Ex-Democratic chief says Michigan gerrymandering scared off candidates
DETROIT – Call former state Rep. Brandon Dillon a sore winner.
The Grand Rapids Democrat testified Wednesday that he voted against the GOP-lead redistricting maps in 2011 – even though it made Dillon’s own seat a sure-fire lock for him or any Democrat.
He opposed the maps, he told a three-judge panel in federal court, “because I felt the overall maps were unfair and the maps in Grand Rapids were extremely gerrymandered,” he testified. “They were designed specifically to benefit one party, and that was Republicans.”
Dillon’s testimony came on the second day of trial in a federal lawsuit challenging state legislative and congressional districts drawn by Michigan Republicans after the 2010 census. Plaintiffs are asking the judges to redraw state and congressional boundaries before the next round of elections in 2020.
Lawyers representing Republicans in the case contend that the party’s map-making decisions were and remain legal. And they have sought to downplay private emails unearthed in the litigation that show GOP operatives openly discussing how to cement Republican advantages in Michigan races while packing Democratic voters into a limited number of districts.
Read more: https://www.bridgemi.com/public-sector/ex-democratic-chief-says-michigan-gerrymandering-scared-candidates
