional districts that impact the Bloomfield area.

Most notably, but not surprising, is that U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, (D-Bloomfield Township) is an incumbent without a district.

Reapportionment happens every 10 years following the release of U.S. Census data. Michigan, the only state to lose population in the past decade, was poised to lose a congressional seat. Bloomfield Hills would move into the 11th District, currently represented by presidential hopeful Thaddeus McCotter, R-Livonia. Bloomfield Township would remain in the 9th district, which now includes Royal Oak.

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"At our peak, we had 19 seats in Congress. We only have 15 today and next year we are going to drop to 14 because Michigan was the only state in the nation to actually lose population over the last decade," Snyder said in a statement.

With the district he's served for nearly two terms now split into three separate jurisdictions, Peters would have to face well-established Democrats John Conyers, (D-Detroit)or Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak) in a primary.

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He said he won't do that, and plans to fight the new law.

“Governor Snyder may have signed these gerrymandered maps, but that doesn’t protect them from a legal challenge. Throughout this process, I have been working with the delegation to fight the proposed maps, and I will continue supporting any legal challenge as it goes forward," Peters said in a statement.

Peters, Conyers and Levin have all vowed to run for election in 2012.

Here's a look at how other parts of the reapportionment plan affect the Bloomfield area:

State House

Before: Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township are part of the 40th District, represented by third-term Representative Chuck Moss (R-Birmingham). Moss's district includes Birmingham, Keego Harbor, Sylvan Lake and Orchard Lake Village.

Now: Both Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township remain in the 40th District, which is expanding west into parts of West Bloomfield.

State Senate

Before: Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township are part of the 13th Senate District, represented by John Pappageorge (R-Troy).

Now: Under the plan, they stay in the 13th District.

Congress

Oakland County is now broken into four congressional districts (8, 9, 11 and 14), and Birmingham is now part the newly redrawn 11th district, represented by Livonia resident McCotter.

  • District 11 would almost encircle the southern half of the county and include everything from parts of Clawson and Troy to Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham west to Milford and south to Canton.
  • District 14 would include Farmington Hills (but not Farmington which would be in District 11) as well as West Bloomfield, Pontiac, Southfield and parts of Wayne County.
  • District 8 would include Rochester and Rochester Hills and the rest of the northern half of the county, from Oakland and Addison townships west to Holly and Rome townships.
  • District 9 would include Royal Oak, Ferndale, Berkley, Huntington Woods, and Bloomfield Township.


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