Update: see also: Maryland
Senator Joe Getty: Pre-Session Events This Week
Marylanders for Joe Getty
December 29, 2011
Sen. Joe Getty will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting on
Wednesday, Jan. 4, to discuss with constituents the status of federal, state
and local redistricting that is occurring this year. The meeting is open to the
public and will be held at 7 p.m. at J&P Pizza, 903 S. Main St., in
Hampstead.
Major changes were proposed by Gov. Martin O'Malley for
Carroll County and northern Baltimore County in the alignment of both
congressional districts and state legislative districts. Getty will begin the
meeting with an update of these maps illustrated through a power-point
presentation.
Getty will also discuss recent developments including the
decision released last Friday by the three-judge panel considering the
challenge in federal court over the state's congressional redistricting plan
that was adopted by the Maryland General Assembly in October. The judges upheld
the plan of Gov. O'Malley which moved Carroll County out of the 6thCong.
District.
Carroll County will now be split between Cong. District 1
and 8. Hampstead and Manchester will be part of a northern and eastern portion
of Carroll County that will share a district with the entire Eastern Shore. The
remainder of Carroll County and a large portion of Frederick County is moved
into Cong. District 8 which is primarily in Montgomery County.
In upholding the congressional redistricting plan, the
federal court determined that the changes to Maryland's districts were done for
the purpose of gaining a Demcratic partisan advantage. For example, the removal
of 100% of Carroll County from the 6thCong. Dist. was clearly part of a design
to dilute conservative voters of the existing district and create an
opportunity for a Democratic candidate to win in the newly-configured district.
However, the court held that the Supreme Court has not
provided a basis for lower courts to overturn state plans based upon
"partisan gerrymandering." In a concurring opinion, Judge Roger Titus
of the federal three-judge panel wrote: "it is clear that the plan adopted
by the General Assembly of Maryland is, by any reasonable standard, a blatant
political gerrymander. If the claim had been pressed by the Plaintiffs and an
acceptable standard existed for judging it, I would not have hesitated to
strike down the Maryland plan."
Getty will also outline how Gov. O'Malley's redistricting
plan that provides for realignment of Maryland's 47 Senate districts and 141
member of the House of Delegates will affect local residents. A hearing was
held in Annapolis last Thursday on the state map recommended by the Governor's
Redistricting Advisory Committee.
The final plan will be introduced by Gov. O'Malley on the
opening day of the General Assembly session on January 11, 2012. The plan
becomes law 45 days later unless the Senate and House adopt a different
redistricting plan.
Finally, Getty will also discuss the recommendations by the
committee that has prepared a report on the 5 districts for Carroll County
Commissioners.
[20111229 Getty Upcoming Town Hall Meeting Jan 4 Hampstead]
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Kevin Dayhoff
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