Redrawn County Districts Could Mean Change in Representation

Those who favor or oppose newly adopted Oakland County Commission districts might not agree on the overall map, but they do agree on one thing.

The change creates a brand-new day in county politics.

“It does appear that it will be a lot more competitive,” county Clerk Bill Bullard said of the new districts, which were adopted May 20 and go into effect for the 2012 primary and general elections.

The changes mean that voters from Birmingham, Rochester and Royal Oak and all points in between could find themselves with new representatives come next year.

The new 25-commissioner map also stands in contrast to decades of previous apportionment where the Republican Party had an upper hand. The new districts are seen by some as giving Democrats — and, by extension, Democratic areas such as Pontiac, Southfield and the Woodward corridor communities — an edge in county issues.

However, county Treasurer Andy Meisner said the goal was to make the districts as nonpartisan as possible.

“We were tasked with creating an even apportionment, respecting minority voters and following city and township boundaries as much as possible, and we did a pretty good job of that,” Meisner said.

Potential changes ahead for Birmingham representation

That final plan contains major changes for many Oakland County voters, including those here in Birmingham.

Under the new boundaries, Birmingham moves from the 20th District, which it has shared with Bloomfield Hills, into the redrawn 16th District, joining Bloomfield Township and parts of West Bloomfield.

This places current Commissioners David Potts (R-20th District) and Shelley Goodman Taub (R-16th District) in the same district, thus pitting them against each other should either of them choose to run in the 2012 election.

Potts represents Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, parts of Bloomfield Township and parts of Troy. Taub represents West Bloomfield Township, Orchard Lake Village and parts of Bloomfield Township.

Potts and Taub's terms end Dec. 31, 2012. As a Birmingham resident, Potts would have to run in the 16th District, where he lives, in order to seek re-election.

Potts said not to worry too much about the repercussions of redistricting just yet. He said he expects a lawsuit to be filed within the next 10 days, within the 30-day window allowed for challenges to the new districts to be filed in state court.

"It's likely this will be a hotly contested issue," Potts said Monday at the Birmingham City Commission meeting. "So stand by. It's not over yet."

Taub agreed, saying that she and Potts have other options if they decide not to run against each other, including making a run for the state House of Representatives. Taub said that although she felt the competition raised could be a good thing, she thought the redrawn results may be unfair and that a lawsuit will be filed by the end of the week.

"I don't think that anyone should be guaranteed re-election. We should be required to earn our way back," Taub said. "I’ve been around for many redistrictings, and I don’t ever recall Republicans doing it and putting two Democrats together. I may be wrong, so it is what it is. The two of us are running together unless one of us backs out."

But worrying about incumbents and who stays and goes isn't part of the process of redistricting and wasn't a factor for the five-member Apportionment Committee, Meisner said.

“Protecting incumbents is something that wasn’t part of our job,” Meisner said.

Other communities also face changes:

• Rochester Hills and Rochester will be split into the 13th and 12th Districts. The newly redrawn 12th District in Rochester Hills will have no incumbent.
• Oakland Township will be divided between two districts, with the southern half remaining in the 3rd District with Lake Orion and the northern half moving into the 1st District with Brandon, Oxford and Addison townships.
• Woodward corridor communities will be shuffled between that area’s two commission districts, the 18th and 25th.
• The 18th District will retain a portion of Royal Oak and will pick up Berkley and Pleasant Ridge.
• The 25th District will retain Ferndale, lose Hazel Park and move northward into Royal Oak neighborhoods east of Main Street.
• Much of West Bloomfield will remain divided between the 16th and 17th Districts, but a northeast portion of the township now in the 5th District will move to the 16th District, and a one-mile deep southern strip will move to the 15th District with Farmington Hills.
• Farmington will move from the 14th to the 15th District, while a portion of southeast Farmington Hills will move to the 23rd District with a part of Southfield.

Map reflects diversity, political influences

The new map creates at least four disticts where minorities make up the majority of the population, including districts in Pontiac and Southfield.

“It reflects Oakland County’s growing diversity, not just in terms of African-Americans but in terms of our Asian-American population and the growing number of people coming here from other places, such as India,” Meisner  said.

Meisner and Bullard served on the county’s five-member Apportionment Committee alongside county Prosecutor Jessica Cooper, county Democratic Party Chairman Frank Houston and county Republican Party Chairman Jim Thienel. With Meisner and Cooper (both Democrats) each replacing Republication predecessors in their elected offices, 2011 also marked the first time Democrats had an advantage on the panel.

The new districts were approved on a 3-2 vote with Meisner, Cooper and Houston in voting yes and Bullard joining his fellow Republican Thienel in voting no.

Reapportionment is completed following every U.S. Census.

However, Republicans currently hold a 15-10 advantage on the County Commission, and that advantage could continue even with the new districts, Bullard said.

“It depends upon what kind of election 2012 will be,” he said, noting GOP success in the county in local and national elections in 2010.

Bullard said he wasn’t aware of anyone contemplating challenging the new districts in court, but “it wouldn’t surprise me if someone did.”

Editors Laura Houser and Tim Rath contributed to this report.